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Originally Posted by 60-66
Keith , Im glad you chimed in here ! Ive offen been told that these 9000 numbers were COPO numbers also , is that really the case or not ?
Completely different subject but one you especially could clear up. A while ago there was a pretty crazy thread about a special 1965 and a half (1966) 327 truck. Owner has claimed it has an L79 with a roller cam. Also on Facebook I ran into another guy that stated " If you had enough money , you could get ANYTHING you wanted back then " He claimed he saw an original 1966 Short Fleetside with a 396. He sited his evidence from "watching and studying Barret Jackson" ( his words) . Others here have claimed something similar " A neighbor told me you could get anything you wanted back then " . . I realize there were some "Skunk Works" or prototype vehicles made. But a vehicle moving down an assembly line or a vehicle outfitted with an L79 in 1966 that was not suppose to ever get an L79 ? I do have a legitimate story from an original owner who worked at the Jainesville plant that followed HIS 1968 L72 Biscayne down the line, as it was being built, where they did add extras , mainly because he was friends with these guys but it wasn't anything extreme like above .This "You could get anything you want back then" statement has grown into its own legend now. Anything was possible ! Hope you can shed some of your expertise on the subject please.
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Thank you;
The numerical codes are "SEO" codes. They were never really refered to as "COPO" codes, at least in the truck world, but they kind of do the same thing.
Re: "get anything you want" - well, "yes" and "no". Typically if an item was a "stand alone" item, like a trailer hitch, or a different mirror, you might be able to persuade the guys to stick one on your car. But everybody had to be in on it - meaning - you had to get it past about 8 different inspectors and a bunch of supervisors, so you had to be a pretty charismatic/popular person. If you were an @$$ then there would be some inclined to blow the whistle at any one of a number of checkpoints along the way.
A highly integrated option, like air conditioning or uplevel stereo, would be practically impossible to add without engineering or management intervention, because none of the build documentation would be calling for the right parts and the option and build process are highly synchronized. It is very, very difficult to do this even legitimately with a full team of engineers and launch personnel involved.
I have watched several of my own vehicles get built and followed hundreds (maybe thousands) of special GM vehicles down the line. It never occurred to me to try to add content.
I have a friend who worked for Pontiac in the mid 60's, who likes to tell of building a special 421 cu in engine in the prototype engine build room. He labored for quite a while hand selecting internal components and "blueprinting" the castings. When the big day came he miscounted how many vehicles were ahead of his when hanging the engine on the motor line.
I can imagine him watching in horror as his special engine went into the nondescript station wagon six cars ahead of his beloved GTO.
K