COPO Camaro Engine Options.....427 and 5.3L - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

speedmon · 06-08-2012, 11:22 PM

There a good article in the Aug 2012 Hod Rod on the COPO Camaros.
It lists the engine options as
1. 427 with 13:1 compression
2. 5.3L with 2.9L Whipple
3. 5.3L with 4.0L Whipple

The 5.3s are forged bottoms with essentially LS7 tops..
They would only guess at the HP of the 4.0L at around 900, but the published numbers from GM are much lower.

Wheels turning from a Strange 9". They listed the install kit as a GM standard part#.....for you folks who keep breaking diffs.

The car pictured had a complete interior....the integrated roll cagte looked cool.

Also speculated they trimmed the car to 3100lbs.....or so.

See alot of power coming from these 5.3s......from the LS1tech guys and now COPOs.....

doomsdayjesus081 · 06-08-2012, 11:49 PM

There is also info out there that says the copo 5.3 is a different bore and stroke than the typical truck 5.3

*mlee* · 06-09-2012, 12:15 AM

Interesting info on the 5.3...

speedmon · 06-09-2012, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomsdayjesus081

There is also info out there that says the copo 5.3 is a different bore and stroke than the typical truck 5.3

Yeah...I think the block has to be different than the truck....to bolt up the LS7 heads....

Its just interesting how they arrived at 5.3L (is that some NHRA spec?)......but a 4.0L blower is pretty big....capable of 25-30lbs of boost-o-mania.

Unreal · 06-09-2012, 07:30 AM

4.0L should make 1000+rwhp fairly easy.

speedster · 06-09-2012, 08:07 AM

Obviously they do the 5.3L for class restrictions, but it also reinforces that in many cases it can be more efficient to scale down the engine size and control the output with boost. 900 HP is nothing to sneeze at, especially with a 327 !!! Could you imagine a 60's Corvette/Nova/Camaro with a 900 HP 327? That would have been insanity back in those days.

To get a 327 to half of that (450 HP) meant some pretty hefty mods and lots of rpm...

HufferSS · 06-09-2012, 08:14 AM

I'd be interested to hear about how they got the weight down...clearly the solid axle contributes but what else is the car lacking other than obvious...AC, air bags etc.

speedster · 06-09-2012, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HufferSS

I'd be interested to hear about how they got the weight down...clearly the solid axle contributes but what else is the car lacking other than obvious...AC, air bags etc.

I spoke with them at the PRI show in December. It is basically a BIW (Body In White) built up versus a Camaro like ours stripped down. It is truly a race only vehicle and can never be titled. They even said they had a lot of frame hacking on that one to get the axle to fit and work. You are correct in that there are no extras...

Rat · 06-09-2012, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HufferSS

I'd be interested to hear about how they got the weight down...clearly the solid axle contributes but what else is the car lacking other than obvious...AC, air bags etc.

The weight was 99% of the reason the car is not street legal. Take the stock camaro hood, it has crumple zones built into it. Without the stock hood the car no longer meets crash test standareds. The whole COPO is a stripped to the bone race car with the minimum amount of safety needed to make the car track ready.

JLE58 · 06-09-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedmon

Yeah...I think the block has to be different than the truck....to bolt up the LS7 heads....

Its just interesting how they arrived at 5.3L (is that some NHRA spec?)......but a 4.0L blower is pretty big....capable of 25-30lbs of boost-o-mania.

If it has ls7 heads in it then it has a large bore.

wkdivr · 06-09-2012, 02:45 PM

The COPO was built to compete head to head with the Cobra Jets in NHRA Stock Eliminator. NHRA is in bed with the major manufacturers, and had rated the horsepower on the COPO rediculessly low, like in the high 400's. It's direct competition in Stock Elim, the AA/Stock Cobra jet with the same Whipple combination ran 8.95 in mineshaft air at the Gatornationals in March. They regularly run in the 9.0 range on a 10.0 index. Do not confuse what the cars in the AA/Stock class wether they be Chevy's or Fords with anything remotely close to anything we do on our street cars. It's not even close.

speedmon · 06-09-2012, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLE58

If it has ls7 heads in it then it has a large bore.

Yeah...large bore short stroke....made for high rpms...like the 302s in the 1Gs.

And the 6 head bolts per cylinder to seal the boost.

What a screamer......maybe 25lbs of boost at 9K rpms?

I wonder how much power you could get with pump gas.

Cool engine

DAVE ZL1 · 06-09-2012, 06:09 PM

I seen some where they are gone for around $90,000. And at the time they already had 2 on order. Would really like too see one, may at one of the tracks down south.

06-08-2012, 11:22 PM	#1
speedmon Drives: C6 Z06 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Orange, CA Posts: 572	COPO Camaro Engine Options.....427 and 5.3L There a good article in the Aug 2012 Hod Rod on the COPO Camaros. It lists the engine options as 1. 427 with 13:1 compression 2. 5.3L with 2.9L Whipple 3. 5.3L with 4.0L Whipple The 5.3s are forged bottoms with essentially LS7 tops.. They would only guess at the HP of the 4.0L at around 900, but the published numbers from GM are much lower. Wheels turning from a Strange 9". They listed the install kit as a GM standard part#.....for you folks who keep breaking diffs. The car pictured had a complete interior....the integrated roll cagte looked cool. Also speculated they trimmed the car to 3100lbs.....or so. See alot of power coming from these 5.3s......from the LS1tech guys and now COPOs.....

06-09-2012, 12:15 AM	#3
mlee CamaroFans.com Drives: ZLE & ZR2 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 37,507 View My Garage	Interesting info on the 5.3... __________________

06-09-2012, 07:30 AM	#5
Unreal Drives: 2006 Z06 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 5,712	4.0L should make 1000+rwhp fairly easy. __________________ Nick Corvette Z06 -1200ish rwhp

06-09-2012, 08:07 AM	#6
speedster SST... Drives: SST Camaro 2010 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: East Coast of Florida Posts: 5,927 View My Garage	Obviously they do the 5.3L for class restrictions, but it also reinforces that in many cases it can be more efficient to scale down the engine size and control the output with boost. 900 HP is nothing to sneeze at, especially with a 327 !!! Could you imagine a 60's Corvette/Nova/Camaro with a 900 HP 327? That would have been insanity back in those days. To get a 327 to half of that (450 HP) meant some pretty hefty mods and lots of rpm... __________________

06-09-2012, 08:14 AM	#7
HufferSS I Wanna Go Faster!! Drives: 2011 2SS Synergy Green M6 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: SC Posts: 3,323	I'd be interested to hear about how they got the weight down...clearly the solid axle contributes but what else is the car lacking other than obvious...AC, air bags etc. __________________ Built by Vengeance Racing 9.31@154.81 mph Procharger F1-X RPM Level 7 4L80e + Coan Converter Hendrix 9" Rear Axle + 3.50 Gear ARH 2" LTs+3.5" Exhaust Fore Fuel System, Bogarts + Hoosier Slicks Pfadt Drag Pack Suspension My Build Thread \| Best Pass To Date

06-08-2012, 11:49 PM	#2
doomsdayjesus081 Drives: VR 2010 Camaro SS/RS Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: New York Posts: 132	There is also info out there that says the copo 5.3 is a different bore and stroke than the typical truck 5.3

06-09-2012, 02:45 PM	#11
wkdivr Drives: 2004 GMC Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: W.Pa Posts: 43	The COPO was built to compete head to head with the Cobra Jets in NHRA Stock Eliminator. NHRA is in bed with the major manufacturers, and had rated the horsepower on the COPO rediculessly low, like in the high 400's. It's direct competition in Stock Elim, the AA/Stock Cobra jet with the same Whipple combination ran 8.95 in mineshaft air at the Gatornationals in March. They regularly run in the 9.0 range on a 10.0 index. Do not confuse what the cars in the AA/Stock class wether they be Chevy's or Fords with anything remotely close to anything we do on our street cars. It's not even close. Last edited by wkdivr; 06-09-2012 at 08:42 PM.

06-09-2012, 06:09 PM	#13
DAVE ZL1 Dave ZL1 Drives: 2006 DURAMAX Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Kenner,La. Posts: 28	COPO I seen some where they are gone for around $90,000. And at the time they already had 2 on order. Would really like too see one, may at one of the tracks down south.