1960s–present
The dealer-tuners
Dana, Nickey, Baldwin-Motion, Berger, Yenko
Several independent Chevrolet dealers built reputations (and, in a few cases, real COPO relationships with Piggins) turning Camaros into cars Chevrolet itself wouldn't sell:
Several independent Chevrolet dealers built reputations (and, in a few cases, real COPO relationships with Piggins) turning Camaros into cars Chevrolet itself wouldn't sell:
Don Yenko (1927–1987) — a four-time SCCA national driving champion who raced Corvettes at events including 24 Hours of Le Mans, Yenko took over performance work at his family's Yenko Chevrolet** dealership (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) starting 1957, first making a name modifying Corvairs ("Yenko Stinger," 1965) before turning to Camaros in 1967 — swapping in Corvette L72 427 engines and upgraded suspension/rear-axle hardware on customer SS Camaros. For 1969 Yenko worked directly with Chevrolet to get the L72 installed on the factory line via COPO (see the first generation): sources vary between 201 cars (171 four-speed, 30 automatic) and CRG's own figure of 198 — a small enough gap it's likely a counting-methodology difference (ordered vs. sold vs. built) rather than a real factual conflict, but not yet reconciled to an exact number. Yenko continued building specialty performance cars into the 1980s (a 1981 turbocharged "Turbo Z" Camaro was his last). He died in 1987 in a small-plane crash near Charleston, West Virginia, along with three passengers. Fred Gibb — owner of Fred Gibb Chevrolet in the small town of La Harpe, Illinois (opened 1948), Gibb wasn't originally a performance dealer; the racing angle reportedly started after one of his own employees bought a Z/28 and began winning races locally. Gibb went on to be the dealer of record for the original COPO 9560 ZL1** (see the first generation and the rare and significant cars). Nickey Chevrolet — a large Chicago dealership founded 1925 (by brothers E.J. and Jack Stephani), Nickey grew into one of the country's biggest high-performance parts operations. Working with Bill Thomas Race Cars for technical help, Nickey built what's described as the first '67 Camaro fitted with a 427, offered as graduated "Stage I/II/III" packages. Nickey closed in 1973; the brand name was later revived (tied to the 2010 fifth-generation Camaro launch) as Nickey Performance**, still using the Stage I/II/III naming. Joel "Mr. Motion" Rosen and Baldwin Chevrolet — Rosen's Motion Performance shop partnered with Long Island's Baldwin Chevrolet (run by Ed Simonin) starting 1967 to sell Baldwin-Motion** Camaros (and Chevelles, Novas, Corvettes): customers ordered an SS-396 Camaro through Baldwin, then the car went to Rosen's shop for a 427 swap and further tuning, offered in SS (425 hp) and Phase III (500+ hp) tune. Rosen guaranteed specific quarter-mile times or the customer's money back — reportedly never once paid out. Motion/Baldwin-Motion ran 1967–1974, was revived in 2005 by Rosen with Joel Ehrenpreis and Larry Jaworske, and Rosen died of bladder cancer in October 2023. Berger Chevrolet** (Grand Rapids, Michigan) — mentioned across COPO histories (see gen1 file) as another significant COPO 9561 dealer order (50 cars in 1969); this file does not yet have a dedicated Berger history pass.