Uncovering the Drag Racing HISTORY of a Wild COPO Camaro

Jim Lammers didn't know he was buying a COPO or an ex-drag car when he purchased a black 1969 Camaro from a previous coworker in 2018. He would later discover that the car was truly a COPO Camaro with a 427 big block, but his favorite discoveries involved the Davis family, who were the second owners of the car back in 1970. Doug Davis turned the car into an NHRA-legal Super Stock drag car, and raced it for several years. The car then bounced around to many owners, eventually landing with Jim Lammers, who truly appreciated its drag racing history.
Jim tracked down all the history, and restored the car to its original condition. He took it to one show in original condition and then turned his high dollar COPO into a drag car to replicate the early '70s "Rat's Nest" configuration that Doug Davis raced.

[@zoomxf644]

Tommy, Outstanding job with the video and sharing the story on my brother's car. It has been so much fun, to be a part of the restoration and build and the great people we have been able to meet along the way. Thank you!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you Mike! I appreciate you introducing yourself at the Super Car Reunion. Otherwise I may not have understood the significance of the car...it's such a cool piece. You guys did an awesome job restoring it.

[@InnocentBirchForest-md8hm]

Me dad was the fast oner he was in the marlter and had to salit be cost he was being the plord and cord not tack it with ham

[@mattskustomkreations]

The wrap fooled me too! This car is the best of both worlds!

[@HotRodHoarder]

For sure, a very cool piece!

[@jakespeed63]

From Ohio!!!! Am I the only one that cried tears of joy during this story?? Truly awesome story!!! God Bless you for all you do 😎👍❤️

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching...I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@BastardX13]

Chiseled the Camaro on his Tombstone. Spellbinding tale and telling. Very clever to recreate the look in vinyl. Looks fantastic. I could see it side by side with the Sox and Martin, Red, White and blue Cuda.

[@TrashcanGarage]

Former Ohioan here. Great rundown on the car’s history. Sub’ed. 💯👍

[@chrislinn4486]

The best story you have presented. Absolutely amazing story.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for the kind words and thanks for watching!

[@jayholland8420]

As the owner of a 70's muscle car , i really like the Love of the car side of this story & not so much about the money , AWESOME job

[@barryrussell4106]

A trip down memory lane I love the old 70s street car picture

[@ryanhebein155]

An absolute gem of a car! It only gets better when you hear about all the effort that went into restoring it to its former glory. Thanks for the video!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidsantos8206]

Wow! What a great story. Love the car in both configurations. Really enjoyed the video. You did a great job narrating it. Thanks for sharing this awesome story with us.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you David! I love this kind of stuff and hope to do more of it.

[@doug81337]

Awesome car, awesome story & you delivered it perfectly! 😎Well done & thanks for sharing this!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching Doug!

[@davida.p.9911]

They don't make them like that anymore, and the history can't be matched! Beautiful car! Thanks for sharing! 😎 🛞💨

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidnorth3411]

10:45 that must have been an emotional day , the Davis family are truly tthankful for the cars bringing into the next era . Jim did it right

[@2000TA]

What an awesome dedication! Pretty cool they took it to his grave site. I'm sure he was smiling from above.

[@jackperry9369]

Man what a beautiful piece of history thank you so much for the coverage

[@kensutherland414]

Absolutely brilliant. Love him for that keeping the history alive attitude. Great vid on two people. Thanks.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@SunShine-dk6rk]

Thanks for a great upload, really luv the work and effort you put into finding and unearthing history and stories behind these old cars, Best wishes to yourself,family,friends,car owner and fellow channel viewers.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@joshuagibson2520]

Dayton O, Ault & James, Kilkare, etc, etc. This is a jewel.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Yes sir, that area was covered up with fast cars back in the day...still is!

[@joshuagibson2520]

@@HotRodHoarder it's strange. I used to live around Dayton for decades. Dayton Ohio that is. Now I live a little north of you in Morgan Co, and am often down around Dayton TN fishings and kayaking. Lol. Life is strange sometimes.

[@nickhoffman5524]

Absolutely Stunning!! Love the history!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@markweber7275]

To be appreciated for sure. Personally admire people that dig deep in this type of restorations.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Absolutely! Thank you for watching!

[@chassisresearchkid]

I've done it myself. It brought all the people from the past,.. back together again just to help me accomplish my goal. They all lost touch over the years, they all still talk to this day. As my friend Dave Crane used to say " it's about the people and the stories, the car and project just happens to bring us all together. It's about the people".

[@biscuitboy3617]

Absolutely incredible! And the fact that this car still survives today, is a testament to all the owners over the years!

[@HotRodHoarder]

It's pretty wild that it only racked up 15,000 miles in all those years, and through all those owners.

[@paulturner7798]

You did a fantastic job with this one I really enjoyed watching it and all the other cars you have showed .I'm Paul Turner I live in West Virginia and I am a drag racer to .thank you for the cars you show

[@shanetaylor7621]

AWESOME story and video Tommy as ALWAYS!!!✌️

[@z06doc86]

Cool story. Well done!

[@roberthill2219]

So many great drag cars have totally lost their history because of yuppie car collectors... there's a Hemicuda convertible that won multiple Wallys that has been returned to OEM I'm aware of that the current owner could not care less... There are still people who have their '68 Hemi Darts and Barracudas in primer... no... this is the way these very special cars should be restored... thank you for sharing this awesome car and story with us...

[@HotRodHoarder]

I agree 100 percent. The COPO history is cool but it's just a blip in this car's history, compared to those drag racing days. Such a cool idea to restore the car to original first and then do the drag car setup.

[@gmain1977]

I agree, all these people turning everything to stock, since the millemium car scene has got worse

[@haworthlowell805]

Just a sweet looking Camaro. Always love a nice Super Stock car.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@joemilbrandt9320]

So cool history!!!

[@ceegee3664]

Awesome restoration

[@johnjubie7144]

Great story, love this kind of history.

[@kylesaad5647]

Warms my heart! How Amazing!

[@HotRodHoarder]

It's an amazing story on this car....one of a kind, for sure!

[@smileychavez8093]

Awesome!!! Story thanks great job

[@domcorleone66]

Very cool story!!!

[@midnightrider5797]

What a great story that surrounds such a great car! Lots of time, effort, and money, thank you.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@kellysrestorations.7397]

It's always about the story, and oh man, this was a great one!

[@HotRodHoarder]

For sure, one of the best I've experienced. Thanks for watching!

[@benrossbach6501]

Love it. Enjoy the car and keep the history, what more could you want.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@tiny-hj3xo]

Awesome story on that car and family

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@tiny-hj3xo]

You're welcome I enjoy watching your videos you have some great content. I have learned a lot about older drag race cars and drivers

[@granddad-mv5ef]

Great story! I really appreciate your channel; obviously no one can go back in time but this is pretty close.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for the kind words! I wish I had grown up in the '60s and '70s, but I like to live vicariously through the stories of these old race cars.

[@stevehilliard1495]

Great story my friend, your videos are top of the line 😊

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks Steve!

[@terryeustice5399]

Love the history of this 1969 COPO Camaro beautiful car. Thank you for your research on this Car. Thanks for sharing. 💯👍👊

[@HotRodHoarder]

I loved learning about this car and telling its story. Jim (the owner) did all the hard work as far as researching it and tracking down the previous owners, so it made for an easy story to tell.

[@ARKANSASHUBCAP]

Great video awesome Camaro thanks

[@MichaelJones-ci6hq]

Wow. That’s the coolest car story ever. Etched in stone….

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@mick_1949]

What an excellent history

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@Time-A-paradigm-shift]

That is just an AWESOME story! Rare 1969 COPO CAMARO! Turned Drag Race! By a Doug Davis who just enjoyed his Race Car!

[@HotRodHoarder]

It's a great car...I enjoyed learning about it. I didn't really have to research this one because the owner had already done all the legwork. Pretty amazing what he found out about the car.

[@is3180]

Great looking muscle car...💪....

[@stevend984]

At 71...almost 72...do the math...the '60's were my teen years. I would not trade that era for anything! The best cars and the best music. My older brother...now passed...bought new and drag raced a '66 427 Stingray where we grew up in Stockton, CA. so of course I was always a Chevy guy too. The 60's Camaros were my favs. After that they just didn't have the same appeal. To me the '69 was the odd duck of the '60's litter...who'da thunk! I still like the '68 the best..no wings! Thanks for the memories!

[@joshthemediocre7824]

This would make a awesome Hot Wheels livery for one of their cars, they have a 69 copo that would be perfect. They have recently done Matt & Debbie Hays Thunderbird livery on the drag thunderbird, The Rats Nest would make an great premium Hot Wheels too, maybe in the 1/4 mile kings line.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Yes sir it absolutely would make a great Hot Wheels car. The color scheme is perfect for a 1:64 car.

[@ltform]

Great video, so well done. Thanks

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@coachieshort5413]

just for your info, kil kare dragway is stull up and running, ault & james speed shop is still open, do some work still,kil-kare is my home track we run @ national trails to. thank you for what you do.love the content.

[@427Musclecar]

What a great story. Thanks a lot!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@mikehush8828]

Wonderful vid..Elegant piece of History..🙏🏻🇺🇸🙏🏻..!!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@georgepiskopos4200]

Absolutely amazing car and a fantastic history well done as always !!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@leotherocker94]

Wait.. i remember seeing this car as the black and gold configuration! I remember thinking "that's a nice Camaro".

[@andyday1981]

That’s amazing, no other word for it.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Agree 100%. This car is a treasure.

[@tedecker3792]

The tombstone made me look around for whoever was slicing onions.

[@sublime929]

Absolutely perfect

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@pallie1000]

Wow! ….. just wow. Best video ive watched on youtube in a looong time. Awesome work. By you and him.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@johnbehneman1546]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. A TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO. AND A TOTALLY AWESOME RESTORATION. THANKS FOR SHARING. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK YOUR TRUTH.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@richardbyrne4659]

Well done! Thanks for sharing!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@JA-sm9zf]

Wow - another amazing car. Way to go !!!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@Ls6racer]

Outstanding !🏁🏁

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@stayhappy9893]

Great story my friend. Thanks for sharing. 🥰

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@Mattisgarage]

Amazing story, thank you!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@rafaeltorres7233]

This is a prime example of owners being Custodians for these cars.. I own 2 69s and I know they will out live me. I take care of them knowing that some day they will go on to others... as beautiful as they are, great respect for the History and memories they have created for others is worth no dollar value.... 🍻

[@HotRodHoarder]

That's right, take good care of those cars!

[@stevehowell4425]

Love it! Love the fact that they made it back into a drag car, what it was made for.Great to see it survived. I'd like to know the vin#, I have a September 69 x-44 lemans blue 69.Might have been built close together...

[@HotRodHoarder]

That's awesome! If I remember correctly, it was built in the fourth week of September.

[@stevehowell4425]

If I remember, mine is too! I'll check tomorrow, gonna drive it to church while the weather allows. Its a all original matching #s 350, automatic, factory air, white top and interior.I'm the 3rd owner.@@HotRodHoarder

[@stevehowell4425]

Finally got to check my cowl tag, 09D, same week!My vin ends with 0649. Were all the COPO's built in late production?@@HotRodHoarder

[@r68gto12]

yours was built about 300 VINs before mine. Likely built the same day.@@stevehowell4425

[@ldnwholesale8552]

69 Copo to me is the ZL1. All alloy engine, manual or auto. Bob Jane here in Oz had 2 of them. Manual for road racing and auto for drags. Bob was behing the Bob Jane T marts here in Oz and also owned Calder and AIR tracks. A major figure in Aussie Motorsport. Auto car was long wrecked but the engine was still in stock. Now in the Hugger orange road race car. Car was extremely rebuilt from what had become a hacked up drag car back to its original road race spec.

[@adamhoffman3687]

Awesome video

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@mohamedbhamjee1856]

Greetings nice story line great work 🚙⛽️

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@keithreiffenstein9909]

Cool story! Thanks for sharing!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@charlesjamison3407]

Love it

[@mikedaugharty5544]

great story there!!!!😍

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching Mike!

[@keithcalitri840]

Killer car with a great story thank you for all your research and props to all the people involved in bringing this car back hate to say this but once they are gone they are not coming back

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@Axial_Andrew]

The joy, the pain, the good times, and the bad times, can't ever be truly priced with a dollar amount...😎

[@HotRodHoarder]

Agreed! It does my heart good to see this car put back to its drag racing configuration.

[@mikej.2975]

One of the best 69 camaros by far.

[@alexisdietrich7556]

I wonder if it ever raced at Thornhill in morning view ky

[@TheShadeTreeFixitMan]

It would be helpful if you would have done a little explanation of what a COPO car is. Very nice car and a great tribute to it.

[@HotRodHoarder]

I considered that when I was putting this video together, but I figured there was plenty of videos/articles out there that cover COPO information, so I tried to stay focused just on this car. Maybe somewhere down the road, I'll do a piece on COPO specifically and cover some of the cool combinations that were possible with these specially ordered cars.

[@karensavarese5684]

What a kool story. Jim did the real deal right thing, with this labor of luv COPO camaro. Right on,,,,,,,Izzy Strong,,,,,,

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@gregleenyit]

Truly incredible thank you

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@gmain1977]

Amazing car, I love the Drag Racing History. Today people just want to take it all back to stock.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Stock definitely brings the most money at auction, but loses all the personality.

[@MRobichaud99]

Awesome Camaro, and good memories for sure!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@randyl6512]

Great story great video thank you

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@danielhicks7593]

Thanks for the video pimp

[@roycopeland9009]

Just right.. perfect

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@edwardwilliams9923]

AWESOME!!!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@jameshuffman835]

Was that sold new in the Bellefontaine area???

[@r68gto12]

Sold new at Ray Bryant Chevrolet in Dayton, Ohio

[@jameshuffman835]

@@r68gto12 thanks! That's a short drive, and back then closest big town!

[@tomstiel7576]

I was under the impression all COPOs had 140 mph speedometers

[@HotRodHoarder]

I was under that same impression, and so was Jim when he fist bought the car. Further research shows that 9737 Sportscar conversion and/or Yenko package were the ones with 140mph speedometer. Those cars also had a different front sway bar and 15-inch wheels.

[@stevejohnson6858]

Where in Ohio(?) was this car first run as a drag car? I believe I remember this car and Dan Nicely. Could be wrong, been a long time ago. Born and raised in Cincinnati area. Used to run at Edgewater, Tri-State and Kil-Kare up in Xenia.

[@HotRodHoarder]

It definitely ran a lot at Kil-Kare, but I have seen photos of it at Edgewater.

[@stevejohnson6858]

Thank you for the reply. Yes, one of the photos in this video is, I believe, from Edgewater. I used to get my transmissions done by a guy named Mike Niceley and I think they are also related. Again, thanks for the reply.@@HotRodHoarder

[@r68gto12]

Steve, you are correct. Daniel Knisley used to own this car.He bought it from Doug Davis. He raced it primarily at Edgewater, he was from Bainbridge, OH

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

A 396/375 Nova was classed as SS / D . A 396/375 Camaro ran in SS / C . The COPO Camaros ran SS / A back in 1969 .

[@HotRodHoarder]

Interesting! I never thought of that. A 427/425 wouldn't have run in D. I wonder if this car was campaigned as a "396/325hp" car to fit the D class at certain events.

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

@@HotRodHoarder might have been a 350 horse 396 . They couldn't have run the 427 short block with oval port parts on it in D , as the bigger pistons wouldn't pass teardown .

[@r68gto12]

I'm no expert in the classes back then, but I can tell you that I have all the time slips that list SS/D and two US Nationals programs from 1972 & 1973 with this car registered in SS/D.

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

@@r68gto12 it's very possible that the car ran in SS/D , but with what engine in it ? When guys found out that their combination was no longer competitive in one class , they would change engines and or transmissions to run in a class they could win in . I seem to recall that the original engine was long gone when the car was restored, this could be why .

[@r68gto12]

Doug Davis's racing partner is still alive. He said they ran the 427 that was in the car. I've seen quite a few other COPO's that ran the same class back then.@@bobbrinkerhoff3592

[@jimronayne1719]

Amazing

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for watching!

[@Veryrandy8508]

Great Story 👍

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@jamessharp9790]

Amazing car.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@barrycuda3769]

Are the rear slots Fenton's?

[@HotRodHoarder]

The rears are Ansen 15x8.5's.

[@barrycuda3769]

@@HotRodHoarder Cool, Iv'e got US Indy 15x9's on the rear of my car , on the inside of them is written, MADE IN CHINA.

[@donaldgray8864]

Awesome story

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@Geezer1320]

Man that’s cool

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@shanehyden4205]

Great story.

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@danielhicks7593]

I'm somewhere in the process of searching for the car that I grew up in back in the day 67 Firebird 400 speed

[@HotRodHoarder]

Nice! It's a difficult process to track one down.

[@richardrice8076]

3:12 a 1/4 mile at a time😉.

[@doctorromex7804]

I have a name of the possible original owner. Very short ownership of copo. Two brothers out of Ohio. Both still alive and one still races. That would be the correct original blue color

[@HotRodHoarder]

Please email me [e-mail]. Thank you!

[@robertwagner8596]

1st...as always...good job,thanks for sharing..

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thank you for your continued support!

[@KSIXRIDER]

Wow!

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching!

[@dannybenfield1164]

One cool old Camero

[@HotRodHoarder]

Thanks for watching Danny!

[@dannybenfield1164]

Your welcome keep the video coming and I'll be watching them