Does anyone know if a guage cluster (tach, etc.) was an option in 69 COPO chevelle. Also did the COPO tach redline at 6000 or 6500? My reference materials seem to conflict.

Thanks!

Joe

Tach and gauges were optional on COPO's. Not sure about the red line.

Gauges were optional on copo and had a 6000 redline. No 6500 redline available in 69 chevelles

The gauge cluster was optional on our car. The tach has the 6K red line. With the stock valve springs, you had better heed it too. The springs were too weak to handle 6500 rpm and would eventually allow the valves to pound the keepers through the retainers and drop a valve. The valves were actually free falling shut at the higher rpm that the engine is capable of. Dropped valves were the number one reason for destroyed L72 and L78 engines. It happened to our L78 and several others that I knew of back in the day. L88 springs were much safer.

The gauge cluster was optional on our car. The tach has the 6K red line. With the stock valve springs, you had better heed it too. The springs were too weak to handle 6500 rpm and would eventually allow the valves to pound the keepers through the retainers and drop a valve. The valves were actually free falling shut at the higher rpm that the engine is capable of. Dropped valves were the number one reason for destroyed L72 and L78 engines. It happened to our L78 and several others that I knew of back in the day. L88 springs were much safer.
So true. I can remember in '69 just about every one of the few L78's sold by the local (in my small hometown) Chevy dealer being back in within a few months for dropped valves and blown engines probably caused by it. That's probably why L78 cars with original numbers matching engines are so rare today and there are more CE engines than orig. I think the balky Muncie shifters on manual trans cars also contributed to it from missed shifts and resultant over-revving.

I wish mine had that option...hate driving blind!!

I second what Von said about the Muncie shifters. Mine would hang up on hard shifts when going through the neutral gate to the next gear. If you kept your elbow way out and pulled straight back I found that the shifter would work fine. The dealer couldn't do anything to make it work any better. When the 3-4 shift arm broke off the shifter, I pulled the whole unit and installed a good Hurst shifter. I still have the Hurst and it will go back into the car when we get finished. It was excellent. The old Muncie caused more than a few high rpm missed shifts. I was lucky and never dropped a valve. Many others weren't so fortunate. Our L78 car has a CE engine due to a dropped valve, according to the original owner.

Thanks for all of the info. To solve the muncie problem, we put in hurst linkage and attached a muncie shifter. Looks good, shifts great.

I think Chevrolet switched to the double valve springs for their solid-lifter rat motors for 1970. I would think better valve control and spring durability would've been the result (high load pressures on tappet faces and cam lobes though).

I would think that any option available on other solid-lifter SS396 Chevelles were offered on the COPO, except they were all Malibu Sport Coupe based, they all had strengthened 4.10 Positraction rears only, you could only get an M21, M22 or special M40 (I don't think even the M20 was offered but I could be wrong). I think that the standard SS396 suspension was used, with F40, F41 or even a special COPO in the form of Yenko-spec suspension were available.