A 1969 Camaro engine could be anything from a 140-horsepower six to a 430-horsepower aluminum 427. The Camaro Research Group lists 13 separate engines for that model year, plus an aluminum-head version of the 396. Some lasted only a few months, and one went into just 69 cars.
The 1969 car closed out the first-generation Camaro that began in 1967. However, its lineup also changed partway through the model year. Several engines left the order sheet at the end of 1968, and new ones took their place.
Below is every engine in the order the group’s production table lists them, with the count it gives for each. Ratings are the factory figures the group and Hagerty give for 1969.
1. L26 230 six, the base 1969 Camaro engine
First, the base engine was a 230-cubic-inch inline six with a one-barrel carburetor. According to the Camaro Research Group’s engine production table, it made 140 hp.
The group counts 17,588 Camaros with the L26 for 1969. That is down from 22,322 in 1968, so the six lost ground.
2. L22 250-cubic-inch six, 155 hp
For a little more pull without a V8, buyers could pick the optional 250-cubic-inch six. Like the 230, it used a one-barrel carburetor, but it carried a 155-hp rating.
In fact, the bigger six outsold the base six in 1969. That’s because the Camaro Research Group records 18,660 L22 cars, compared with 17,588 for the L26.
3. LF7 327 two-barrel V8, 210 hp
At the start of the 1969 run, the base V8 was the familiar 327 with a two-barrel carburetor and 210 hp. Chevrolet had used it as the Camaro’s base V8 since 1967, and the group counts 124,870 of them in 1968 alone.
Then the 327 left the Camaro. According to the group’s report on the LM1 engine, the 307 replaced the 327 at the end of 1968. Even so, the group counts 44,746 LF7 cars for 1969.
4. L14 307 two-barrel V8, 200 hp
Its replacement was a 307-cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburetor. As Hagerty’s Camaro buyer’s guide puts it, the new 307 V8 “made 200 horsepower.”
Despite arriving late, the L14 became the most common engine in the table. The Camaro Research Group counts 68,487 of them for 1969, more than any other 1969 Camaro engine.
5. L65 350 two-barrel V8, 250 hp
Meanwhile, the L65 put a 350-cubic-inch V8 under a two-barrel carburetor for 250 hp. Hagerty calls it one of “two new 350 V-8s” for 1969.
It arrived as a replacement, too. The Camaro Research Group says that in January 1969, the L65 replaced the four-barrel LM1. By year’s end, the group counts 26,898 L65 cars.
6. LM1 350 four-barrel V8, 255 hp
The LM1 was the other new 350, with a four-barrel carburetor and 255 hp. However, it had one of the shortest lives of any engine on this list.
According to the group, “the LM1 engine was only available the first four months of the year, until the end of December 1968.” In that short window, it went into 10,406 cars.
7. L48 350 SS V8, 300 hp
For the Camaro SS, the small-block choice was the L48. Hagerty’s guide says the 1969 SS “still had a small block (L48, 300hp).”
The Camaro Research Group table lists the L48 at 295 hp, but its footnote says the engine was “rated 300HP in 1969.” Either way, the group counts 22,339 L48 cars, up from 12,496 in 1968.
8. L35 396 big-block, 325 hp
Next came the entry big-block, the 396-cubic-inch L35 with a four-barrel carburetor. Hagerty lists it as “a 396-cu-in big-block (L35, 325hp).”
By comparison with the small-block SS, the L35 sold in modest numbers. The Camaro Research Group counts 6,752 L35 cars for 1969.
9. L34 396 big-block, 350 hp
The L34 was the middle step of the 396 family. As a result, it made 350 hp, 25 more than the L35.
It was also the rarest of the three regular 396 engines. According to the group’s table, 2,018 Camaros had the L34 for 1969, down from 2,579 in 1968.
10. L78 396 big-block, 375 hp
Finally, the top of the regular 396 range was the L78, at 375 hp. The Camaro Research Group counts 3,823 L78 cars, a total it says it adjusted for COPO production.
The group also lists the L89, an L78 with aluminum heads, as a separate line. Only 311 Camaros got that option for 1969, and the table gives it the same 375-hp rating.
11. Z28 302 V8, 290 hp
The Z28 had its own engine, a 302-cubic-inch V8 with a four-barrel carburetor rated at 290 hp. The group’s table lists it under the Z28 model rather than as a regular option.
Meanwhile, Z28 sales took off. The Camaro Research Group counts 602 Z28s in 1967, 7,199 in 1968 and 20,302 in 1969.
12. COPO 9561 L72 427, 425 hp
The cast-iron L72 427 did not come off the regular order sheet. Instead, it came through Chevrolet’s COPO system as COPO 9561. Hagerty lists it as “a 427 V-8 at 425 hp (L72).”
The Camaro Research Group gives 997 L72 cars for 1969, a figure it adjusted for COPO production. Of those, Hagerty says Yenko ordered 201 Camaros with the L72 motor.
13. COPO 9560 ZL1 427, 430 hp
By contrast, the ZL1 was the other COPO engine, ordered as COPO 9560. The group’s footnote describes it simply as “Al block/heads,” meaning an aluminum block and aluminum cylinder heads.
Chevrolet rated it at 430 hp, which Hagerty calls “underrated.” According to the Camaro Research Group, just 69 Camaros got the ZL1. That is the smallest count of any 1969 Camaro engine in its table.
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