Buying a '68 or '69 camaro

[VWEvo]

So I've decided that I want to tear down and rebuild a 68-69 Camaro. Now I'm the furthest thing from an American muscle car guy, but I do really like this car. I'm planning on doing the tear down and rebuild with my son and I love the fact there are tones of resources and parts available online.

My question is about acquiring a good car to work on. What would be some recommended places to look for a good clean, reasonably priced camaro. I'm hoping to pay under $30k ideally with the idea of picking up a unrestored car.

Any words of advice are appreciated.

[Tik-Tok]

$30g for the whole restoration, or $30g for an un-restored car?

Southern US desert area's are your best option for relatively rust free shells. Or, if you really want to "build" one...



http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/gm_models2.html

http://www.artmorrison.com/uploads/2013-pg19.jpg

[bourge73]

Not bad...
<http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ513134501>

[GT4rally]

Big difference, price wise, between a '68 and '69 Camaro, since the '69 is THE vintage Camaro everyone wants to get their hands on.

[OU812]

Theres a decent complete one in Bridgeland. Close to Child Ave in a back alley. Dont know if its for sale or the price but its a starting point. Good luck.

[Graham_A_M]

ebay may be a good bet... $30k, will get you FAR from an unrestored car.. Unrestored, I'd presume $3-6k for a good complete one.

The thing is? go for a complete car if you can... as chasing after the small parts that aren't there is far from easy or fun.
"90% complete" translates to "Its all there for the most part, just not the parts that you cant find anywhere".

http://catrestorations.autotrader.ca...ventoryListing

^ You can try these guys, to see if they can do a search for you. their located in Abbottsford, just make damn good and sure you check it out IN PERSON before buying anything... they can be pretty hit & miss.


Also, if its not a numbers matching car (eg, with the original engine & tranny) then you may as well be wasting your time almost doing a full on proper restoration. Most collectors want numbers matching cars, as in how it came from the factory when new.

Unfortunately, numbers matching muscle cars are getting harder and harder to find in their unrestored condition.

If its missing its engine & tranny (etc), I'd go the resto-mod route, as there are plenty of companies that make much more updated parts (such as modern suspension components) for these cars, that'll make them perform much like a newer car should.

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
$30g for the whole restoration, or $30g for an un-restored car?

Southern US desert area's are your best option for relatively rust free shells. Or, if you really want to &quot;build&quot; one...



http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/gm_models2.html

http://www.artmorrison.com/uploads/2013-pg19.jpg

arrgghhh.... if only they made a few late 30's Chevy truck bodies as well.... damn... There is NOTHING for my truck short of grills and fiberglass fenders....

Cool to see those links though regardless, a chick friend is redoing her '68 Camaro, so those would come in handy. I should almost ask her if she'd part with her Camaro, that would be right up your alley... easy restoration too, runs and drives...

[BigShow]

I would stay away from eBay and start searching Craigslist.

[VWEvo]

Wow guys, thanks for all the info. Why is 69 more of a desirable year?

Also, I'm not looking to have matching vins as the car is strictly a long term project cr for my son and I to build. This will be a keeper.

[firebane]

Originally posted by VWEvo
Wow guys, thanks for all the info. Why is 69 more of a desirable year?

Also, I'm not looking to have matching vins as the car is strictly a long term project cr for my son and I to build. This will be a keeper.

Same reason a '59 corvette and a 67 stingray is.

And if that is something you don't know you have a lot to learn about classics.

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by firebane


Same reason a '59 corvette and a 67 stingray is.

And if that is something you don't know you have a lot to learn about classics.

Lol,then I guess I do have a lot to learn. Care to help me start by explaining

[LSChevelle]

If you are okay with a 68 camaro you may as well broaden your search to include a 67. The only difference is the 67 has vent windows. 69 has a slightly different body line, that was only available for one year: that is why it is the most desirable. Personally, I like the style of the 69 a little better.. but not enough to justify spending 2x as much on it.

From my experience if you can avoid using aftermarket body panels DO IT, they don't fit worth shit. You'll end up spending more money on a body man to get them to fit half decent then you would if you just went with NOS (New old stock.)

As stated before, unless you find a numbers matching big block car don't bother restoring to original. Restomods are a lot more fun! Also, the guys who are looking for numbers matching are becoming fewer and fewer.. mostly because they're getting older.

My suggestion would be to decide what you're best at (drive-train vs. bodywork) and find a car that has less of whatever you are not as good at.. unless you want to pay someone a lot of money to do what you can't do.

Throw me a PM if you have any questions! I have restored 2 67 camaros with my dad.

[ExtraSlow]

I would second the suggestion to buy something from Arizona, Nevada or California (away from the coast). Cars down there just don't rust, so hopefully you'll be starting with a mostly decent base, and you can spend your efforts doing fun things instead of endlessly patching sheetmetal.

[VWEvo]

Originally posted by LSChevelle
If you are okay with a 68 camaro you may as well broaden your search to include a 67. The only difference is the 67 has vent windows. 69 has a slightly different body line, that was only available for one year: that is why it is the most desirable. Personally, I like the style of the 69 a little better.. but not enough to justify spending 2x as much on it.

From my experience if you can avoid using aftermarket body panels DO IT, they don't fit worth shit. You'll end up spending more money on a body man to get them to fit half decent then you would if you just went with NOS (New old stock.)

As stated before, unless you find a numbers matching big block car don't bother restoring to original. Restomods are a lot more fun! Also, the guys who are looking for numbers matching are becoming fewer and fewer.. mostly because they're getting older.

My suggestion would be to decide what you're best at (drive-train vs. bodywork) and find a car that has less of whatever you are not as good at.. unless you want to pay someone a lot of money to do what you can't do.

Throw me a PM if you have any questions! I have restored 2 67 camaros with my dad.

Thanks for the great advice. I will be going down the restomod route, and I would be more interested in doing drivetrain and interior work.

[Graham_A_M]

^ Go with modern day drive train... you can get a turn key LS2 & T56 Borg Warner 6 speed manual out of a crashed GTO down in the states for about $5k landed. For a turn key 400hp LS2 and tranny for that kind of money, you cant go wrong, especially when the T56 can handle 700hp/TQ bone stock. The LS2 mated with a 4L80E (Auto) tranny packages can be had for a bit less. You have tons of rear end options too, just tons. Check out www.summitracing.com for everything you'd need. Summit is a great place for just about anything really. I got a shit ton of parts through them. Heidt's suspension offers lots of packages that'll make the Camaro perform as it should have from the factory.
Here.

IRS rear
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heidts-67-69...31d7bf&vxp=mtr
^This will work on '67-'69

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Heidts-6...c9fbe3&vxp=mtr
^ as will this. Both are designed to just bolt right in.

Lots of sites have old unrestored Camaro's that should be to your liking. Here I'll check a hot rodding forum Im on.
Actually, none there that are within the years you want...

But check around and post up what you find, we'll do what we can to help you find what you're after.


EDIT: Im honestly glad you're not after a numbers matching car, because you'll be looking for a LONG time before you find one that you're after, thats within your budget.

[boarderfatty]

If you aren't really a classic car guy, don't care about matching vins, etc. maybe build it from the ground up? YearOne offers brand new 1969 Camaro bodies. This way no restoration is needed, just assemble and be done. It would be nice to know what what you are starting with, know there is no bondo, no dents, no rusty bolts, etc. You get to chose the colours and options you want. I find nothing is more disappointing than buying all these performance parts and accessories and the more you install, the more flaws you see in the "bones" of the car and, find that you come to a point that it would be cheaper to take all your parts back out and start in another body. If there is the option to start with a brand new body, I see absolutely no reason to start with something old unless you do care about the whole muscle car, numbers matching, original parts kind of deal.

You will always see these kind of guys, the guys who will spend fortunes restoring 32 ford's, 69 camaro's, 67 mustang's, tri 5 chev's, when in reality they could build a kit for much less, but they are the kind of guys that value originality. I am the kind of guy that appreciates this, but the cost involved can be astronomical getting them "nice"


Year One Camaro Body

[LSChevelle]

^^

I like the concept of the kit cars. But, you make it sound like your putting lego together. From the experiences I have had with that stuff, it doesn't fit together properly.

If you can find a decently corrosion free body (IE the floor and frame are good) I think you will be further ahead than going with a kit.

Try to find a complete car though! It's the stupid little stuff that will nickle and dime you to death.

[VWEvo]

Wow, incredible resources. I'm torn what to do, and obviously need to do more research. Any forums that that are recommended ?

[Graham_A_M]

^ Google 1st gen Camaro forums, there are LOTS for the years you're after, and the wealth of knowledge there is nuts... Everything you'd want to do, has been done before, and its not at all hard to find build threads to do exactly what you want.

I'd stay in close contact with LSChevelle, he's a great guy and knows WTF he's talking about in terms of these cars and others. You should see his Chevelle in person, he knows what he's doing..


The reason I recommended an LS2, is despite the power, their practically zero maintance, EFI, and great on gas... You cant build a 400hp EFI 350/383 for that kind of money you can get the engine & tranny for on ebay... and even if you do, it probably wont get nearly the kind of fuel economy that package would get. IDK, I looked at building my own engine, and the cost alone would be about high $3k to $4k, plus tranny, so to get a turn key EFI engine and tranny for about that same money made a lot more sense to me.

LS1 packages in earlier GTO's can be had even cheaper, but the LS2 is a hotter engine... and worth the extra coin.

http://stores.ebay.com/Fparts?_rdc=1

^ This is a great ebay store that I have saved on my "favorite seller" list, watch for their engine & tranny specials. They dont have the said LS2 & T56 package I was talking about ATM, but they do frequently. It would give you a good idea as to what to budget for, and the different engine & tranny options you can find.

LOTS of LS(X), and other engine mounting kits available so you can drop in whatever the hell you want. Lots of shifter relocation packages too, so you can put whatever tranny (short of a corvette) in there as well.

It also comes down to what you want the car to be used for. There are lots of different rear ends available. Some oriented primarily for drag racing (which I doubt you'll want) some economy kits for cruising and mild performance, some IRS kits for all out track performance, and so on.
So I'd figure out exactly what it is you're after, then perhaps run some of the kit packages against some members on the Camaro forums (but search first lol).

As what was said earlier, www.yearone.com is also a brilliant resource for parts as well....

Also, its best to do your research to find decent body repair techs outside of the city perhaps. Some of the ones in the city can charge just utterly stupid money if you go through a shop.

This is one guy I know of, too bad he's so far away... but LOTs of others in and around Calgary.
http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehic...AdIdZ302614517

[That.Guy.S30]

Also, take your original budget and double it. That's how much it will cost you in the end.

IMO I wouldn't bother with a kit car. It's like a porsche 356... Nice but it's not the same.
A matching numbers car is nice but highly over rated and will cost you big bucks. And the fact that it will be carb'd will suck ass and they are old school. unless you like being under your hood every time the weather changes in Calgary then I would suggest a restomod.

[VWEvo]

Graham A_M ,


Thanks for the detailed advice. I'll start frequenting the forums to do research. I'm in no rush as I still have to get my garage outfitted with everything I need. My goal is to try and fix a car by January.