Hey I'm new here, but I have a few questions. I recently came into a bit of money, which I am going to put towards a 196x Camaro. What should I look for when going to buy one of these cars? I know a lot of fraud happens with these cars so I dont want to get screwed. Also why are the reported times of First Gen Camaro's so slow? From what I have researched Ive found that a 1967 Camaro does a 1/4 mile in like 15.8...thats pretty bad.. is that true? and if so how easy/costly is it to run say 12's/13's? I dont want to be beat up by a honda civic from a stoplight. Also whats a better car to invest in? a 396BB or a 350SB? Which is faster stock? I know the 396 makes more power, but is also a lot heavier. and you guys are going to HATE me for asking this. But would a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang beat a 1969 Camaro in a race?

Thanks for all your help. Ive been searching online to find out the answers to my questions but I cant find anything.

Hi Chris - do some research here in the forums and the really broad questions will be answered and then come back asking for details, start in the Tag Team forum... Most daily driver "muscle cars" ran 15 sec times back in the day. It's taken almost 40 years for factory cars to be in the 13's so in perspective the factories haven't really made that much progress since the day... Remember I said most, just speaking about Camaros you could get everything from a inline 6 to a 375 hp big block in '67. By '69 you could buy an all alum ZL1 427ci Camaro if you could afford it. Something like that was capable of 12 sec times or better.

As for the Boss 302 it's a great car but you would have to be more specific about a year and model of Camaro before that question could be answered...

The Boss 302 engine was not that great of an engine from what I recall. The valves were too large and it had some other issues.

As for buying a first gen Camaro, there have been many horror stories posted here about guys that bought cars sight-unseen. Like DJD said do your homework and be sure to ask a ton of questions before laying the cash down. This site has members everywhere. Many will go and look at a car for you. Trim tags, VIN tags, stampings are all being faked these days.

If a car back in the day was tested, more than likely the state of tune was for smog not performance. A stock tuned Camaro 302 is not much fun to drive. But get the timing, jetting, valve adjustment right and a set of headers that makes a big difference. Check this link out.

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=2136.0;all and this
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=1442.0

No Mustang could ever beat any Camaro,...LOL

I think the main issue is condition of the vehicle. If you want a big block, put one in, whatever you find. These car's are getting harder and harder to find. The price of these vehicles keeps going up and up. Get a good idea of what you want when it is completed and then look at any you can find. A 6 cylinder may come by cheap... you just never know, what you find.