I'm looking at purchasing a '69 Camaro convertible and was wondering if anyone could tell me the locations on the car that are most prone to rust. I want to be able to give the car a thorough examination prior to buying it. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Northstar

Floor and trunk pans, rear quarters, and rockers should be checked on any Camaro. Rear frame rails also.

A problem area unique to convertibles is the area under the convertible rear window and back deck, where the gutter mounts. I've had 4 67-68 convertibles and they all had some degree of rust there, one to the point that that whole area had to be replaced.

Hope yours checks out okay!

The rockers are critical on a vert, as are the extra welded braces that run from rocker to rocker (located more or less under the front seats). If the rocker seams are bulgy from rust or there are holes in the rockers, or there is a bunch of filler in the rockers, it's not good.

If it has had sheetmetal replaced, like the quarters, make sure it still has the inner reinforcements present. Some verts get the quarters hacked off, and the inner braces (which are not sold as reproductions yet) get removed too.

Some things which don't affect the structure but can be a pain (and costly) to track down are the harmonic dampeners (aka cocktail shakers) located at each corner of the car (one at each end of the radiator support, under the fenders, and one on each side of the trunk near the taillights), the top frame (check out each hinge), and other vert specific parts.

Thanks for your input guys. It will certainly help in evaluating the car I will be looking at buying. I can now go into it with some degree of confidence.

Thanks,
Northstar
'69 RS/SS 396/325, 4 speed Survivor