I just picked up a 67 Convertible 'cause the price was right. This thing is torn down to nothin and needs to built from the ground up. I would have preferred a 68 but it appears to be almost identical. . . and besides, if I am rebuilding the whole car, I figure that I can "make" it a '68. Coupla questions:

1)Can I put 68 doors on a 67?
2)Its a manual top. Can I make it electric using 68 parts?
3)Can I put a 68 front clip on the 67?
4)What are all the differences between the 67 and 68 convertibles?

Thanks in advance for you answers....

Why not just restore it as a 67 and save yourself a lot of headaches. As well as maintaining the value of the car. The difference in the two is minimal. The vast majority of parts will inter-change, the door hinges being an exception.

I have a really bad 68 shell and an almost perfect 67 shell. Dude, I tried the 68 doors on a 67 body. 4 holes vs. 3 holes, different locations. I even took apart both sets of door hinges to make a working combo but it still is not quite right. My Dad and I thought about welding a flat metal piece and drilling holes to make it work, but I realized there were a few more problems. Gotta use the 68 door insides and the window. The 67 door panel will not line up to the 68 door without some modifications. My Dad has worked as a sheet metal dude all his life, and he thinks we should just keep everything 67. Too much hassle to make my 67 into a 68.

Also, the 68 front clip will have cutouts for the side running lights. 67 did not have those. If it is an RS, there are some differences, but no one will notice from the outside. So yeah, you can do it.

Did you see that 67 Camaro on Ebay that was restored as a 68? It's been on there many times and never sold because people are leary about it. Keep it a 67.

Its gonna remain a '67 but I'm going pro-touring with it. Any word on the power top conversion?

Keeping it a '67 is a great idea!
You can convert a standard to a power top with the correct frame parts, lift mechanicals and hardware. You would do best to contact a good company like http://www.convertibleparts.com/ for info on frames and parts they have available and/or take (or ship) your car to them for the modifications.
They are the best shop I have found for this type of work - it's their only business.
They have worked on several of my cars over the years and have always done top notch work that I was very pleased with.

Manual and Power top frames are different and you can't mix and match the parts. The power top frames have a different center hinge and linkage that are designed to push the top up and out of the well and to return it to the well. The manual frame is designed to be pulled up and pushed back into the well from the header and will not fold and unfold by themselves.

There are pictures in the interiors forum somewhere from about a year ago, search on "convertible top differences", or by my name or KevinW's name.

Heres the link:
http://www.camaros.net/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000872

Alright, I read through it and the bottom line was that in order to replace a manual top with a power top, one would need to cut and weld. No Problem. Now the queston is: can I buy the frame for a power top and if so, where?

BTW, here are some pics of the car. Looks bad, huh?

http://www.SierraRockCrawlers.com/imageupload/tmp/camaro_as_bought_1.jpg

http://www.SierraRockCrawlers.com/imageupload/tmp/camaro_as_bought_2.jpg

http://www.SierraRockCrawlers.com/imageupload/tmp/camaro_as_bought_3.jpg

MarkC;
Didn't mean to indicate that you can take one from coluum A and one from coluum B and make a 'power top' - they are markedly different in many ways.
That said, there are parts from the two tops that are interchangable according to the guys at Convertible Parts in So.Ca. They wanted all the parts I could give them from my old manual top on my 67 and did use the front header (and or part from up there) and something in the back bow area, if I remember right. This was back in 77~78 so please cut me a little slack. My manual top had been "opened at speed" when I bought the car and was in real bad shape - they advised they could make me a power top for not much more than the cost to fix the standard so I went for it. Wasn't all stock stuff - just a real well working power top when they were done.
Like I advised - contact someone that does this "for a living" and they can give you the best advise.

Are full quarter panels for a 68 convertible being re-produced by anyone, or do you already have them. I haven't seen any NOS in a long time.

ooooooooh! Thats a lot of work and money. Been there done that Good luck!

Are 67 Conv. Quarter Panels different from Coupe Panels? If so I HOPE someone makes them.....the car came with one spare but not both....

Coupe and Conv full rocker panels are definitely different. The coupe panel includes (part of) the sail panel, which is the rear roof support. The convert panel ends at the top well, and is shaped differently there. I've heard of people using coupe panels on converts, but cutting them in at the top of the rear fender ridge. Since it looks like your quarters have been completely removed, there is nothing to join them with there.