Hey guys,
I've located a couple of cars in Washington state that seem to fit the bill for my purposes. I've received pictures via email and everything seems good. Before I venture down there for a first hand glimpse, I was wondering if there were some questions I should ask so I don't end up wasting my time and the sellers time. So what are some camaro specific questions I should ask the seller? This is not only my first camaro, but my first car (finally paid off my tution bills!) so some general questions to ask the seller would be great too

Here is a description of the car:
"1969 CHEVROLET CAMARO, Dark green metallic, frame off restoration, ps,
air, disc brakes, 350 vortec rollor motor professionally built and
balanced, auto turbo 400, 12 bolt 3:55 posi, Autometer gauges, Torque
Thruster II's, AWESOME car!Can send more pics upon request."

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Mike

I would say a lot depends on what kind of car you want, and what you intend to do with the car.

Determining that will certainly define what questions to ask.

The best thing would be an up close inspection of spots that r known to rust, looking for cancer, signs of cancer, or signs of repairs, either good ones, or especially bad ones. One member recently parted out his car, after finding 5 years after he bought it (tha's how long it took the bondo to fall out) that a good portion of the car was bondo over spray on foam!

If you haven't all ready, study the site, particularly body, about where these cars rust and how to spot bad repairs.

check the rear quarters for rust, look around all the window frames for signs of rust, also check the the trunk, especially under the trunk mat if one is present. You may want to car a long screwdriver and slide under the car and "probe" the floor pans to see if the pans are rusted through. Most of the mechanical stuff is easy to fix or replace, my theory is body work = lots of $$$$$.

You need to look at it in person or have someone look at it that you trust i made the mistake of buying with out going to see the car, the guy seem to have great references turned out he was full os bs.

The first thing you should do if you go look at is to bring someone with you that KNOWS these older cars. Not only is this your very first car, but it's an OLD car at that. This is nothing like going down the street to the used car lot..... this is a 35 year old INVESTMENT.
Bringing some knowledgable people with you is the best advice you can get.

You guys are right, I'm completely over my head on this purchase. I'm not ver familiar with older cars, hmmm...only problem is that I dont really know anyone that KNOWS muscle cars (Vancouver isn't exactly a hot bed for classic car activity)

If you are in the NW part of the state and need someone to look at a couple of cars let me know..... Cover my fuel costs ....

One of the hardest things to do is to not get caugh up in the "emotions" of finding a "really cool car". When we do this, we usually tend to see the big picture and we have trouble seeing a lot of the things you have already been advised against in this posting. If possible and practical, make 2 visits to see the car...The 1st one to let you experience the wow factor. The 2nd one to let objectivity play a bigger role in your decsion making. I say this because you are inexperienced and excited. Darn straight that car is going to look good. This is not to say that you are not going to see/find a great car. The seller will obviously point out the good things. Make a list as a reference before you go. Drive it ...blow the horn ...turn on the wipers, look under hood ... in the trunk ... be weary if you see lots of black electrical tape or dangling wires ...roll windows up and down ... check oil ... remove radiator cap ..remove air cleaner ... listen for odd noises ..., smell the interior, etc, etc ... and have patience ... Don't appear too eager ... and make sure seller has clear title ...

If you are in the NW part of the state and need someone to look at a couple of cars let me know..... Cover my fuel costs ....

The car is located in Longview, Wash....southern washington. Covering fuel costs is not a big deal and you'll get a nice canadian thank you in the form of a 6 pack of beer.....offer good to anyone who would like to assist!

mike.bains@gmail.com

Look before you leap! I had pics of a 67 that looked really nice. All set to purchase, agreed on a price, went to pick it up, AND . . . didn't love it when I saw it in person!! Paint was faded (couldn't tell from pics), heater system had a mouse nest (literally)! Kept looking and ended up with a 68

BEST advice I ever got "It's the body stupid!!" Meaning, the condition of the body should be the highest priority. Mechanica stuff is pretty staightforward and easy to predict cost. Body work can end up being a black hole!!

I exchanged messages with one guy who bought a completed PT car, sight unseen (only pics). Ended up having to redo the body TWICE!! First body shop didn't work out. A REAL HORROR STORY! I get queasy at the idea of dropping down SEVERAL THOUSANDS and then waiting to see "what" arrives by trailer.

Final piece of advice, judge the character of the seller. Is it someone you feel comfortable doing business with? If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.

I bought my 1st classic Camaro from what I what was a reputable dealer/museum just North of Chicago and the car turned out to be a complete nightmare. One thing that got me was the undercoating. Someone had completely undercoated the car and being the novice I was I thought it looked like the bottom of the car was brand new. Well turns out the car was a meatball. They had actually stuffed masking tape balls into huge holes on the bottom of the car, covered it with bondo, and then layed on the undercoating. I got so hosed on my car I thought I was going to puke. Now years later I've had all the body work done and the car has been repainted, but I still look back and think of how much money I could have saved if I would have paid a meatball price for my meatball car. :)

you might try private messaging mr.danb on this site, hes the moderator in the heating/cooling sectiong in fact. i know he's involved with the pac nw camaro club, and may be able to hook you up with someone in longview or close by that knows camaros.
theres another guy that frequents this board, goes by the name "VINTAGE CAMARO", his name is don, top notch guy and he restores camaros, he also might be able to steer you the right way. hes pretty close to there, in chehalis.
good luck with your purchase.

you might try private messaging mr.danb on this site, hes the moderator in the heating/cooling sectiong in fact. i know he's involved with the pac nw camaro club, and may be able to hook you up with someone in longview or close by that knows camaros.
theres another guy that frequents this board, goes by the name "VINTAGE CAMARO", his name is don, top notch guy and he restores camaros, he also might be able to steer you the right way. hes pretty close to there, in chehalis.
good luck with your purchase.

Thanks for the great tip!

wow, those are some real horror stories. Too bad there are the few a**holes out there that ruin it for everyone, but I guess thats life...just hope that they'll get theirs one day!

The other side of this discussion relates to spending a lot of money on a documented car that you know to be original or properly restored. If you have proof that you are getting a top quality car, it may be a good idea to spend the extra dollars up front. That way you know what all the cost is at the beginning, you are not taking any risk of being at the mercy of dishonest bodyshops or mechanics, you have the car ready to go right now, and you have a reasonable chance of getting your money back later if you sell the car. Usually you can get such a car for less than the actual cost of restoration. The key is having proof that you are getting value for your money. Usually this involves a trail of ownership, receipts, photos of any work done, eyewitness accounts, etc.

Larry

I've always heeded the warning my dad gave me when I was just a kid looking for my first car. "You'll look at a hundred junkers before you find the jewel!" After all these years, and the tons of classic cars I've looked at since, for the most part, he was right on the money. Maybe not quite a hundred, but pretty darn close!

Yes, just take your time in looking. If you can, bring a magnet and "test" parts on the body. I find that a business card type magnet works well for this. If it does not stick you know there is filler.

I know when I looked at my now second Camaro the owner actually pointed out all of the flaws. Make sure you compare the title to the car and make sure that it matches. My very first car that I bought did not match and it was a real pain getting everything worked out. Luckily it was not stolen.

MJM- is that dealer/museum your talking about Volo? It sounds like it might be and if so im surprised to hear that. I have no experience buying from them but always looks like they have high end cars. Just curious. As far as the little business card magnet trick i have seen VERY solid cars where in a spot or two those little "weak" kitchen magnets dont grab. Skim coating might be just a bit heavier in a spot or two and the that tiny magnet wont bite. That does by no means make the car a bust or bondo bucket.

Hey Canadian Bacon,

I live in Portland, Oregon about a 45 minute drive to Longview. I would be glad to give you or anyone else a hand checking out a first gen camaro in the local area. Drop me an email Morgan@X3development.com

Morgan

MJM- is that dealer/museum your talking about Volo? It sounds like it might be and if so im surprised to hear that. I have no experience buying from them but always looks like they have high end cars. Just curious. As far as the little business card magnet trick i have seen VERY solid cars where in a spot or two those little "weak" kitchen magnets dont grab. Skim coating might be just a bit heavier in a spot or two and the that tiny magnet wont bite. That does by no means make the car a bust or bondo bucket.

That place in Volo is TOTALLY cool to spend an afternoon, but ALL THOSE CARS ARE ON CONSIGNMENT! Not only do the people trying to sell them know nothing about the individual cars (other than what the owners wrote down for them) but the owners / builders aren't there for you to grill. I spend an afternoon there at least twice a year to look at the cars, but I would never ever buy anything from them, ya just don't know where it's been!

Yeah it was Volo. I was really impressed with the place so I guess I let my guard down. Whatever.... It was more than 5 years ago so I'll just write it off as a lesson learned. :)

My car is awesome now so who cares what it started out like right?