hi first post and new member.. currenly own 60 vette..so i don't know much about camaro's so sorry if i sound dumb.. my vette is a driver non original everything with a nom 327.. electruc fan etc.. i'm looking for a first generation convertible camaro for my wife.. that has a nom or (any low hp motor) that's an automATIC.. I HAVE about 20K to spend and am wondering if 67 vs 68 vs 69 will have much difference in value.. and can i get a rust free good running convert with 20k? or am i dreaming?

Welcome, this is a great forum for information. You can get a 1st gen convert for around 20k, but it will be a driver and don't count on it being the original motor. Totally rust free is hard to do unless you look in the South, but even then its hard. I had a C1 Vette once, thing never ran, because the price of putting one of those back together was too much for me. Now, I have a Camaro and it is much more affordable. There are a lot of vendors out there. Don't be too afraid of body work as they make just about every piece of sheet metal you can think of.

It is not so much the year that drives the value but the model. A '67 Z28 will be a lot more money than a 69 plain jain Camaro because they only made like 600 of them. However a '69 COPO Camaro will bring in over 100K because of its rarity.

If you are looking for something with value, then you need to look for a original BBC convertible, or maybe a pace car convertible which will be out of your price range, otherwise you need to look for a Z28, COPO, Yenko etc, but they are coupes and don't fit what you are looking for, since they are high performance.

If you don't care about numbers matching etc you should be able to find what you want. It sounds like you are looking for a vert with a 307/327/350 and a turbo 350 trans. They made a lot of those so they should be terribly hard to find. Good luck.

Not looking for somthing for value a small block is fine and nothing fancy thinking of putting in an LS-1 can the 10 bolt and the turbo 350 handle that or do i need to upgrade?
reason for the LS-1 is it's going to be driven to work everyday 6 months a year.. know I'll need to work on the tank and return lines.. but it seems like a nice up grade so non-original motor is fine.. no motor is fine.. do I need to upgrade the stock suspension?

20k is possible, but you may have to look around for a while. It seems the convertibles have really gone up in value the past couple of years, as have all first gens. It seems like I saw a 68 convertible 6 cyl with a powerglide not to long ago for 12k. Good luck!

Welcome aboard!!!

Welcome to the best 1st gen Camaro site, period.

So many questions.

All things being equal, 69s seem to bring the most money, 67s next and 68s (poor, disrespected 68s) seem to be last. The 67s had the rear shocks in front of the axle, and had some serious wheel hop issues because of that. 68 and 69 have staggered rear shocks. 67s and Norwood-built 69s built after the second week of December 1968 are easier to "document", in terms of what model they started life as. Lots of good reading on the different years and models at www.camaros.org .

Good info on LS1 swaps can be found at www.ls1tech.com. You can search the forums here as well, because some of the guys have done it or are in the middle of doing it. I would add that a regular old small block can be a very reliable driver with a few simple, cheap upgrades, like a good carb and electronic ignition. My 68 was a daily driver for 6 plus years with a mild 327, Holley electric choke spreadbore and HEI.

The TH350 would be fine behind a normal LS1, but I am not 100% sure you can get a flexplate that bolts to an LS1 crank and takes a TH350 converter. Probably, but I'm just not sure. You'd probably end up with a custom computer, because I think the factory ones might have some issues without a 4L60E trans to communicate with.

A stock 8.2 10-bolt would probably be okay as long as you don't run wide, sticky tires and do holeshots.

67 and 68 small block auto cars had the Powerglide, as did some 69s. TH350 was available in 69. It's easy to put a short tail TH350 in a Glide car, so that's not an issue. You have to alter a Glide floor shifter to work with the TH350, but that's not a big deal.

As far as handling and suspension mods, it depends on how she's going to drive it. Lots of good reading on www.pozziracing.com .

The way things are now and for the forseeable future, getting a solid 1st gen vert for $20K is possible but you may have to be patient. If they are really solid, they usually run. If they run and are in need of full restoration, you can probably find one in the mid teens. If it's solid, runs good and looks good, it'll be more.

My 69 has all new GM sheetmetal, but came as a roller with about 50% of the parts needed to finish it, and I paid $5K. I think that was too much personally, but in the market today it's not bad.

Hang around. If you start looking at cars and let us know where they are, one of us can usually provide another pair of eyes.