This has probably been discussed (fill in the blank) times but I was wondering what most people do on originality of their Camaros?

I hear most people say they want the appearance of originality with newer performance and suspension. Is this the case for most muscle car people?

Here is the background of my question. I have a car that I know is something with photo evidence and other clues. I don't have a matching numbers motor. So, without that motor, no matter what I do to the car it will never be original. The interior is all original other than carpet that was replaced last summer. I'm doing the exterior as original to my old photo. My thoughts are to put higher performance ignition, suspension, carb, air cleaner and so on in the engine compartment, which right away shows that I wasn't going for originality in that area.

Surely, someone can chime in and speak to some schools of thought on this question.

I hear of some people in this situation that are still hunting down parts numbers original to the car, but I am unsure why. Distributor, carbs and other numbered parts seem to be irrelevant without the actual motor. Does someone have a good reason for this?

what was the question?





just kidding Bro. i know what you mean..i met a 68 true Z/28 owner this weekend..and he SAYS his Camaro is all original..but yet it was stolen at one time and took 10 yrs to find correct parts..so the question is this..is it an original Camaro (non number) matching?,...or just original but not original..:clonk: ..

You're right, I rambled on there a bit.

My question is: When someone doesn't have a matching numbers motor, do they just generally throw out the thought of trying to make everything else original?

I did. I want ot be able to drive this thing in this lifetime. I am building it the way I want. I am using as many original parts as I can get my hands on. But work doesn't stop if I have to use a repop part.

My thought: It is my car. I will build it the way I want it. If you don't like it, tough donkey doo doo.

It would be of interest to me (an old fart) who lusted after cars back in the fifties and watched the whole pony car (named after a Furd product Ya Know) thing evolve (which was a reaction to an earlier sales success the General had with the Corvair of which I owned two before a Camaro). Once I got my hands on a the Camaro the first thing I, and all my friends did was to run the snot out of them. We were the first to rip all those hard to find parts off of them and bury them in our respective back yards (we lived in the country and didn't have trash pick-up available, there is still a Corvette tri power back there rotting away). The Camaro was not an icon, it was not revered as a religious institution, or though of as an investment.

The only financial consideration I can recall was can I afford a bigger motor, a liberty gear set for the tranny, or that Mallory four lobe distributor (that I still have hanging on the wall of the garage). I paid for all of my exuberance by getting my hands dirty. I read Hot Rod, and tried every trick that they wrote about (have all my Hot Rod magazines as well). Because I was willing to take things apart an experiment, and because the cars were mechanical by nature back then; they were simple enough to understand so that I got them running again after my experiments.

I obtained a bit of a reputation, and my friends came to me for mechanical assistance even though I had no formal education as a mechanic (there was a cool Fonz type character who lived the next street over who I could call upon when ever I got in a little to deep). The more I tried the more I learned, and the less of the "original" Camaro existed.

I also remember gas lines, and inflation, but to me it wasn't a crisis. It meant that instead of paying through the nose for big blocks and hot cars they were available for scrap prices. I quite literally went down to Black Point in Tampa and pulled Hi-Perf small blocks and big block 427's off of train cars before they were loaded on a boat headed for Japan to turned into Toyota's, Honda's, and Back then Datsun's. I paid $2.50 for every hundred pounds and loaded them onto the back of my '61 Chevy Apache one ton truck I used as my car hauler.

You couldn't give away a Street Hemi Challenger (I thought about buying an Orange with White leather SE 4 speed but I didn't like the pistol grip shifter, so I passed at $1,400 even though he still owed $1,600 on it). SS 396Camaros, 383 Road Runners, big block Chevelles languished; everybody wanted 340 Dusters or 350 Novas to race, and Camaro sixes to drive for a parts car.


Larger "rambling on, old" Dave

I think all that is very true about the time then, I also think thats what makes a real numbers match a true original so hard to find. I have a #s match 6cld ( stored ) and using a crate motor to look original just because I want the car to look as it should. I like that, but without everything original to that car doesnt make sence to be close to it. If you have a complete real #s match keep it that way otherwize do as you like.

Those are my thoughts. I can't have exact originality and I don't want a roll cage with nitrous, I just want a fun Camaro to drive. My engine should be right under 400 hp with a four speed and 12 bolt posi. Not strip material but fun. I'm pulling out my stock AM radio for a two knobber am/fm and throwing a pair of 6 x 9's on the package tray. Old school, I guess.
The car will look original outside other than wheels, inside other than radio.

I 2nd the posting about stock on the outside except wheels and stock on the inside except radio. When I got my 68RS I dont think anything on the car was original except for the sheetmetal. Someone had swapped out the motor for a 427, the deluxe interior was replaced (badly) with a standard interior and the center console was non existent. Right now my goal is to make her safer (upgrade the suspension, put the seatbelts back in, etc.), more reliable (update the ignition, replace the clutch,) and then work on the interior and other aesthetics such as new headers and pipes. Orginality at this point would be quite an expensive exercise for a car that I am going to hand down to my son when he is old enough (hopefully he will be mature enough to respect all the horses, but I suspect there will be quite a few parking lots and backroads with burnout marks in SW Michigan!!!)

I didnt buy the car to get a museum piece that no one ever drives, I bought it to have a LIVING piece of American History that scares the crap out of the ricers at stoplights.

I have to chime in here and add my 7.8 cents (inflation)! The guys that build numbers matching cars get a real feeling of accomplishment out of it. It is alot harder to do than building a hot rod and my hat goes off for those guys and their patience. On the other hand alot of guys get their kicks building Hot Rods, keeping the exterior look the same, but updating everything else. These guys know what they want and do it. Then you get into the radical custom side of the game, these guys want their car to stand out and are always looking for the next trick that puts them back in the lime light. Of course lets not forget about the all out racers of one class or another, I don't think they need any more explanation!

All these guys are gearheads and/or fabricators to some degree. All of them are needed to keep the hobby going. Alot of guys fall into a cross catagory not quite Numbers matching origional in exchange for a little performance or bling so to speak. We all don't get along most of the time, but we all do stand on common ground whether we admit it or not.

You gotta find your click and go with it! If you have a #'s matching car and decide to cut it up to make some bling mobile, alot of us are going to cry and whine, but their will be others that respect what you are doing. So just keep it real, shake off the critics, respect the knowledge available from all, and most of all "have fun!"