Hey guys and gals....
Just bought a 67 SS 350. Nothing spectacular in that it is a small block and powerglide, but does have a 12 bolt non posi. What is nice in my opinion, is that this one is VERY original. I stuggle with what to do with it now. Here's what we have. All original drivetrain thats NEVER been out of the car and has 81k on it. Originally red, now white that was painted back in early 70's. Very minor door dings and a few small dents. All orignal panels with no body work. A few small spots of rust in rear qtrs, but really nothing to worry about. Original black deluxe interior. All items work perfect, console light, dome lights, am radio etc. Was an older ladies car who had it since new. One guy bought it from her, and I got it from him. Has ALL receipts showing mileage and what's been done (like Sears Robuck AC added in early 70s for $148 etc... I don't know if I should touch this car at all, or paint it back to Bolero Red. The only non original items are the exhaust, wheels (now rallys) paint and battery. All else including spiral shocks are original. Still has tags on springs etc. Will be digging for build sheets next week. So.. keep it as it with it's cool story and docs, or paint it and clean it up a bit? Tough decision. This one is great for documenting originality. I think the previous owner has supplied photos to someone on this team also, he mentioned you guys. He sold it to me since he really tricks cars out and was getting the itch on this one. I love the originality, but wouldn't mind a nice shiny red car either. Where should I go with it?
Thanks,
mark

It is your car now so do what you want with it. If it were mine, I would get those small rust spots fixed and return it to its original color. I would also clean the 40 years of dirt, grease and oil off it and go over everything mechanical to make sure it is safe and reliable. Sounds like a great car, enjoy.

Mark,

I am in a similar situation with my car. I would keep it as original as possible. The dings and things just make it pure and logit. Its so rare to see things in nice original condition. The ones we find out there are 9 times out of 10 mostly all restored or they are getting restored. Maybe just clean it up as much as you can while still keeping the orignal theme going. I promise that if you take it to any cruises or neighborhood car shows the folks there will respect your original car over the show room fresh car sitting next to you.
Good luck and nice find!!!!!

So if new paint, I could always take a million photos to show original body, I don't know what it would look like, but could attempt having white old paint sanded down back to the red underneath? It's very thin white paint as it is from the early 70s. Do you keep the original shocks and stuff or clean it all up and make it nice? It drives really great actually. I was going to touch up the eng comp a little, but just wasn't sure if there is more interest an value in leaving it alone.
MK

Mark - Some pictures would be nice. Seeing it may help those on here that know way more than I do, give you some recommendations. I agree with WAC, keep it as original as possible. If you are going to drive it, you will need to make sure all the moving parts are in good and safe working order. If it has original shocks that are bad, replace them with good reproductions but keep the originals. If the shocks are working fine, clean them up and leave them alone. You get the picture.

Will get back to you guys with pics as soon as the system lets me join. Don't think I can post right now. Waiting for Al to get back to me as there is a glich in the membership joining page.
MK

Just another opinion here and a story... I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman that collects old 40's vintage cars. He does not sell cars at all, just buys them. I include that as indication he's not in it for money. Many of his cars are survivor cars with paint polished through to primer, a lot of chrome is polished through so brass is showing and cloth tops and interiors have signs stitching wanting to come apart. Right next to and mixed in with these survivors are completely restored cars as well. There was not a single restored car with a ribbon on it's windshield. Most of the survivor cars had several... Taking a closer look at the ribbons most are from shows like the Concourse De Elegance (sp?) at Pebble Beach, Santa Barbara and other prestigious shows.

What I learned is, to a guy like this if a car has to be painted it's no longer considered a survivor. All his restored cars look just like they did rolling out the assembly line doors. They are just as much text book examples as the survivors. At the level this guy is involved they are not show cars but each is precious. During our visit to this mans shop someone asked why he didn't restore the ones that needed paint... That lead to about an hours conversation. The funny thing is the person asking was just bold enough to say what the majority of other were thinking.

My advice is save as much as you can of your car Mark, have parts like the shocks refurbished, return the car to orig paint color and enjoy it as a rolling text book. Think about why the seller got rid of it. He didn't want to end up modifying it. If you want an over-drive or bigblock there are plenty of cars available that have lost their roots so to speak. Since it's been repainted once the patina present on the car isn't orig and the majority of folks that will see your car and complement you for it wouldn't if it was left with door dings scuffed paint... I hope that makes sense and as others have stated it's your car and you need to satisfy only your own whim.

boy dennis is good! Stock as a rock go back to original paint. Make it safe IE: brake line hoses. I love seing a true OE: car never apart. not many around that way.

So do you guys think I'm nuts for paying 20k for it? I just fell in love with it orginality and there's every single receipt since 1967 and of couse the protecto. Afriad to touch it somewhat since there is about a 4 inch area on the drivers seat back that the stitching is separating. Would love to search for build sheets, where are they on a 67? Back seat I presume? Also..anyone know how to tell what rims and tires it had on it? Other than I guess the build sheets would tell if I find them.
Thanks!!
Mark

Aloha sounds like you got a really nice car,, if you want email me the pictures and i will post them for you. Frank

Here's some pics of the car. I haven't picked it up yet, but when I do, I'll get closer up pics. I can't tell you how many receipts are in there....everything from 1967 to 2003. I know a car is worth what you're willing to pay for it, but did I do good, ok or could have done better on 20k for it? It purrs like a kitten and is just SO ORIGINAL. Just having a little buyers remorse...not for the car, just not sure on the cost.
Thanks,
mark

Just my thoughts....a car highly optioned as this one, having all the OE parts, documentation to go with it, and the charma of a great lady, I'd leave her just the way she is.

She deserves it. I would get the interior repaired (tummy tuck and a D&C), rust fixed (skin scraped), and as suggested, get her blood changed, replace all brake components (new shoes and hosiery), everything to make her safe for the road (rosy cheeks and nicely done eyes get noticed). Only problem is the Snowball Effect comes into the picture. Original color of red is nice, and matches the docs, and would require alot of labor, i.e., repaint door jams, under the hood, trunk, etc., but seeing the reflection in the hood, a tough decision, snowball is getting bigger.

It really depends on your decision - are you going to keep the car?
How long?
What are your intentions? (Sounds like questions to my daughter's date)

If you're going to Concours the car, then yes, you would need to repaint back to red. If its going to be a driver, leave it, fix what's broke, and enjoy driving her. If you want to build a 'hot rod' as Dennis suggested, get another one and modify it.

As said earlier, the patina may be gone, but the charma is still there, so enjoy the great lady as she is, she'll return the favor.

Look at it this way RE: buyers remorse, It would cost more that 20k to get a beater to that condition and you will still have an abused car in the end, consider it a great deal if you ask me.

This is propably a paint and body question, and maybe I'll post there later, but has anyone ever just lightly color sanded the old paint off to expose the underlayer? In this case the white is very thin and I wonder if it could be buffed or sanded down to the red? Story is that it didn't really need paint, the older lady just didn't like the red anymore, the ticket for the paintjob ($178) only refers to fixing door dings (that's why they added the side moulding). Is this something that should be attempted first? I know it won't shine or be perfect, but would have that "patina"??
Thanks,
MK

JMT, Depends upon three things:
1. How thorough OE topcoat was scuffed before the repaint.
2. Quality of paint sprayed
3. Talent of laborer, IF white paint could be removed without damaging the OE red.

A good finisher would be able to answer your question.

Patina is gone, but the charma is still there.

Originiality is restored some, but having removed a repaint to bring back OE paint doesn't have quite the impact as weathered/aged OE paint, IMO. This car is a survivor in its truest form. She has aged well.

NICE CAR!!!! with documentaion,,myself i would get it painted back red and fix all the lil things such as have the seat repaired in the seam thats busted loose and clean the rest up and detail it under hood and body,,,dont think tring to sand off the white would not be a good idea,,it had to be sanded good before the white was sprayed on.just keep on keepin records of everything you do and document it with lots of pictures and recipts....Frank

Hey...would you guys leave the Sears AC since it's soooo old? It works great, and I guess is period correct, but obviously not original.

Because it's different and a bit of history, I'd leave it or look for a dealer installed unit to replace it...

Aloha, I vote for as much originality as possible. I have a non-matching car for the most part. I opted to do a shiny-side up restoration because that is all that was needed. I will always have the overspray on the belly of the car. Nothing wrong with new shocks and other wear parts, because that is only taking proper care of a car. I would caution about painting over original laquer. You can get bad checking. Good luck.

I get a lot of enjoyment out of my original paint 67 RS/SS 350 car, and drive it as often as I can.

The original SuperSport redline was still in the trunk so I got a matching set of reproductions. Rear seat cover (the back part) was severely sun-damaged so I had that replaced with a PUI cover. Other than that, I try to avoid repro stuff for a survivor car. I focus on the mechanicals (ie service rear end, transmission, balance driveshaft, new U-joints, reverse flush block and rad, rebuild carb, blueprint distributor, new hoses and belts and spark plug cables, new plugs, adjust brakes, flush brake fluid, repair radio and speakers, etc) first so that the car can be enjoyed as I go along. Shocks were Sears vintage so I replaced them with a set of in-the-box vintage Monroe shocks that someone had on eBay. Unmolested cars are special -- they never quite go back together the same after they're restored. My advice is drop a couple of G's on getting the original color back then just clean the rest up, make sure she runs great, and enjoy. If the AC works and you need AC, by all means leave it -- it's part of the car's history.

http://67z28.com/personal/albums/Tamra%20(Auto%20Insurance%20Photos)/1967%20Camaro%20RS-SS%20350/IMG_0911.jpg
http://67z28.com/personal/albums/Tamra%20(Auto%20Insurance%20Photos)/1967%20Camaro%20RS-SS%20350/IMG_0924.jpg

...I just picked up an all original (40,000 miles) '67 myself. It's been repainted, but still it's original color. For now, ...I'm going to check/update the mechanics, ...and DRIVE IT :thumbsup:
Down the road, ...I'll do the paint, ...but leave as much as I can as it is, ...original (including the tear in the drivers seat).
Bottom line, ...you can always restore it down the road.

Here are a couple pics, ...I tossed on a set of rallys, ...just to 'dress it up'

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/HVClassics/67BlackPlate/67BlackPlate_inNY/IMG_0562.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/HVClassics/67BlackPlate/67BlackPlate_inNY/IMG_0570.jpg

I get a lot of enjoyment out of my original paint 67 RS/SS 350 car, and drive it as often as I can.

The original SuperSport redline was still in the trunk so I got a matching set of reproductions. Rear seat cover (the back part) was severely sun-damaged so I had that replaced with a PUI cover. Other than that, I try to avoid repro stuff for a survivor car. I focus on the mechanicals (ie service rear end, transmission, balance driveshaft, new U-joints, reverse flush block and rad, rebuild carb, blueprint distributor, new hoses and belts and spark plug cables, new plugs, adjust brakes, flush brake fluid, repair radio and speakers, etc) first so that the car can be enjoyed as I go along. Shocks were Sears vintage so I replaced them with a set of in-the-box vintage Monroe shocks that someone had on eBay. Unmolested cars are special -- they never quite go back together the same after they're restored. My advice is drop a couple of G's on getting the original color back then just clean the rest up, make sure she runs great, and enjoy. If the AC works and you need AC, by all means leave it -- it's part of the car's history.

I just LOVE this car :) Could you tell the story about how you found it again...pleeease. I remember reading about it a few years ago and it influenced me to not give up looking for that special survivor car.

Hey...would you guys leave the Sears AC since it's soooo old? It works great, and I guess is period correct, but obviously not original.I vote to leave the Sears AC as it is period correct and you have the original receipt to prove its existence.

If it ain't broke, and is period correct, leave it.

I just LOVE this car :) Could you tell the story about how you found it again...pleeease. I remember reading about it a few years ago and it influenced me to not give up looking for that special survivor car.

Here's the post I made when I had just bought it, with story and pics and numbers:

Thread #24335 (http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=24335&highlight=numbers)

I could be wrong but I didn't know the SS came with a pg. I thought they were either stick or th3.

TH350's were not available in a Camaro until 1969. If you had an automatic in a 67 or 68 it was either a PG or a TH400 (big block only).

There was a batch of 68's built late in the 68 model year with TH350's as part of an engineering program for the 69 model year.

Thanks for the correction. One of the few things I've changed on my resto was to install a TH3. I kept the PG in case I sell the car and new owner wants it.