[FireBall2]

My Grandmother recently passed away and I am the executor of her estate. With it came a Camaro my grandfather bought new in 69. It's been in his garage since he passed in the 80's. I do not know a lot about these cars or cars in general and found this site. What is this kind of car worth? It is yellow inside and out and says "SS" on it. Says 396 on fenders & the top of the motor says has a /375 on it? We did a little searching and found his original paperwork when he bought it. Looks like he special ordered it. Cost about $4,500.00 new. He was quite the racer. Looks nice but is dusty. I think it would clean up okay. Odometer says 63,531. Any idea?

[Martineer]

If you are serious, that car is worth a lot of money, at least 10-15 times (maybe more) what he paid for it, depending on condition and especially with that kind of documentation. Don't get hustled out of that car until you have researched it completely. These guys here know their stuff and will steer you straight. Be patient, let the experienced guys on here answer.

[FireBall2]

Oh my that was a fast response - my sister has a dealer coming over to look at it tomorrow - he said maybe 15 or 20 over the phone but wanted to see it. Thank you.

[Martineer]

Like I said, be patient, do your research, and don't get hustled. A 69 big block(396), with documentation is a gold mine if it is in decent shape and original. Can you get any pictures posted? Are the headlights covered or enclosed, or open like on a regular car? Can you post the info off the tag that is on the firewall just behind the master cylinder. Open the hood, look on the firewall right in front of where the driver sits. Right down the numbers and post them. That will tell this group what the car actually is. Also, what part of the US are you in?

[FireBall2]

Thank you. I will try. The car is quite aways from me. The interior is actually black I thought I remember it being yellow but I just called my sister and she says its black. Also, there is a big rip in the convertible top over the drivers seat. I think someone broke into it a while back. I do not recall seeing light covers but the garage is dark?

Thank you and i will get back to you soon.

[Martineer]

With it being a convertible, the value just went up. Those numbers, all the numbers, on the cowl tag from the firewall are important. Please get them posted as soon as you can, and tell your sister not to let that car dealer hustle her.

[Eric Kammerer]

Welcome to Team Camaro, by the way...

I just wanted to add that my heart jumped when I saw "rip in the convertible top". A 396/375 HP convertible was a very special car in its day, and with the market being what it is right now, can bring a very sizable sum.

If you are not familiar with where various numbers are located on the car, you may want to head over to www.camaros.org and look at the decoding and 69 tabs. The RPO (regular production option) number for the 375 HP engine is L78 with iron heads and L89 with aluminum.

There is a flat pad in front of the passenger side cylinder head, under the alternator. In this pad is stamped the engine assembly code, which should be Txxxxyy, where xxxx is four numbers (sometimes "I" instead of "1") and yy is two letters. If the car is an automatic, the yy should be JL or JM, and for a manual the yy will be JH or JJ.

A documented L78 or L89 vert in need of full restoration will bring $20 to 30K right now. If it's a solid survivor, it would be many times more than that. Don't give her away....

[Martineer]

Thanks Eric, I am still learning this stuff and was trying to keep him from getting hustled until someone with more knowledge joined in.

[buzzworth]

Please post pics and details of the trim tag and you will get an honest evalution at this site. If you decide to sell, post it here and you will find a good home for it with someone that really cares to return it to it's former glory.
I, for one, would be interested in getting in the bidding battle if this is truly what you say it is. Don't even wash it !

[36j1967]

I'm sure other members here are wondering if you are pulling our leg on this car? What you are describing could be worth as much as 100k depending on condition and originality. If you are not just having some fun my advice would be to have it appraised.

[DanW]

I am also sceptical.

Since you are not near the car, scan the paperwork you have and post links to it here.

[bearcat44]

Don't let these guys fool you, the car is worth nothing. In fact, its really just an eye sore... So in that case you should sell it too me for a nominal sum .

I'm just kidding, you have received what many of us would deem as the Holy Grail of camaros. An original 69, big block, convertible, SS... If its all real all I can say is WOW!

[JimM]

Originally Posted by 36j1967

I'm sure other members here are wondering if you are pulling our leg on this car? What you are describing could be worth as much as 100k depending on condition and originality. If you are not just having some fun my advice would be to have it appraised.

This was my first thought, too... Come on, a newbie who knows nothing about cars wanders in here having come into ownership of an L78 vert?

Kinda sounds like KZ? John, u funnin with us? Slow day in Texas?

Fireball, if this is for real, that could be a VERY valuable car. You could let some dealer lowball you and be done, or you could offer it to someone here, I'm sure there are many who would jump at it. Heck, if my wife would let me, I'd jump at it.

The collector car market is VERY hot these days. If your family is interested in getting the maximum return on it, it's gonna take some work cleaning her up, and taking and posting some pics. If you don't wanna hassle with it, sell it to someone here. We love these cars.

[BERRY251]

curious to see the outcome on this one!

[FireBall2]

This is a test and only a test and you all passed with flying colors. It is nice to see people who care ad are willing to help someone like this. Congratulations to DanW for sniffing this one out for what it is.