Don't know anything about price but that's a sweet car!

 

Hey Greg. Ditto what Jim said. If its solid and you like it how do you measure the value? Those of us in the midst of top to bottom rebuilds will sail past the dollars you are talking about. Since the thing is local can you get an opinion off a really good body man? These old F-bodys are superstars at hiding rust in funny places.

 

Greg...I agree with 28K based on the description and photos & what I have invested in mine. Agree with Steve, check closely for any hidden rust though. I'm sure the cheap skates will disagree, but in this area, 69's in that condition are selling for 25K to 30K all day long.>

 

What is going on with that shock tower? I think I also see some rusty frame rail. Be careful....

Don

 

I'm not after a show car, I really want a driver. I looked for leaks, I checked hoses and lines, and I hit a few spots with the paint gauge.

I just don't want to get burned, but I also have a feeling that $28k may be a tough sell towards the end of car season. I'm hoping to see if I can get my restoration friend to come up and check it out.

I feel like it's a solid car that doesn't need anything. There are things I can do to it, but it doesn't need anything.

I'm just trying to gauge if it's worth the money, or if I will find something comparable if I have patience.

 

Looking at things, here are two things that hint that there may be filler...

https://goo.gl/photos/Z6E4PTGcbGfdTQk17

https://goo.gl/photos/ks83MLm9GvFNKebf9

What do you think?g

 

28K is too much IMO. Beautiful on the topside but the bottom has been rattlecanned to death hiding a lot of rust apparently.
As Don said, careful.
Do you want to spend that much coin to tear leaf springs out and replace bushings for one? Possible wiring gremlins etc.
That car would not have the same pop without those wheels and tires and you can buy those cheap enough.

 

I'm kind of slowly talking myself away from the car. It's just a combination that it's walking distance from my house and has had a lot of cosmetic work done....some mechanical stuff is good, the new clutch is nice, but the other stuff I can have done I guess if I find a solid car. My biggest thing is I don't want to get into body work.

 

Greg, no 1st gen is without bodywork in its future. but it looks like this one will last a bit more before needing more work.
Original color was Azure Turquoise, pretty rare color!

For the high build on the qtrs, did you reach you hand into the corner when you took the pics through the qtr vent? any issues?

One thing, the mono leaf springs are shot. In one pic, the rust means the eye is cracking or already busted off. The other side eye bushing is shot. It appears most of the work and money were spent on the engine and paint, not the suspension.

The interior looks nice! Original door panels! Repro windlace

Things I saw in the pics:
missing the grill stiffener which is making the grill mounting funky looking. A color match issue to fix.

spacer in the center rad support (lower). Means something is not right with the front end parts all fitting together properly.

That trunk patch is ugly! Self drilling screws and caulk

leaky gas filler tube (solder not done well, common repro issue)

wiper motor replaced

Repo fenders (that is why the grill does not fit well)

Door weatherstrip and door panels chewed up on the corner? Do the doors not fit well?

Hockey stripes (must applaud them here). these are done much better then what is normally seen. Engine callout is aligned with marker light, stripe cut is aligned with callout, and stripe thickness looks good, not too thick, not too thin. Door stripes look good too!

Vinyl top looks well done too!

 

There's too much undercoating slathered on the trunk underside for me to be comfortable. Also I think I'm seeing a mono leaf on the left side and 2 leaf on the right. The first of your latest pics may be bondo cracking. There is rust in the lower hem of the drivers door. Not sure what might be hiding behind the textured rockers. For 28k I'd be real picky but maybe that's just me.

 

What is that gauge used on the body in several of the pictures?

 

Paint thickness gauge.

 

$28 is fair if your looking to drive it as it is with minor detailing and fix ups.

The car is close so you save a couple Gs in cost and a lot of the little sh** that adds up has been addressed.

People that state over priced then show me other cars that are better for less

 

$28 is fair if your looking to drive it as it is with minor detailing and fix ups.

The car is close so you save a couple Gs in cost and a lot of the little sh** that adds up has been addressed.

People that state over priced then show me other cars that are better for less

I'll add an AMEN to that! For those concerned about the leaf springs and bushings, I replaced mine for a few hundred bucks with some blood, sweat, and tears, so it ain't no big deal. Without seeing the car personally, I'd hate to chase the guy away from what might be a perfectly good driver at this point!:laugh:

 

Owner doesn't wrench himself, he has a local hot rod shop do the work. They are reputable, and have had some vehicles features in magazines. Here is what's been done in the last few years (the owner has receipts for everything)

• New clutch with under 200 miles on it
• New starter solenoid
• new tail light lenses
• new headers and exhaust. Headers and exhaust tips were sent to a chrome shop
• New rear window
• New front belts
• Dynamat (surprised me)
• Lots of weatherstripping
• New door glass
• New carpet
• New serpentine belt system
• New 100 amp alternator
• New tach
• New battery
• New hoses
• New stereo and speakers
• New horn relay
• New interior trim
• New shifter boot
• New heater switch
• New exterior moldings (looked like almost everything, the invoice was pretty extensive)
• New mirrors
• New windshield washer pump
• New intake, carb, fan shroud
• New rear end cover with drain plug
• Engine repainted from black to orange
• New power steering pump
• New tires, chromed rally wheels
• New steering wheel, but he has the original walnut one.
• Has the original console not installed.

The fact that the owner recognized he was not qualified to work on the car AND took it to a reputable shop says something right there. In addition, he has receipts for all the work. Take a trip to the local shop and ask a few questions about the car. You said you were looking for a driver. Well it's hard to find a nice driver for under 25k and it's local. I would say he is in the ballpark.

 

I would say the car is worth the money, The under carriage and bushings need some detailing, no big deal. This will sound funny to you guys, but here goes. I bought my first of 35 Camaros for $2100. a RSSS vert loaded in 1978. Being a novice with little money I decided to fix the few rust spots, doors, quarters and then paint it myself in the driveway in 1984. I stripped the car, zinc chromate, epoxy primer, BCC #71. Patched the holes with bondo. I still own the car and the rust is popping through in the last few years . . . .took almost 30 years to show itself! So whats the moral of the story? go figure. By the way the paint still looks great!

 

Did you miss the pic with all the sheet metal screws poking through the left side of the trunk floor? It is in the pic just before the pic of the nice shiny wheels. Same side with the shock tower that is barely hanging on. I can pretty much guarantee you that this car is a rust farm coated in thick coats of undercoating. The frame rails are weak and the floors the same. It is one thing to have bondo in exterior panels but quite another when major structural elements are rusted out. This car is nothing but a pig slathered in lipstick and rouge IMHO.... A professional inspection of the car on a lift is highly recommended....

Edit: I see Kevin noted the sheet metal screws above. My apologies for missing it in his post...

Don

 

Car looks decent, underneath the back half looks like the undercoating was caked on......is it to hide what lies underneath?? Sometimes you have to poke around to see whats going on.
If the owner will allow you, see if you can take a sill plate off and look at the floors....4 screws.
What's the dash like near the window bottom, we all know their prone to rust. Get under the dash and take a look. Pull the door guards off and see whats happening. Back window another area to check....good magnet and cloth the body prone areas.
The small s#$t you can fix its the bones of the car that needs to be intact.

 

Just Curious, would these be aftermarket fenders/grill and how they fit? this would really irritate me. the other pic is of one of my Camaros with original front end (with aftermarket hood) without that gap.

looking through the pictures, I would seriously have reservations about paying 28k for that car but I am not in such of a hurry since I have a camaro. I would be willing to throw down 24k-25k but it comes down to time which is worth money, or I you have patience. is it worth for you to put 3k more so you don't have to shop anymore which might include travelling to find the perfect Camaro with no issues? Also you it also might take years to find a perfect Camaro on line or locally. Here in California, there seems to be plenty of Camaros where I live. But as mentioned, check that shock tower and anything else that might not be structural sound. Would those bondo areas really upset you? Its a great looking car but it does have issues as with most cars of this era. Most people wont notice those bondo issues unless they were looking very close. Even at 5 feet way, most wont notice them.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...lG2kspdT3fNr1onzjnvnrWeGvtlW17t7JK?key=RzFjblVsR3ozTE8yUWJBTy1Kc0hfRlFPeDh1bXhB

 

Interesting. I figured that was just part of the "factory" fit. I do see the gaps.

See, that's what you guys are here for....on the surface it's a nice shiny car. I don't expect a show queen, and I don't want one, but the current owner didn't have the body work and repaint done, so who knows what the previous owner did.

My feeling is that the trunk repairs (which I didn't catch) and the bondo cracks are indicative of work that was done, and I wonder what else was done. Everything the owner did was documented, but it's the stuff beforehand that we don't know about. He didn't have the engine done, so no paperwork on that.

If he comes down in price I'm interested, but it's been up on ebay twice, and both times the bids fell in the same range (24k) and he thinks the car is worth 30k.

It's a nice car, but I don't think being close to $30k is the right side. It's not my "dream" color, and I'd likely have to put a few grand into suspension, and a few years down the road it may need paint and body if things start to show through.

I did look at the corners of the dash, and they looked good.

But seeing this
https://goo.gl/photos/4L4zpKTCCJzfQ6M5A
makes me wonder. Why did they cut the steering column connectors and why did they butt-connect them instead of soldering and shrink wrapping...

 

Needs to up grade that 4 blade fan. Considering all other needs I would say 10-15 K
and try that magnet in the lower sections of the car.

 

Buy a questionable car because its close?
I don't live by that philosophy.

 

Most people don't and I would suggest against it. But there are some that don't have the time, money or resource to travel. I have always had a Camaro since I was 18 so I had never been in a hurry to get one. I patiently waited and they would pop up every once in a while. I bought a very questionable Camaro that I saw in the diablo dealer back in 1992. Many people looked at it but didn't want to pay the $5000.00 for it as it looked what was considered rough back in the days. I saw it at night in Hayward for a few minutes with a d cell flashlight. called the guy a few days later and bought it. I can say that this worked out for me very well and I'm sure you and others would agree. Basically, it just needed a new top, paint, new front seat vinyl, and rug but I went and did a full frame off resto on it. you can see a picture of it in my profile.

But I must agree that in most instances that you should not buy a questionable car.

I'm glad to hear that you had a second pair of eyes to look it over. As I said, it still looks good from 5 feet away and looks great driving down the road.

 

I have looked through the pics and read everyone's comments.
IMO this is a 15-18k car that has been fluffed up to look like a 30k car. You subtract the wheels/tires, and some flashy chrome/aluminum under the hood what do you have?
Vinyl top looks nice, stripes look ok, but hey, are those major value adders? no
Body comes first, and to me there trying to put lip stick on a pig here. The pic of the fender where you can see the step of bondo makes it look like amateur hour. Now that is a typical spot for moisture issues, you should be able to reach in and see if it was patched with metal, or just bondo. The poor fix here makes the rest of the car suspect to me, and then I start thinking the car may be a sculpture.
There is a member on the CRG (KERR) who purchased a car that looked very similar to this on the outside, when he decided to make a small fix, he realized the whole car was held together by wood screws and filler.
They made a ton of 1st gen camaros, so I would keep looking. You can find much better cars for 28k.

 

I looked through the pics again this time I zoomed them for a closer look. I noticed a lot more issues this time around. Did anyone happen to notice that the vinyl top is not period correct? They didn't call it a Halo top for nothing. I would have to agree with Bullitt, at best it's probably more like a 15-18k car. Not a bad car just not worth anywhere near what he is asking for it.

 

Great observations and a good reason to always look at the car in person.

This one could be 15 or 28 can't really tell for sure with pictures alone.

 

Boy,you must really be confused by now. These are classic cars that have been appreciating over the years,the numbers some of these guys are throwing out like 15-18K are way off-I don't think you could find a car in this condition for that kind of money-buy the car for 28K if it's what YOU want. The only concern I would have that was mentioned was the rust issue,put it to rest and go for it...

 

Couldn't have said it any better...I've been watching Ebay, Cars-on-Line, Craigslist and many other car sites for quite some time and to find an excellent driver with the upgrades to the car in question for less than 25K is wishful thinking...even with the rust!>

 

Well, I told the guy yesterday that I was going to pass on it. And then immediately started second guessing myself. My wife suggested I get a second opinion, so the local-ish restorer who I trust and lives and breaths first gens got a call. For a few bucks he's making the trip up this morning. He knows his stuff, and an hour or two with him poking around the car will give me peace of mind, and either it's a fair deal or it's not, but at least I will know.

 

Very good decision to enlist the services of 3rd party.

When I look at cars the most important thing to me is body and paint. I do everything else myself so I have a good feeling on that end.

Good luck

 

You really never know what's under the paint until you take it to bare metal.

If the car is something you can drive and enjoy as is now that's a big plus in my book.

With no garage for security where will the car be stored?

These cars are thief magnets when left out in the open.

 

For the rest of the "season" it will sit at the top of my driveway covered and parked in between a 6' high retaining wall and my son's car (who is at college, so it doesn't move) and then later inthe day, by three more cars.

In the winter it will go indoors at a friend's place about an hour away.

 

Greg, what became of the blue 68 you purchased? Did you sell it?

Don