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68 camaro edit: EDIT BIG UPDATE!!!!!

supersize75k5

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I love 4x4's..but i always wreck and kill them..I also grew up getting rides in my dads big block original 68 camaro 396 SS..

well last night i stumbled onto a 68..a RUST FREE 68 with a straight body:crazy:


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I am up in the air on this one... I really want a camaro for a few reasons, one of which is that we will be pulling my dads out of storage and starting a full resto on his, what better way to have fun than build two of them side by side with my old man?

I told my friend I would decide by monday, spending 3500 right now sucks with what i just payed for taxes and the money i just spent lifting the work truck.. but getting a rust free camaro is a a pretty nice oppertunity...:D

thoughts?
 
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3500 is a good deal on a car that straight. They are becoming damn near impossible to find in non rust bucket or restored shape. I'd jump on it, even if you keep it in storage for a year or two.

I picked up my 68 Nova in similar condition for about a grand a few years ago. It's been in storage for a couple of years, but its going to get pulled out in a couple of months.

You could always buy it, and e-bay it. That thing is worth twice that kind of money up north.

After a mini-resto, that thing would fetch at least 12K, even with a stockish drivetrain (mild 350/TH350/10b and new paint). The prices are through the roof. Plus, every first gen you see is a 69, it's nice to find a 67 or 68.

You're probably going to kick yourself if you pass on it, assuming it's in as good of condition as it looks.
 
ive even already got a big block for it and dad said i could get a rock crusher or munci off him...tempting
 
it could easily be an investment. Like noted, with a good paintjob, engine and trans, it could be worth a lot.

Thats how I look at Dad's 69 Firebird. He almost sold it for 5k a few times, in non-running shape(wouldn't be hard to get running though). But with a little elbow grease the car will be worth 4 times that much.
 
A decently finished 68 with a BBC/ 4 spd, will fetch an easy 15K, even if it's not numbers matching or filled with aftermarket performance parts.

Muncie made 4-speeds, the M20 was wide ratio, the M21 was close ratio, and the M22 "rockcrusher" was the HD close ratio box with straight cut gears. It makes a whining noise because of them. Not very many cars actually came optioned with them.

A mildly built BBC could easily make 500/500 with good decent heads and relatively small hydraulic cam. Keep it around 9:1 and run it on pump gas, possibly even 87 octane. Combine that with a 4-speed and some 3.08-3.42 gears and a posi and you'd have one hell of a fun street cruiser that would still run a 12 second quarter on good tires and wouldn't break all of the time. You could even put a Q-jet on it and pull down reasonable mileage.
 
m22 gears are not straight cut. They are a straighter design than the M21 and M20, but are not true straight cut gears.
 
I understand that. Let me rephrase that to say "straighter" cut gears.
 
do it, a customer of mine sold his 68 that he had, with new front clip and new front suspension, still in need of everything but the frame from the firewall back for 3200... DO IT
 
thanks for the imput guys, the one downfal this car will have is that it will require time..

all of the 4x4's I have worked on and done body work to I had little patience with and I liked to do things quickly..

this car would require some time, a lot of it, I am half temped to gut it, paint and replace the interior and paint the car satin black after doing the body work, drive it for a while and then paint it when I shoot the paint on my dads. My dads is factory a dark green with white SS stripes and it was ordered with a 69 hood. I think that color combo would be sweet. then again victory red or a dark red metalic would be nice to lay on it..


I want to make it a 10 grand build or close to that including the car, being that I will do all the body work and paint/ labor I think I could do it, not to mention I have the drivetrain, I would over haul the motor though.. long weekend of thinking :)
 
Muscle cars in that condition are becoming damn near impossible to find. Even if it sits in storage for several years (like my Nova) that is definately money well spent. Nice score. You could probably e-bay that thing as it sits for double your money. I plan on keeping mine forever, unless someone offers to trade me a tri-five for it after it's finished.
 
sweet dude, goo luck with the build. I've shifted gears from the S10 to my Dad's 69 Firebird. Can't wait to get to work on it. Gathering parts for the 5.3L engine swap :)
 
nice camaro! good luck and have fun building up the camaro! and if u do it on the side with ur dad. that will be more fun! i have done one with my dad but he likes furds... DOHHHHH and i dont drive furds! good luck again!:waytogo:
 
Nice score! Hugger orange paint, big block, Centerline Legend series wheels, fat drag radials....
 
excellent buy.. looks like the body is pretty solid.. that steering wheel is out of a second generation, IIRC..not that that matters, of course, lots of folks like the thicker padded wheel.

As you build this thing, pm me if you need any parts.. my dad finished his 68 a few years ago, and we've got lots of little odds and ends boxed up that he'll never use, and might be convinced to part with cheap..

Also, I have a cool book called " help, I need a part for my first generation camaro ", and it's a book of hollander interchange numbers listing every gm part that will work on your camaro.. most people know that the 68 - 74 nova brake stuff will fit on a first gen, but there's tons more cars with usable parts for us.

let me know..
 
thanks for the input guys,

so far as of a few nights or researching

build one of my 454's, buy a tremtech 5 speed, 4.10 geared 12 bolt, and factory ralley wheel and some big rubber in the rear.. 4 wheel disk brakes, some massive 2 or 4 piston calipers to show off in the front:D

the interior will be completly replaced, as will every piece of rubber, trim, emblems and plastic. this will be a catalog car to save me headaches. it will look like a factory big block ss. paint thoughts are the original red or lemans or maina blue. I want everything new even tail light covers, steering wheel, rocker trim, everything new!

ill start on it in may or june.
 
supersize75k5 said:
thanks for the input guys,

so far as of a few nights or researching

build one of my 454's, buy a tremtech 5 speed, 4.10 geared 12 bolt, and factory ralley wheel and some big rubber in the rear.. 4 wheel disk brakes, some massive 2 or 4 piston calipers to show off in the front:D

the interior will be completly replaced, as will every piece of rubber, trim, emblems and plastic. this will be a catalog car to save me headaches. it will look like a factory big block ss. paint thoughts are the original red or lemans or maina blue. I want everything new even tail light covers, steering wheel, rocker trim, everything new!

ill start on it in may or june.

Good plan..

buy your parts from here: http://www.drclassic.com/index.html

D & R supplies ( at least they used to ) parts to the year ones, classic industries, and National Parts Depots of the world, so they were always quite a bit cheaper.
 
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