67-69 Project Camaro as a first car?
 

Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong section, new here :P. Let me just start off by saying that I'm going to be getting my license soon and up in Canada (specifically Ontario) it's a longer process, usually 3 years to get a full one but in about 2 you can drive with almost the same privileges as a 16 year old could in most parts of the U.S. I've recently really been looking at some older mostly late 60's to mid 70's muscle cars and thought to myself that it might be a good idea to (partially) restore or work on an older camaro. I love the look of the first gen camaro's they look amazing.

Part of the main reason I'd love to do this is because most of my family is away for a bit and it'd be a great bonding thing to do with my Dad, he restored a Jeep Cherokee last summer and had a lot of fun doing it. He's completely on board for working on a muscle car. I've been doing a lot of reading on models and the common look outs for older muscle cars (looking for rust, VIN, stuff like that) but I think I have to ask this question before I try to go forward with this. Is it a good idea to "restore" (I use the term lightly for just fixing a car up and learning about it more) an older camaro as my first car? My dad works at chrysler and knows a bunch about cars, I was never into them myself so much but they've gotten a lot more interesting, financially this would be a lot cheaper for me than buying a newer car and I think a better learning experience too.

If anyone has any opinions they'd like to share on my question or an answer I'd love to hear them . Some other inquiries I have are, is the camaro a good project car to start with? I've heard generally camaro's are a good car to restore because of their simplicity and abundance but is there a better model or specific year of a camaro that would benefit me? To be clear I'd be driving this daily back and forth to school probably and out to places on weekends.

Another big thing on my mind is that I don't really know where to get an affordable project car. I've been looking around and they go into the 25k range but these are usually restored ones and I can't seem to find one thats in decent condition but does require some work. I've seen those sites where they have stolen or damaged cars that insurance companies sell, they look great and the prices are amazing but it feels way too good to be true. Sites like autosource.biz and things like that. Are these a scam? They require a $25 fee for registering which isn't the bad part, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the lengthy post, hope you can help!

My first question would be, what is your budget for the build? How much work do you want to do? Bodywork, Mechanical, Interior, Electrical, or all the above? My opinion is this, if you can find a good rust free or almost body free car to start with it would be better money wise in the long run. Get under classicindustries.com and you will find every part made for a Camaro for the most part and check out costs, that way when you looking at cars to restore you can see what they have and don't have to go with the car. It will also help you decide if the price is worth it. I will say the aftermarket parts are iffy. Some were good figment some were not. The more you can clean up and paint that is original the better. I have hide away headlights and they run off a stepper motor. They wouldn't work. I took them apart and cleaned all the gears and lubed. They work good as new now! Saved $240 for the pair new. Just a ball park it took me 5 years to restore my car but I worked on it when I had the time and money. I also did a frame off resto so if your looking for something to drive soon keep that in mind. Hope it helps.

There seems to be rust buckets, or very nice cars, when it comes to 1st gen Camaros. Not a lot of cars in between, as they go fast when they come up for sale. If you have cash available, and keep looking every day, you may run across one. Patience is a good thing here, as it may take a long time of daily searching various ads before you find the right one.
Sometimes finding a project that hasn't been restored or finished is a better choice. There are thousands of poorly restored cars sold, and many stories of guys who bought what looked like a perfect car, only to find out later it was full of hidden poor repairs, and required thousands of dollars to do it over again.
Let us know what your budget is to buy and build a 1st gen, and then we can tell you if it's a good idea to proceed, or do something else.

Thanks for the advice so far. My dad spent around $8000 on his jeep cherokee that he decided to fix up. Then spent around $5000 for parts and such. I'm sure he'd be willing to work in that or a little above. All in all ~$13000 maybe 14. Do any of you have some good sites to keep watch of? Canadian would help, or at least ship worldwide.

As for what I want to work on, I'm not a big gearhead as I've said a lot before :P but I'd like to maybe see some of the mechanical work and electrical, I'd rather not have to do any welding or bodywork. I more or less want to "fix up" (some engine work, replace windows softer stuff) rather than completely 0-100 restore a '69. Hope that helps!

For about 8000 dollars you can expect a un-drivable rusted shell you need to spend 10k on to get drivable. Your going to spend 12 to 15 k to get something drivable and another 5 to 10k to make it reliably drivable. First gen Camaros selling for under 20k are usually gone in the first couple days so keep your eyes open and watch and be prepared to jump if you find one. The biggest advantage is they make every part for them so just be prepared to pay for parts the cheaper the car gets...

Unless you get very lucky, I'm not sure your budget will work for a 1st gen Camaro. Prices of a project will eat most of that up, and if it's also out of Canada, shipping and import fees will really put you over the top. Then you'll have a lot of money out, and nothing left to build.
I'd suggest you might consider a late 2nd gen Camaro, as you can find a very decent one to start with, and still be within your budget when done.

Oh, as dissapointing as that is thanks for the information. Haven't really checked 2nd gens, I'll be sure to now. Thanks :)

As a first car, I would suggest getting something really cheap- that you wouldn't care about losing, if something were to happen.

A project is always going to cost a lot more and take a lot more time than you expect, and there is always going to be something it will need.

Get yourself a $1000 beater to drive for your first couple years, and keep your eyes open for a nice project car to work on and drive a little later on.

Saint Ebony, being in Canada, I've been waiting for you to weigh in. Weren't you on a quest a while back for a 1st gen, with no luck finding anything reasonably priced?

Life intervened. Now I've got a wife to take care of and a mortgage to pay- a 1st Gen Camaro has become little more than a pipe dream, for me. :/

And yeah. I drove my '87 Camaro in snow, once. It was such a nerve-racking experience that I swore I'd never do it again. It was constant work to remain in control and to keep it moving. Then you factor in all of the other drivers. All of whom are idiots.