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My neighbor contacted me asking if I would like to purchase his 68 Camaro SS. The car has been sitting in his garage since 1986 with the front clip removed. All the front clip parts are present. It originally was a BB 396/375hp car based on old pics he has. He blew the motor in the late 70's and replaced it with a small block 350 which remains in the car. The original engine is long gone. The original numbers matching Muncie transmission and 12 bolt rear end are present. The car has rear fender flares added in the late 70's. The car was originally LeMans blue with black Vinyl roof and black bucket seats and power drum brakes. Very little other options. He has no factory/dealer documentation. Attached is a pic. Please indicate what a fair offer would be for the car. Any help is appreciated.
Dereck

 

Too bad about the hack job on the rear fender wells,that will hurt the value quite a bit.
Much more info needed to set a value on that car,just for starters you need to run the numbers to find out if it's a true SS 396 or not.
Even if it is without the original motor it takes a hit in value but it's worth more by far as a true SS 396.
Does it have the big block heater core? that might be a clue but not definitive.
Does it have the correct SS hood? Again a clue but pointing in the right direction.
Can you post a pic of the cowl tag so we can get the numbers?
Prices vary a lot from one region of the country to another so there's that to deal with,from your picture we can't see if the floors and or trunk are rusted out or the roof,vinyl tops are notorious for hiding rust.
How does the interior look?
Where are you located?
Does he have a clean title?

 

It's a real BB SS car. All the indicators are there. BB heater core has never been removed. SS hood remains. Original trim tag Norwood built car with LeMans Blue, black vinyl roof and black bucket seats. He has original pics from the early 70's that show the 396 and original LeMans paint. Floors are surprisingly good. Rear quarters are not. It was driven in the WI winters. Has a clean WI title. He is attached to it so he may want more than it's worth.

 

Around here at least it would probably be somewhere in the $5K-$10K range,given the cost of a proper restoration with a 396 it would have to be a keeper unless you can do it all yourself and even then you'd be lucky to break even if you sold it.
If he's real attached to it I'd probably walk away.

 

I'm exactly where you are with it. I was thinking about $5k then maybe parting it out. I'd be under water with a correct restoration even done myself. $5k may offend him but that's likely what it's worth if one doesn't plan on restoring it. It's a shame he didn't keep the original motor he pulled out. Back then it didn't matter. He was a kid. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Yep,these cars got rode hard and put away wet all too often.
I had a '69 for 14 years,just a plain jane I picked up in 1977 with a rod through the side of the block of it's 327 but it had a 4 speed and I dropped a Vette 427 in it and had a ball.
Wish I had it now,let it go way too cheap almost 30 years ago.

 

If it were me and you weren’t planning on a restoration I would walk away. It would be a good car to restore as it doesn’t look completely hacked up. Yes it will need body work but all of them do. I am not sure from the picture but was this an AC car? Definitely would help the value. 12 bolt rear or do you know? For parting out purposes 1k-1500 to the right buyer on a 12 bolt posi. Too bad he doesn’t have the original working radio. They are fetching 500 bucks.

 

Newbie here but certainly an 'oldie' when it comes to 1st gens. This thread caught my attention because of this particular car - IMO, it would be shame to part it out with it possibly being a 375 HP version. Curious to know if the pics show the motor having an aluminum intake? Was the neighbor the original owner? It wouldn't hurt to check to see if a build sheet is somewhere in the car? I've seen a lot worse go for $12k+ easily on ebay - the body doesn't look all that bad a shape and all the parts , save engine, seems to be still with the car.

BTW, there is no indication from the photos that it had AC - 375 HP did not come equipped that option, as were the Z/28's

 

He was the second owner. The pics he has are old Polaroids. Quality is poor. However, several show the BB. You can't tell any specifics such as air cleaner lid text or what heads were on it. He and I looked for a build sheet in the coils of the front and back seats as well as under the carpet. He had removed the fuel tank years ago and there was no evidence of a tank sheet having been present. He also doesn't have the warranty book/POP. Unfortunately, there's nothing indicating what BB engine was factory installed. If it had the original 396/375 block I would restore it. I'm retired and it would be a great project car that I'd keep. Camaro parts are plentiful and I could repair the sheet metal issues. AMD allows one to build an entire car. However, having restored several other cars this one would be tough to break even on. If it had docs indicating the engine that decision my be different. Honestly, I'd like to buy it and sell it just to make a few thousand to put in other projects. I still think he believes it's worth more than it actually is. He's a good neighbor and I don't want to damage our relationship over a car. I'll likely just be honest with him regarding value and what my intentions would be. I find that is always the best policy. He may choose to list it on Craigslist or eBay.

 

schlett7nu1, understand you completely about not wanting to commit to this project. These resto's can be a pain to do $$ wise especially 68's because of the lack of verification as to what the car came equipped with. I must admit I'm a bit sentimental with the 68's due to a friend who purchased one from Baldwin/Motion Chevy back then. I'll never forget the times in that car when he floored it - if I hadn't had the seat belts on I would have wound up in the back seat. A real torque monster,.

Goodluck with whatever you decide to do!