Advice needed for newbie
 

Like many of you, I've always wanted a 1st gen camaro and decided to finally pull the trigger. I want the car that I can keep for 20+ years and give to my son (if he appreciates it at that point).

I'm looking for a 67-69 convertible.
I see them all over for $25k on up but right now I only want to spend $20k or less. I'm hoping for a driver, something already setup with a V8. I will eventually get to the interior, suspension, paint, etc. I just want to find something I can drive now and work on sections at a time over say a 5 year period.

I don't care about matching #s or if its an SS/RS.
it will be a restomod car, not looking for full restoration.

Can you tell me what things I should look for, stay away from, etc?
Best place to start looking, is one year better than another, just any advice you can give me I'd appreciate it.

Idea I have in my head now
LS motor, automatic, disc brakes, new suspension & lowered, daily driver. Thats my end goal.

Good luck finding a decent convertible for $20K or less... IMO: Not gonna happen.

Convertibles are THE most sought after first gen's.

Inspect carefully for rust issues before buying anything.

69's are the holy grail of 1st gen convertibles, for good reason.
Searching my local craigslist turns up this one: 1969 Camaro Convertable
Wave $25k under his nose and I bet it would be your car. And it's one that doesn't appear to need paint, and has a very nice interior.

And here's one for $15k that has some small obvious rust spots....and most likely some more not so obvious ones: 1969 CAMARO CONVERTIBLE

Why 69s? not 67 or 68.

yeah this one is nice but pretty typical for what I've been seeing in the 25-$30k range. I'm hoping for something near $20k. Even if in rough shape , its ok. I'll keep searching.

But I was just asking for any tips what to look for or stay away from. For example,my question above. Why a 69 is better than 67,68.

ok, did some searching and I see the bodylines were changed in 1969 to "be more sporty". This was the only year like this so I can see why collectors search out this one. The looks are better but I'm ok with 67/68 too. Just looking for the right deal.

There is no bad 1st gen, but some like certain years over others. Click on the red link above my signature picture, the 69's popularity was officially affirmed by the masses. What else to watch out for, no matter the year, is rust on the frames, floors, below the rear window and the dash/windshield area. Go over the car with a fine tooth comb, and a weak magnet to find rust that may have been covered up by body filler.

Rust is a big problem with rag tops. These cars can have rust issues in parts of the country that don't normally have rust issue. The problem was people ran them too long without replacing the tops. They get that nuisance water leak at the windows and they would just ignore it. This would rust out the floor and the rockers. The other part of the problem is that unlike its hard top brother the rockers are structural. Replacing them is a huge undertaking to do it right.

Each rocker assembly on a rag weighs a couple of hundred lbs. The rocker itself in important but the connection to the cowl/firewall is absolutely critical.
The area just above the vise grips.
Attachment 13576

The above picture is from a car done by V8 TV they bought a solid driver off ebay and drove it home to restore. Once they got it back from media blast they realized it was done for. The cost in this body repair alone was more then 20K. That that was professional restoration guys that thought the car was solid.

So what you really need to worry about with lower end cars, if the car was cosmetically repaired and is now unsafe to drive but looking good. I have seen so many rusted out first gen rag tops that where in garages as "project". No one want to scrap them but they know the cost to repair them right. Sometimes I think they buy them just to say they own one.

You will be looking at floors, and patch work would make me suspect. Any recent work in the rocker area that might be covering up something. See if the cross brace is there. If not the owner is clueless, driving these cars without the cross brace can damage them unless you baby them all the time.

After saying all that, since you are not worried about "original" if you found one of these suspected rusted car you could build/buy a supporting tubular frame to insure the ride is safe. You could tie it into a roll bar and make the car stronger then new, (which would not be hard, even new the ragtops are sloppy)

The problem I have run in to with convertibles is the owners want restored prices. Old rusted out beaters that the owner wants 15 to 20 thousand knowing it needs 30 to 40 thousand worth of work. Decent ones are out there but what you want is a unicorn they might exist but all you ever here is a guy who knows a guy, you never meet the actual guy that owns it. Don't give up your going to meet a lot of junk cars before you find something your willing to start with... And get it professionally inspected..

ok thanks everyone.
From what I am seeing it may be wise to up my budget $8-$10k.
Finding one under $30k may end up saving me a lot of money compared to a total junker at $20k.

Seems like $10k doesn't go very far,especially if some of the work needs to be done by a shop so I'd rather get one that has that type of stuff done.

Interior/paint,wheels, suspension are all things I would prefer to choose after I buy it.