Hello - I’m in the market for a first gen camaro and wanted to seek advice from the experts. I know I should find one that is fun to drive but I didn’t grow up with these cars so my experience is very very very limited. I love the way they look and always wanted one.

would love advice on what to look for. Would like it somewhat original. Wanted #s matching but have slowly been talked away from it.

looking for a little direction as I start to look. Thanks!

 

Never buy a car without inspecting it or having it inspected by a qualified source. Any 50+ year old car has likely had many parts replaced including major ones like engine, trans or rear end so "#'s matching" cars are far and few between and many that are "claimed" to be are fake. Many 6 cyl cars have been converted to V8 which is fine as long as its not represented as a SS or some model that never came as a 6 cyl.

Rust and/or poor body work is quite common so inspecting is a must which includes getting under the car (read not just bend down and look), inside wheel wells and trunk also.

Cowl and VIN tag info, along with a great wealth of 411 about 1st gens can be found here

Camaro Research Group

 

I’m looking for a reputable company that sells original 68 Camaro SS parts. Any help will be appreciated! Thanks
Diane

 

What do you mean by original? Are you looking for quality reproduction parts or unicorn new old stock parts?
New old stock is hard to find anymore and very expensive if found,sometimes eBay has things like that up for auction.
That said here's a few good sources for parts new and used and some NOS pieces.

https://www.rickscamaros.com/gen1-pa...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.camarocentral.com/?Click...0aAmF1EALw_wcB

https://www.heartbeatcitycamaro.com/...-Camaro-Parts/

http://www.dynacorn.com/

There's also a facebook page dedicated to finding NOS parts etc.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7728.../forsaleposts/

 

Thank you for replying. Looking for quality reproduction parts. I will check out the links you’ve provided!

diane

 

Even that can be muddy water. If the car is not numbers matching you may want non-reproduction parts. These cars a over 50 years old and just about every single part can be made better if you leave off reproduction side of the parts. Engineers in the 60's where very limited by available materials and manufacturing processes, These days even at small manufacturing outfit can make parts that engineers could only dream of in the 60's. If you plan on really driving the car not just showing it off brake upgrades really should be done. Today even a cheap rental car can stop 4 times faster then a base 60's camaro, Crappy brakes and NO safety feature can lead to a person loosing all their teethe in a simple fender bender. In these cars a 30 MPG wreck can be life changing, in modern cars under 45 MPH wrecks are walked away from with some sore muscle. I wreck my 2000 Z28 when I was hit by a tire/rim off a semi. I ended up into the wall at 80 miles an hour. I seriously double that was survivable in my 67.