Hi everyone. I just joined, as I am down here in Venezuela for a while, and I am stunned by the amount of cool cars running around. Why does everyone talk about the cars in Cuba? Here gas is 0.10$ a litre, so there are no Isuzu engined cars except .. Isuzus! Cars keep their original engines. I'd just like a few bullet points on what to look for in an early Camaro - where does it rust (not a big probem here), any weak spots in the motor and especially the suspension - the roads are very, very poor. Are there simple ways to check if a car is a genuine SS / Z28? (chassis series etc.?) or if the motor is the correct one?Thanks in advance..

 

Here's a place you can find out about "X" coding and many other things that can help identify where/when a Camaro was made: http://www.camaros.org/index.shtml

The most commons rust points that I know of are the trunk, and floor pans. You'll also want to look for rust around window corners/channels and under wheel wells.

There are a million "CLONES" or "TRIBUTE" Camaros out there, and most are sold or advertised as such. However, beware that you may run into clones that are NOT advertised as such. This is where the link I provided will come in handy. For instance, if someone tells you they have an original Z28 with factory air? They never made one. A RS is largely a cosmetic package on the Camaro, and the SS was basically a "performance" package on the Camaro. A SS/RS is a combo of both. Camaros were sold with a wide variety of engine possibilities, and you can see the list in the link. The big block (like 396's) cars are usually more expensive, and the manual trans cars sell for more, in general, than the autos. I hope this helps a bit.

 

Thanks DBX, that looks really useful! Some good reference reading to print.. I have only seen autos so far, but I don't know if everyone is really clued up on these things here. For a lot of people it's just a set of wheels.I am still checking sites for values. I think they must be tough machines, like most old Chevy's it seems- I know a building firm still shovelling concrete out of the back of a 57's step-side pick up. I can't imagine any modern commercial vehicle surviving 50 years active service!

 

You should be able to buy one cheap down there. I saw a couple of cars from South America advertised for sale here, and they were SCARY cheap. They lookd absolutely beautiful, but I'd be hard pressed buying one from out of country (Canada as an exception). But chances are that these cars were the real thing. I have no doubt that U.S. crazes are just that....only/mainly here in the U.S. These cars are probably looked at like a "nice 38yr old car" elsewhere, and only worth 3K-5K. But this is conjecture, as I have no idea how they're really veiwed or valued outside the U.S.

Good luck with your search.

 

what are you doing down there?