Hi all, Im new to this site so if this is in the wrong spot feel free to move it to the correct spot
So ive stumbled upon a 1967 Camaro that seems like a good project it has the 327 V8 and a power glide transmission. The car needs work theres the usual rust spots(he says the front fenders are bad) and the guy has informed me the engine is "locked" I assumed he meant hydrolocked What should i realistically pay for a car in this condition





http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8bdf2877.jpg









^ those are the pictures i have of the car

 

It is going to take countless man hours, and a small fortune to return her to her former glory...

That being said, $1200 at most?

 

Much better to spend more on a nicer car. It'll save you $ in the long run.

 

Has this car been covered up from the elements? Judging by the rusty dash with the open-air windows, I'm going to guess probably not. That means water has been getting into places it shouldn't have been. Be sure to check the floors, and everywhere underneath, thoroughly for rust. On a car that's sat a lot, a locked engine generally means rust has frozen the rings to the cylinder walls. If you're not able to do the full restoration yourself, you're going to end up having more into it than it's worth, or more than you can buy a nicely finished one for.

 

Well said !!

 

It depends, are you going to do the body work yourself or are you going to have to pay someone? If you are "the body man" then you know your limits, if not then it depende how deep you pockets are?

 

With engine locked you must assume it is not repairable. You have no idea why the car was parked in the first place. It could have been parked because it threw a rod. This can render an engine unsalvageable. So now we are talking about a non-SS shell car that looks like it is going to cost 25-30K to restore and make road worthy and when you are done it will be worth 18K.

How much is it worth? I have no idea. It should go to someone that just needs a shell for a race car or crazy street mod or be used for a title on a dynacorn body. The most valuable part of that car is the Vin and the title. If you are looking to build a street car keep looking.

I would guess clean title alone should be worth $2500. Anyone know what ferrous oxide is bring in scrape these days?

 

personally I'm not a fan of using money as an excuse to not get something that interests you. if you care more about your $$$ then getting a beaten up classic car isn't for you. If your more like me and you want it because it means something more to you then what its worth when your finished I say go for it.
first did you look inside the car to see just how bad the rust is? second have you looked into how much it'll be to fix it? that being said I believe $2000 would be a good deal for it if it has a title.

 

That would make sense if it was his Dads car or if he somehow had an emotional connection to the car. Why on earth you would buy a car that is basically scrape and it is going to cost you 25K+ to fix plus 100’s if not 1000’s of hours when you can buy a completed, fresh car for 18K? Looks at this way, lets say they want $2500, I think that is a fair price. Now if he just looked for a numbers matching SS that is in that condition, sure it will cost 6-7K for the shell but it going to still cost the same money and time to restore but when you are done you have a car worth 35-40K.

2.5K for shell plus 25K restoration = 18k car
Or
7K for SS shell plus 25K restoration = 35K car

Which makes more sense?

I have helped dozens of people with restoration and one statement I have never heard after the cars where done was, “I wish I would have not started with such a solid car” In fact I would say the most common thing you will hear from someone that that has done this is “I wish I would have looked for a more solid car to start with”

All that assumes the OP knows what he is getting into. If someone just wants in a 1st gen I have seen a lot of “not” finished projects that have new engines and all the metal work done for under 10K. Just putting a metal finished car back together can take an average person a year plus and take 5-10K depend on how nice you want it and you still have not painted it.

 

That depends on the motive. Are you restoring the car because you want to make it your way, regardless of the cost, or because you think it will save you money as opposed to buying an already finished one? There's more than one person here who got financially buried way deeper than they expected or wanted to (the word "surprise" comes to mind), but they were already beyond the point of no return. Those of us who have restored old cars before tend to be more cautious (read thorough) the next time around.