I have a 1967 Camaro that I bought when I was 15. I'm now 42. My first car. It has the original 327 210 hp. Two speed power glide on the column. And original rear end in it. I tore this car apart when I was 22 and started to restore it but life became the priority. I'm wanting to have it restored and really would like to keep drivetrain in it. But it needs better brakes and I want to be able to cruise in it and take it to shows. Just not sure if I should keep it stock or what. Also wanting a professional to do this car. Because obviously I'm not going to get to it. It's been 20 years now. I want a badass looking ride and don't want to spend more than 20 grand on it. I live in West Virginia Any ideas

 

Big factors:
Current condition of the car? Is there a lot of metal work that needs done?
What upgrades are a must have?
By definition restoration mean rebuilding everything is that how you see it?

This is going to require a lot of research and decisions. First off a real good full restoration can easily take 500 hours so unless you know professional that works for around $40 an hour and gives free parts your budget is blown.

Are there some things you can do? like pulling and installing the motor? Do you have access to a way to move the car around? Trailer/dolly. You are going to need to trailer the car around to get quotes. But even then the quotes are estimates once the tear into the motor or body work who knows what they will find.

There will be so many decision like, You want disk brakes but on the front and the back? is 70's disk brakes ok or do you want the more modern big disk kits. The different in price can be $400 to $2500 and that is just parts on the front brakes.

 

Depending on the condition of your interior, body, frame, paint, etc.... restoration means different things to different people.

A couple things id consider:

Your engine will likely need freshening after sitting 20 years

2- speed trans does not make for a fun street car. look towards a 5-speed manual or automatic with overdrive to make the car fun between the stoplights as well as the highway.

Disc brakes up front are crucial imo, and for cruising drums will do the job in the rear.

Suspension and steering are 2 areas that there's a ton of room for improvement. inspecting and replacing worn parts is the bare minimum in this dept but a faster ratio steering box and tighter suspension make the ride alot more enjoyable. And ride height can be a big part of the picture depending on the look you're after.

Badass costs money..... the parts aren't cheap and the process is time consuming, very time consuming. 500 hours goes by fast. If you want to put in the legwork and deal with the risks you can save $ by finding used parts- wheels, trans, even steering box (from a late 80's iroc i believe)

Hard to say without knowing exactly what you have now and what you want to turn it into but $20k will go by fast.

 

I worked on my 68 10 hours most every day for a year.
I had bought the car in 72 with only 1680 miles on it. parked it in 74 and it set in the garage for 34 years. I replaced 1 fender and radiator support. all other metal is original.
what I am getting at is my car was in great shape and I still have 30K invested

 

It's all there. I've spent about 80 hours to n a fender many years ago. It almost done. One more flat block session and done. So I see where hours go quickly. I'll rebuild the engine and can do the brake upgrade. Don't know if I want to get rid if f the 2 speed on the column. I know the 5 speed or newer auto would be more fun but this is the original and I need to research suspension on it and see that f I can do that. But the body work is tedious and time consuming and I want it perfect and right. So I guess I need to get my butt in gear and do something. It's in my dads garage now since I don't have one. Building one was in my plans but not Til fall. So I've got to get on it. Thank you all for the advice

 

Good luck in your decision - cheap & perfect are not in the same sentence.
Rome wasn't built in a day, perfect takes time.

If all original, why not keep her original?
You'll get more compliments being original than if she were modded.

 

.... I might argue that point. My customized cars have always drawn a lot of positive attention, but I can also appreciate an original.
IMO build what makes you happy, don't worry about what anyone else likes.

 

You are correct, build to your likeness, she is your Camaro.
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