OK I need your opinion. Please read the thread that I started in Off Topic and give me your thoughts.

https://camaroforums.com/forum/lounge-6/what-would-you-do-43081/

you can reply here or in the thread itself.

 

I don't know about the money situation, but I would say don't let the kids drive the Camaro. lol

 

This is just my opinion. I have 4 kids myself so I kind of know what you are talking about. You need to stop thinking of your Camaro as transportation. Yes it will take you from point A to point B but will you leave it in a parking lot? In it stock form I can start your car almost as fast as you, meaning I don't need keys. I had a friend who had a 69 stolen right from the mall parking lot in the middle of the day. He was inside for about 40 minutes. That was back when a nice plain jane was going for 3-4K. Your Camaro is a hobbie, A work of art. Something you care about. Something that will last a life time. Transportation gets used up, crashed, beaten.

Even the best of us forget a lot of small things, believe me your car is going to $40-$50 dollar you to death the last month or two.

If money is tight let the Camaro sit. I know getting it finished is important to you but you have to do whats right for the family. If you need transportation save up a few months and get what you need.

 

Wow, thats the best way I've heard it put. makes alot more sense when you put it that way. I gotta take a trip and meat this Gorn Person sometime.

 

Ah the voice of reason.....I hate it....but very valid points. I so want to finish the camaro you are right and drive it everyday. Thats what Im building it for. The paint job will have to be redone anyways. I understand what you are saying about it being a work of art but for me this is not going to be a show car and I know that dings will happen. I am building it for the mear fact that it will be driven every day. Thats what I bought it for. I mean why do all of this if I am too afraid to let it out of my sight or not drive it? I think that I would be more worried if it was a new camaro or vette. I watched my old boss get a new vette every few years, park it in a busy parking lot and nothing ever happened to it. She drove it everywhere. I mean its a car........Its been redone from the ground up......I know the risks involved but its original intention was a daily driver.

I also have no means in the way to save up for a better vehicle to drive. This is basically my only chance of really having funds right now for the camaro. Life has gotten tough since I quit my reg job. Yes I am in business for myself now but the time off for surgery has taken its toll on my finances. Trust me thou I am taking everything into consideration and thanks for posting.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those guys that say it’s a museum pc. I am being practical. Your 69 was designed in a much simpler time. Back then if a car door was locked it was fairly safe. I remember my dad never took the keys out of the car until once when I was 6 I started his car up. My concerns for your Camaro are not that someone will damage it. Parted out your Camaro is worth 4-7K. That’s a real good haul for a car thief considering they are lucky to get 6K for a 20K car, as a whole car. It use to be only dumb thief’s targeted older car because they could not handle tougher electronics. But now with the part out values any car thief will target your car. If there was still a lot of the old Camaros and Mustangs around they would be at the top of the thefts list.

If you are going to use it as a daily drive you need to figure out how to secure it. You should upgrade the brakes. Most cars today can stop two to three times faster then your 69. The 2 second rule should be the 4 second rule if there is no upgrade. But that won’t help is someone pull out in front of you. I assume you’re not going to let the kids drive it? Crash survival rate is much lower in these cars vs a modern car and chance of serious injury is greater yet. Your daughter’s wreck is a good example. Most people look at that front end and say look how cheap that car was made look how it all crumpled up. I say look how much energy that absorbed. It’s like driving around in a pillow. Same wreck in a 69 anything would most likely result in a trip to the hospital and a couple of stitches or an injured neck.

My insurance companies seem to agree with me on this. My 67 as hobby car cost about $135 per year with agreed value of $25000. My regular insurance company wants $1200 every 6 months as an everyday driver, that was after they came out and took pictures. I work just outside of Philly but to put that in to perspective a 20K 2002 SS would cost me about $400 per 6 months.

This is my opinion and yes this is a conservative view. I have been flamed in the past for saying old cars are not safe as everyday drivers. I am also the guy that thinks motorcycle should not be used a daily driver because of the traffic levels in my area.

 

Yesterday I saw a utube that had a 59 Chevy running head on into an 09 Malibu. The Malibu driver would have been shaken up, the 59 driver would have been dead. There was a crime committed in destroying the nice old Chevy, but the point was well taken.

Back to the issue of spending the money on the Camaro vice another car for your kid - the kid will destroy whatever you get. I've BTDT, wasted tons of money that I probably would have been wiser to just shred. I would never, based upon experience, buy any of our kids a car. They have no appreciation of the value, and trash it instantly. They also learn that Mommy and Daddy will bail them out if they "really" need it - without getting too graphic, imagine spending all her money buying cigarettes and then calling home because there is no money for tampons -BTDT, on the Daddy end.

There is absolutely no upside to buying a car for a child that the child has no investment in. Learn from my mistakes

 

being on the recieving end here of hkunz's comment, im kind of offended, but then I guess maybe I am one of the few kids who when my dad says take my 74 chev spray/parts/farm truck, I think I need to take better care of this than my camaro cause its not my car. However I do know of kids that think that its just a high school car and think mom and dad will just buy me a new one for graduation. So it depends on how your kids drive and how much you know you can trust them with you car. Or how much you can trust kids to leave a car like that alone in a parking lot. I like the idea of you finishing the camaro and trying to put a few extra bucks away to save up to get your daughter a new car. Maybe ask her if she wants a nice car if she will wait. If she doesn't start checking repo yards. My family has made a killing at them. My dad bought a 02 chrysler cirrus for $200, a 98 stratus for $150, and a 96 jeep cherokee for $300. never know what you can find

 

Well another car would not be considered her's. It was my mazda that was totalled. It was there for the kids to drive. I would not buy my daughter a car. She can get one of her own when she gets a job. My son bought his own vehicle to turn and make a little bit of money. When he totaled my escort I revoked his lisence for 6 months. Mainly cause of his attitude about it and that he lied about how it happened. He was not aloud to drive the mazda cause he's already blew 2 tires, hyper extended the door and done more damage to the underside. He's on his own as far as Im concerned.

Gorn thanks for you input. I do understand the crash risks. We are working on how to secure it well. My husbands fear is that someone will just tow it away. No one would question that. I want to upgrade the brakes to disc but that will have to wait. Right now the ins is low cause they know its not on the street. I would have to call them to find out exactly what it will cost me when it is running. I am willing to pay it if I want to drive it.

My thing is this. When I had my 67 right after high school, it was just something about having that to drive everyday that just made life worth living. I do understand that I came from a small town and Orlando is a whole other ballgame. Since I got rid of the camaro I have been thru a long series of POS cars. Done the have-to family wagon and 2 minivans. Then came the escort and now the mazda. I dont want just another ordinary car.

Whats nice about my job is that there are big windows that over look the parking lot and I can park right in front of them if I want. I do have another car to drive if I need to just run up to walmart. I have had many conversations with my husband about how its not good to just fire the engine up and then only drive it 2 blocks. It will do more damage than good. But it will be the main sorce of vehicle for me to drive.

And thanks guys for all your input.

 

That's a no-brainer, finish the Camaro...or it may never get done! It sounds like you are planning on driving it on a somewhat regular basis anyhow? Yeah, a more modern car is safer in a crash, but we don't drive with that intent (although it seems like others do). Crashes (no such thing as an "accident", it's a "careless-dent") do happen, that's the chance we take by sharing the road with careless impatient morons. At least the Camaro can be safer than a puny compact car, motorcycle, or scooter. Driving your car and thinking about how safe (or unsafe) it is, kinda takes the fun right out of it. And you're building a fun car to drive, not to put under glass.