At the risk of being too lengthy, here is my problem. I have owned my 1968 rally sport since my family ordered it new. i drove the car until 1977 and mothballed it in various garages until three years ago. You know the drill, i expected to restore it, then got married, then bought a house, then sent the kids to college and medical school. Finally in 2019 i found a shop to help with the restoration. Issue one for me was what direction to take the restoration.
The car is nicely optioned, with a unique dual exhaust two barrel 327. PS,A/C, console, pg,rally sport, bumble bee stripe, butternut yellow,htp,black interior and stripe, a few other options. I just never liked the color soooooo i decided to resto rod the car with a GM427/480hp , 700r, posi, etc. stock body but color change to some kind of super blue.
When i started the resto the car had 90,000 original miles and a stock drivetrain. i saved all those parts. The car was complete but despite the garaged always status, the concrete floors had condensation and the car wound up with considerable surface rust, some floor rust, rust in bottoms of fenders, doors, quarters. excellent original interior and dash. It was still probably worth $14000? as an original complete car? i acquired some really nice sheet metal at a high cost, adequate amount of good replacement panels, three hoods including warped but original cowl hood.
i have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours sanding, blasting, stripping the car to bare metal. epoxy priming, finishing a couple panels and taking the car completely apart. everything except the dash and wiring. i mean everything. The carcass has been media blasted and epoxy primed but welding is still needed.
Here is part of the inevitable dilemma.. The shop the car was in lost its employees and the car has sat for over a year. They are ahead in payment, so there is little motivation for them to move forward. The car is so disassembled it will take a camaro expert to proceed. i am disheartened and i dont have the energy to take this over myself. You have all seen this before.... what do i do? mistake number one, my sentimental attachment prevented me from the smart decision. i should have sold the car to a collector who would appreciate it for what it was. I still have all those parts, the complete untouched drivetrain, the interior, the original paperwork, history,, spare parts,....but the body is sooooo far from rolling. Do you think there is anyone out there who would buy the car as is, either to resto rod it, or make it original? i realize i am 12,000 into it to basically rip it apart, and i will never get its value three years ago plus the money and work i did. But is there a solution in sight ? Please help me with advise. i am a healthy 69 who has survived some medical drama, but common sense should prevail. i dont know what the protocols are, but respond here in the thread or can i take direct emails or calls?

 

What area are you in? I assume you do not have a son or daughter that would help?

Some questions:
What are your plans for the car when its done? Garage art? Show queen? Tour the country?
What will happen to it after your gone?
Do you have your own "Garage" to work in that has the basics?
Do you have a good way to move the shell around? are you willing to get one
Do you enjoy working on cars? There is a big difference between "not minding" and "enjoying" working on cars.

Some facts.
Certainly sounds like a lion share of work still needs done. 12K seems like too much to blow a car a part and send it to blasting. That should be more like 6K.

Based on my history with these cars a collector is not going to want a basket case unless its super cheap and he can just drop it off at a shop and have less in it then if he bought an already done car. The RS does not add anywhere near the value that a SS does. So it is not going to be a high end car. The options you described even with documentation are not big money options.

Because it is a part there will be no way to be 100% sure all the little parts are there. Most everything is available from the aftermarket but you can add up 10K in clips and nuts and bolts. With a RS its almost never worth doing a concourse restoration on higher mile cars. That is what is needed for most car collectors.

Option information
You could work as you own general contractor. Take the body to metal work. You assemble you take it to paint and get that done and you assemble. Even when doing that there are budget options. If you want metal so no one car tell even before paint Cost way more then if you say get it within 1/16" and we will skim coat it and the floors will be under coated. Remember these cars where designed to last 5-8 years As long as you do not braze in metal you get all the rust out and use seam sealer and epoxy primer on everything it becomes a 50 year body. The next guy can do what he calls right.

You are in your golden years you have 2 years worth of dragging this car and crawling around it. I understand sentimental attachment and I was a full time mechanic and I plan to be playing with cars as long as I can but I would not start a restoration at 69 years old. Heck I am 57 and I think I have one left in me. That will be a C10 or a El camino.

You will spend more money and a lot of hours before you will get near break even on this car.

Each situation is unique and each person is different so we an not really tell you you should follow this optimal path.

 

Great comments..here is the clarification. Two grown daughters and wife who will be clueless about what to do so they will sell it eventually. It is to much a basket case to bring home to my two car garage which is half full of 68 Camaro parts. The shop was given $8000 to take it apart and start prepping and I have 200 hours of my own time helping them, plus all the stuff I have bought so $12 k sadly is a reality. I really do have all the parts, labelled and most at my garage. I expect to lose money but finding a good home might make me accept reality.
I think the advise I need is how do I find the right buyer as is. Thank you, brad

 

Parts should not have gone down in value, In fact most parts have gone up in cost in the last 24 months. Your 12k in parts could be worth 14K or more now. Especially if you have some of those impossible to get parts. Ebay bidding war

I would give all the original parts with the car. then let the next guy re-buy all that stuff if he wants to upgrade it. If you assume the body and all its original parts are worth 10k and you can get 14K for the new parts that would be about the best you can do. That car with a very nice restoration is worth 45ish? (yes you can find crazy prices but those are before negotiation and commissions). That is a difference of 19K. No way can your get the car done for 19K. I would bet metal work and a high end paint job is going to be that much.

 

My parts investment is not just new parts, its all kinds of things plus the money i gave the shop. So i dont have a 14k inventory of "new"parts.
My expectations are that i might be happy if i got something over 15k for the car and everything i have right now. i would ask whomever buys it if i could possibly buy it back someday for whatever they have in it. At least as of today nothing is irreversible, it can be restored as original, or resto rodded . its hard to see, but the icon on my forum identity is a picture of my car.

 

Gorn gives good suggestions and if you do decide to sell, give the OE parts with it.
Good luck with your decision. You'll never get the money back from selling compared to invested now.
Use a dart board in making decision whether to keep the Camaro or not.
If kept, start a log book keeping track of the route taken and future reference.

 

Get a lawyer to tell them sheet or get off the pot get my car done now or I'll own your shop and hire my own employees.
I'd be there lighting a fire under their ****,no more excuses get it done and do it right.
I expect they have other projects they're working on or have they closed up shop?
I have little patience with excuses myself.

 

Buying a project like yours with all the spare parts is the best way to get a deal, for the buyer. It is also the most convenient for you. What it is not is a the best way to get a return on investment.

When you sell a "Basket case" you really limit the people that are on willing to buy it. I do not use "Basket case" to be rude, it is simply what it is, A car with boxes of parts. Anytime you reduce the market you are dropping the value. Putting a car together you did not take a part is general left to Guys that have done it before and have confidence. They will not have an emotional attachment to the car like you. When he does the car it will be for maximum profit.

Your 15K may work if you can find the right person but IMO that person is buying a number matching 68 Camaro the deal will not change much if you have the new parts or if you don't have the new parts.

I have no idea what level of research you did but when you buy parts there are a lot of different option out there. "Cheap but Functional" "Performance parts" "Generic OEM parts" They are made to GM standards and may fit dozens of different cars but are slightly difference then what came with the 68 Camaro, "Near correct parts" these will fool your local judges and most hobbyists and then there is "concourse" restoration parts. These are OEM or made so even a judge who has been looking at these cars for 30+ year and may use a magnifying glass can not tell it did not come off the factory floor in 1968. All number are correct and any hidden manufacturing defects are in place. I say all this just to point out there is a good chance the new/used parts you have are almost worth less to some buyers other then them reselling them.

I do not know what parts you have but IMO even 11K for number matching 68 RS ready for restoration $6000 in parts for sale or 15K for all. May be easier to sell and may give you more of a market share.

If the buyer plan is a concourse restoration with a speedo turned back then most of the parts you have will be sold and the original ones if still there will be restored.

Your agreement to buy it back will be honored as long as your the highest bidder. No one will spend 1800 hours restoring a car they have no sentimental attachment to just to sell it for costs. They certainly will not sign something to that effect. These cars could double in value in the nest 24 month or they could drop in value by 50%.

The truth of lawyers and a 8k rip off in the US it would be hard to litigate. The retainer for the lawyer alone is going to be 5K and you can plan on the final bill to be more. It sucks in the US you can not go after legal fees, a judges can grant them but there is never a guaranty, Over in Europe you start with arbitration but either side can request a trial but who ever looses pay both sides legal fees. This is why so many cases settle out of court over there. I watch a show where a US lawyer explained our system to a UK lawyer. His first comment is what would stop a rich person from suing a poor person into financial ruin over some small issue? Answer: Nothing. (sorry that is a pet pev of mine and I think a better system would eliminate a lot of the bad apples in the auto industry.) IMO anything under 15K your best bet is a detailed report to the BBB with the damages listed and the hope the company would want to clean that report up by making you whole is you best bet. If they already have a bad ranking with the BBB you screwed, which is why you want to check that before you start forking over money.