Hey guys. I'm pretty new here. Just joined in fact.

As you can guess, the 1976 Camaro is my dream car. And before you ask, yes it's mostly down to the transformers movie. I'm a 19 year old guy. But whos dream car didn't originate from a movie eh?

Anyways, I'm looking to get one of these cars when I turn 21 in about 18 months.

I live in England (So I might be in the wrong place, but it's the only active forum I could find) so I've decided to start looking about early, and getting as much information as I can, they're pretty rare over here.


Basically. I'm going to be on a budget of around $19,000 (£12,000)

When it comes to the restoration of classic cars (well, any cars) I'm absolutely clueless... I'm going to need alot of help and contacts when it comes down to this... I'd love to do the work myself, however I'm not going to learn how to do it on my dream car.


My basic questions;

1) Is my budget reasonable to get a decent ride?

2) How much am I looking to spend on the car, and how much on the restoration? I was hoping to get a good runner for around £6000 due the prices I've seen online, that leaves me around £6000 to spend on new brakes, engine, interior, paint. Whatever it needs.

3) If you have any English contacts you know that do this sort of stuff I'd be so appreciative.

I have very good mechanics in the family, so sorting that end of it out will be easy. But when it comes down to the interior and paint I really want a professional.


Help me guys. Is this a realistic dream? I pray it is.



Thanks all for reading


Grovsie

 

I think your budget is quite doable, and maybe even without having to do much of anything. Of course it will probably require arranging shipping from here in the states to England, but even if that cost was a couple thousand dollars, you can still get a lot of nice 1976 Camaros for under $17,000.
If I were in your situation I'd wait until I got closer and begin searching Ebay, and various Craiglist sites in the USA. Maybe contact a legitimate broker to ensure you don't get caught up in a scam, or have people here think you're part of a scam.
I see some very nice 1976 Camaros go for under $10,000 in my area occasionally.

 

I know of a guy over there with a big bumper car. Its down right mean with TWIN Prochargers. Its also one of the nicest I've seen. I'll see if I can get you an e-mail.

 

Thanks for the replies guys and I'd love to see the photos.


I've been speaking to my father who tells me that with 12,000 I could get a really decent car, so I think I'm gonna look into that rather then buying one for 6k and improving it.

I'd love to be able to work on it myself, and maybe one day I will but I don't have the expertise or anywhere I could store it etc.

Gonna have to look into importing, from what I've heard it will be about £1k which isn't too bad.


Anyone got any idea how much a full respray would cost me from a professional, someone who can do a perfect job.
I wanna go viper yellow with the two black stripes, like from Transformers lol.

I saw a video of some guys who restored a 1976 iin their garage and the job was amazing, was so jealous.

 

I have know idea what the cost of paint would be over there. Can around and ask, then again they will want to see a car before quoting.

 

Quoting a paint job on a car that's sitting in front of you is easy, but without seeing the car, or knowing what it might need in preparation to paint would be impossible, even without knowing costs in England.

 

Ah okay fair enough... basically if it's not Yellow it'll need a full body repaint. I'll have to look more into it then when I've got some cars lined up.

 

ARGH! I hate Blackberry phones.... I just typed a post and my crappy phone backpaged and deleted it all as I was about to hit send.

Anyways, just a bit curious about the gearing on a Camaro, from what I've seen browsing they come in Manual and Automatic which is good as I favour Manual.

But I understand they come 3 speed and 4 speed? And from what I've heard this affects top speed and accerlation? My uncle explained to me how you can adjust your gearing for top speed or faster 0-60 etc. But what I'd like to know is if you can get a nice balance between thhe two from a powerful engine? I'm sure you can, but just wondering.

Last but not least, what kind of work is involved in changing the gearbox etc to change from a 3, 4 or 5 speed. Is it a big job and is it advisable? Does it hinder the car at all?

If anyone could point me to a better place for this sort of info I'd really appreciate it. Some kind of "A beginners guide to Camaros" must exist for me lol.

Thanks again!

Grovsie

 

again it depends what transmission u decide to run,gearing is one of the first things i would do.if a 3 or 4speed is useda 3.73 would be perfect,would give u a good balance between acceleration and performance on the road.if u go with a 5 speed then i would choose a 3.42 will make it more driveable,changing transmission is easy,would be a good start to learning how to repair ur car.also while ur at it install about a 2000 rpm torque converter.

 

Just sent you a private messege.