I have a 1980 Camaro with a 305 in it. It has about 90,000 miles on it, i just put brand new tires on it and its currently in the shop now. I guess there is fuel getting into the oil and the shop suggest a rebuild of an engine, im not sure what the cost for that will be but I don't want to sink a ton of money in this car of it doesnt have much value to it. Any idea of what its worth once the engine is fixed. Other than the engine they said everything was in great condition, maybe replace some suspension parts.

 

You know, putting a value on a car is a difficult thing to do from seeing a picture on the internet. You know your car's condition the best, so I would suggest checking out sites like autabuy.com or hemmings.com to compare your car to those that being offered for sale. While this is no guarantee that those prices are achievable, it at least gives you an idea what others feel their cars are worth.

 

Rebuilding a 305 is not really worth it. They are weak engine. You can buy a new 350 engine for around $1600 plus install and it will increase the value of the car. These are the low end of the Camaro world and are subject to local variation. It will all be supply and demand in your area. Most people are not flying across the country to buy a stock 80 Camaro. Around me 8k would be the high end retail of a car in real nice condition around me. .

 

Thank you, this is what I was looking for. My dad passed away a few years ago and I bought the camaro from my mom, didn't know if it would be worth putting more into. I have 1K in it already along with the 4500 I paid for it. Another 1500 to rebuild would put me at 7K which is more than I intended to be into this car.

 

I agree that the math does not work for an investment. But if you try to sell it with the engine needing rebuilt, now its a project instead of a driver and the sale price will drop more then the cost of the rebuild. It could take you a while to sell the car with a rebuilt motor for 7K it could take you longer to sell the same car needing a motor for $3500. The project value will vary way more then a running driving car.