Ok, so after a long debacle with my 1980 camaro which is rusted out I decided that today would be a good day to get some real work done on it. From the bondo on the driver side rear quarter, a blue drivers side door, the stress crack on the transmission tunnel, and the rusted areas I have discerned that this vehicle was t-boned. I was looking at buying a 72, but I just got this itch to keep the 80 and fix it up. So, I finished tearing out the headliner and what was left of the interior which was not a whole lot and found that the rust is only in the roof, floor pans, and drivers side quarter panel. There is surface rust elswhere, but the panels that need replacing are the whole roof (not just the skins), the entire floor pan and the drivers quarter panel. I also pulled the trim off of the rear window, got the trunk lid and trim piece taken off, got both door panels removed, and removed some bondo. I think I am going to keep this car. I contacted a junkyard from which there is a front clip from a 70 so I will have the front end I want. Also after removing the rear bumper cover I have noticed that the sheet metal that the bumper cover was covering looks distinctly like a 70-73 from the side just with a giant bumper support in the way. I have the motor and transmission in hand which need rebuilt, but I want to go with a standard and not an auto. I have still yet to post pics because I'm new to the forum thing, but I will learn. I will start a progress link soon, hopefully you guys will follow along on my biggest car adventure yet...

 

gotta have pictures,,, set up a photobucket account then u copy the img code to your post. pictures should be sized at 640 on the big side or smaller. welcome to the forum.

 

IMO buy a 70-73 to have a real one, keep the 80 original looking, just doesnt look right without fabbing the rear as well. But you are right the 70-73 models do have the nicest front end.