First post here and always been a fan of muscle cars but only recently could entertain the option. FYI I am not the most inclined when it comes to mechanics

Found an ad in the local classifieds and was wondering if I could get some guidance on whether this would be a good purchase or not?

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details...teLocale=en_CA

Also wondering what my options would be for engine/transmission... looking to get 300hp but other than that not picky

 

Are you building a race car? That car has no title? For some reason the price of "projects" is dropping. I would wait another few weeks before I bought a project. I do not think an un-titled shell was ever worth $3750. Maybe if you already had a rusted out shell and you wanted to fix that car. That car may have metal that is not reproduced yet. I have seen race car shells with custom 4 link rears a Ford 9" axles for less then that. Finding former race cars with little rust is not that hard. Most race cars rarely see rain, almost never driven in the snow and they are stored inside.

Any chevy V8 except the 80's 305 can get you 350+ HP. Some of the parts they put in engines in the mid to late 70's and most of the 80's would need researched. Almost any V8 can be adapted to fit in a second gen Camaro so it would all depend on budget and what you want out of the car.

The down side to buying a project is that most mechanics will not want to get involved. There are so many questions of how you want something done and so many options on what parts to do it. If you you were doing this yourself I would say it would $50 dollar you to death. You need this bracket or this spacer, to a normal mechanic that means waiting for parts a dozen times and his bay is tied up. Now a speed shop would have everything but you are going to pay top dollar for their time. If you are not mechanically inclined I would strongly suggest you get a car that will run and drive. Building a car you have never seen put together should be left to mechanics experience with doing just that.

On a personal Note I was a GM master tech for 7 years before I got into engineering. I bought a 1993 camaro Z28 that was all apart. The engine was in boxes. I had never worked on a LT1 before, I could do a Gen1 350 into a 3rd gen camaro in my sleep. It took me some time to get it running. I had just about every picture on the manual blown up and hanging on the way. My biggest issue was how to assemble things in the right order and how to get the harnesses running it the exact stock location. Install harness to soon and you may how be able to get over a bracket install harness too late and you may have to take things back a part to get it right. I could have thrown things together and the car would have ran but if the harnesses are not routed right I was going to spend a lot of time siting on the the side of the road.

 

The Camaro pointed out looks to be a retired drag car as the side bars have been removed - NHRA rule - ET's quicker than 11.99 require rollbar.
Look for stress cracks about front/rear windshields sheet metal and other places.
Try to find out if subframe connectors were installed for keeping body kindda straight.
I agree with Gorn, rear axle has been replaced with present 10-bolt as 8.5 inch diameter rear gear wouldn't quite hold up to the torque applied for an 11.90 ET.

 

Run Forest run!

 

I just bought one in Ontario, $4000 that seemed like a good buy (runs, drives, stops). The body has some dings but no rust, has new interior, etc. but let me tell you I've got more than $4500 in $50 parts in the past 2 months haha. Just like what @Gorn said. It could be the silliest small thing that is overlooked. Bolts, switches, plugs, wires, etc. I would have been better off buying a $10k car that I didn't have to do all the BS small stuff.

Now I have to do the floors and after about $1000 in engine parts - I am deciding to scrap the engine I just got running and building a rebuilt 350 if I can find someone who can swap it for me.