A little background on me is that I've owned a bunch of cars and due to living in CA, I've had to sell them because of smog and modifications. Most of my cars have been imports (two FD rx7's, audi s4, etc)

Right now I have a 2000 Miata that I will be turboing and a 2012 Mazdaspeed3. I've owned 2 LS2 GTO's which my main one had open headers (cutouts) with a large cam and I just miss the torque/power/sound of the car.

I've been looking around for a 1970-1973 Camaro and they are ranging around 12-15K but every now and then there are decently clean instances going for around $5K for example (1971 chevy camaro)

Wanted to know what everyone's thoughts are and any advice you can give me.

 

Well your link is no good, as the listing is deleted already, so it was probably a bargain and sold quickly! I say buy one if you want one. Not sure what else to add. You live in an area that's richer in rust free cars than most people will find elsewhere.

 

Any thoughts on this car and the costs it may be to fix up?

Overall, the main concerning thing is the rust/body work as I know how much that costs.

MOV00D - YouTube

 

id look for one with as little rust as possible. and the cost to restore totally depends on you. I saved a ton of money because I either had to put mine back together as a driver or not at all. maybe one day I can afford to go back and do the things I wanted to but for now it was just enough to get it rollin. as for buying a 70-73.... if I didnt have a 69 thats exactly what Id be looking for. I dont think u can go wrong with them.

 

You'll always find more rust than what shows, so what you see on that '70 is the tip of the iceberg. I'd guess it will need a driver's new 1/4 panel for sure, and maybe several patch panels on the passenger side, or another 1/4 panel. Also needs some rust repair all around the rear window, as it has signs of a poor repair, or hidden rust. Expect to also find rust in the loower corners of the front windshield, as that's typical when you see the rest of that car's rust issues.
It's also not really a Z28. It has no factory gauges on the dash panel, and the rearend is a 10 bolt. The 70's still came with a 12 bolt in a Z28, so the combination of things stells me it's just badged as a Z.
I'd want to get that car very cheap if I was buying. If you can do the body panels yourself it wont be as expensive, but if you have to pay somebody, it will cost a bunch to fix it all.

 

Even a "bad" California car looks like a cream puff up here. I wish our supply of old cars looked that good!

 

Some potentials

1967 Firebird 15,000obo
1968 Firebird with 6.0/700r Trade OK

And then a Camaro

1973 Camaro Super Fast and Fun to Drive REDUCED MY LOSS YOUR GAIN!!

Thoughts on any of them?

 

Firebirds generally wont get as much as Camaros, with the exception of Trans Am Firebirds. The '73 seems to be a good price, but close inspection will tell if it really is. If it's a rust free car, it would be my choice of the three.

 

The 1973 has a salvaged title which is why it is likely so cheap

 

Probably right. Need to figure out if the damage was structural, and whether it affected the subframe and floorpan. Take your tape measure, and check the wheelbase side to side to ensure there's no issues with tracking. Also inspect the floorpans around the subframe mounts to see if there's any bent pans.