I am beginning a restoration of a 1970 1/2 Z28, It's 350 4 speed and it's 100% original at the moment. About 95% of the paint can be salvaged - and I would prefer to do a "sympathetic restoration" - leaving as much original as possible.

It's got some pretty good rust on the left quarter and the rear pan, which I'm debating repairing or not. I'm still trying to determine the severity of the rust - looks to be about a 2" ring around the LR wheel opening. I haven't picked at it yet to see how deep.

I'm pretty sure the paint can be blended, but will most likely never look "perfect" - I have see a lot of this barn-find trend lately though where buyers freak out if anything is touched.

My question: What's the value +/- on these of preserving original paint vs repaired rust?

Looking for some comparable vehicles/sales out there - thoughts and ideas welcome.

thanks

 

Normally if it is rush it is ok to just seal it but if it is Rot then it has gone too far. Rot being no metal. The other part of this depends on how the rust started. If rust starts on the outside of the car you can bet the patch will be about the size of the rust you can see but if the rust starts on the inside you could be seeing 1/10 of what needs replaced. You need solid metal to weld to so that will be your limiting factor.

The other thing you have to ask yourself is "what are trying to do?" There is a market for un-restored Barn find cars today because they are rare. The reason they are rare is because 10 years ago everyone wanted their cars restored. Are you building a car for yourself or for a small % of the market. Almost all collectors prefer an untouched car, but there are very few that would want a rotted car of any kind in their collection. Especially a uni-body car that relies on its sheet metal for it structure.

Here is a door I did,


After I cut away the metal I could not weld to it looked like this.


This is what I ended up with to get good solid metal.

 

Thanks! I do a lot or metalwork and rust repairs myself. I guess my question is more along the lines of preference and Original Paint preservation?

I rarely get sentimental on original paint, and and usually happy to cut something up to make it better, but this is not my car and I don't want to steer someone away from the current trend. Especially with a car this rare / cool, with all the right options.

 

It will come back to how bad is the car. All original is best when original is solid. Since its a Z28/4sp it could appeal to the higher collector. I would be amazed that the quarters went before the floors or trunk drops. That is very un-seconded gen like.

 

Yeah - I need to dig deeper to see if it's surface rust or all the way through the QP. Floors appear solid from beneath. Was stored for the last 40 years in a dry garage. The quarter had a scratch that somebody hid with tape that I think held a little moisture.

thanks

 

Question, what's the difference between a 1970 and 1970 1/2 Camaro? I know the answer, it's a trick question. lol
Do you have any pictures of the car? Although originality in paint and body can sometimes add to the cars value, body panels that are rusted away is a negative.

 

answer: there is really no 1970 1/2 Camaro , they're ALL 1970 camaros! The '70 model just came late and they kept selling the 1969 into 1970 as I recall.

No pics at the moment. Its the cool lime green color with black racing stripes.

 

I agree with both Mods, most important if leaving her original, does she come with papers?
Build sheet - under rear seat maybe or gas tank? Window sticker? Receipt? POP?
These items will add value as they tell her pedigree, even with minimal rust.
She would be considered a survivor.
If you were to repair the scratch, she is yours.
Fix her, drive her, and enjoy her. Let the next owner worry about value/miles.
You bought her to drive, right?

 

Actually no...

The build is for a customer who is also a long time friend - the car has been in his family since 1974. We're formulating a plan now on getting it back on the road.

My builds are usually 30's hotrods / 50's Kustom's / or Muscle cars that are a dime a dozen and guys build them as they like. This one is a little different as it's original, unmolested and rare with desirable options.

I haven't pulled the back seat to check for the build sheet but I would bet it's there. It's been owned by a mechanic who took great care of the car , minus a few blemishes. I'll get pics better when we drag it out of storage and we can get some opinions.

Thanks for the feedback!