hello all, im getting close to finishing my 86 sports coupe camaro and the closer i get to the finish line the more i get an itch for another project, well im eyeing second gens now, im thinking 70-73 camaros, i love the wide grille and the stance, but i could live with 74-81 models. well what do you guys think? should i just leave it alone and hope this urge goes away or should i start looking for another project? how are parts to find for these cars? are the cars themselfs easy to find? please put your opinions in here please

 

I think if you have the time, money and desire you should go for a 70-73. There still seems to be quite a few of these cars out there to pick from and if your patient you could probably find a real nice deal on a solid project. As far as parts go just about anything you'll need is out there used or reproduced so don't let that scare you. As long as you're not going for a concourse restoration you can even interchange allot of the parts from the later year cars as well. Oh, by the way, Welcome!

 

most the parts on my 3rd gen are used, thanks to the junkyards, i have the time and money, iv easily put $400 in the 3rd, i dont mind "project cars" IE bad paint, alittle rust, interior gone and no running engine, aslong as the engines there i can fix it, i can replace interior and i can paint myself so i can do it.

 

Welcome...
The 70-73 are worth more and have more after market parts.
I like my 78, I was born in 78. But would rather of kept my 70.
It was just so rusted. It seems that the average person on the street doesn't know the difference, but camaro people will.

I don't like the dash in the 79 and newer.
I hate the tail lights on the 74 to 76? or 77?
I really like the 78 Z's but that is just me.

What do you mean by ive easily put $400 in my 3rd gen. 400 what. I put about $500 a month in my 2nd gen and have close to $7000 in it and don't even have it painted yet. It will take another $7000 to get paint and interior. Hell a carb is $400, door panels are $300.

Would have spent less if I didn't want mine to run in the 10's but still if you mean just $400, that wont cut it. Maybe $400 a month for a year or so.

 

i can tell the difference in the cars, also i meant $4000 lol, i wish i could have only put $400 in my camaro, alot easier on the wallet, i love the early style camaros but on the later styles i like them but i dont care for the bumber and GFX? the part under the grille and nose. i love building cars and have built 2, almost 3 thirdgens before i sold my 90. im just wanting alittle more old school muscle.also if your talking about the "bar" tails they came out in 77 or 78

 

I'm pretty partial to the 70-73 Camaros, and I would suggest going that route if you are looking at buying a 2nd gen. Not that there's anything wrong with later 2nd gens, but the early ones have better repro parts availability, and they seem to get higher resale values too. They also don't have the DEQ requirements that the later ones have, so you can build them more and not worry about that.
I''m a bit older than some, so I was around when the 1970 came out and I remember thinking what a beautiful car it was. I was in the USAF then and told myself that when I got out I was going to own one! Had my '71 ever since 1973 when I got out of the service!

 

i have a few questions for you, first one is whats DEQ? also another about your car because im in love with it, but i have 2 for the car, what are the gauges for on the outside of your car? and why did you choose to put them there? also is that chrome strip in the center of your grille removable? because if i do get a 71 that im wanting and thats there i wanna remove it...on a side note i found a 75 LT camaro, 350, auto with factory air, console. bodys in good shape, rust on the hood where the vinal top has rusted, and the floors are rusty interior shows its age. its sattle bag brown, exterior and interior. its for $500

 

It is best cost wise to figure out what style you really want. If you dont like the 75 then who cares about a $1000. you will spent a lot more then that. I have seen 70-73's go for $1500. Last year a freshly painted 73 roller sold for just under 2k. I wish I had the cash at the time. Not a spot of rust and great silver paint.

Sounds like a lot of rust work. If I were to buy another Camaro I would find a roller that had the rust work done. It is cheaper in the long run to buy a rust free car then to fix the rust. To late for me.

 

DEQ=Department of Environmental Quality. Many states have requirements for air pollution equipment and testing on 1974 and later cars. Pre-DEQ cars are exempt in most states, so the build of an engine can be done to any level.
The gauges on my cowl are engine temp, oil pressure, vacuum, and volts. My car spent the first 16 years of my ownership as a 1/4 mile racer and daily driver. I wanted all my gauges in front of me when I was running the 1/4. When I rebuilt the car and brought it back to strictly street use this and the rollbar were items I wanted to retain to keep some of the car's previous history.
Chrome strip? Do you mean the full bumper? Some early Camaro's had the RS option, which was two "bumperettes" with a urethane nose extension, RS signal lights, and a divider down the center of the grille. Some people take the the std. full bumper off and bolt on the two little bumperettes to get a similar look. I like RS's, but not fond of early 2nd gens that just have bumperettes and not the full RS conversion. My SS came with full bumper, so I kept it that way.