ok so today i had a good deal come to me. i purchased a 78 camaro for 100 dollars with no engine or trans and the best part of all is i cant touch the ground through the floor boards lol it is actually damn near rust free.. it is missing the front fenders and i do have the nose and the hood. and the dash is almost perfect and the councel is perfect. it has the 130 mph speedo, is that good?

anyways more importantly i want to put a 70-73 front clip on it . i am a big fan of them. i dont like the big nose sticking out. Now is this possible to make this thing look liek a 70?


frt fenders, hood, nose, bumper, chin spoiler, and i think something is different with the tail panel and lights? am i correct?


any help with this would be great. thanks very much.

 

Yes the tail pannel is different. The 74 up models have wrap around tail lights. the 70-73's have round lights. The biggest and most expensive change will be the back window. The 75 and up have a wrap around window. While the 74 and back do not.

 

so what your saying is i can still put the 70 - 74 front clip on and tail lights and just leave the window the same in the rear? the rear really is not my issue i dont mind it , i just do not like the front end and the rubber bumper cover that sticks way out.

so you think the front end will bolt up and the tail panel just the window will be the problem

 

is there already a thread on this that i am missing? im not getting much help on this thread. if someone could point me in the right direction.

thanks.

 

Not trying to sound like a **** but if you got the money or the resources you can do what ever you want to.If you wanted a 74 model you should have bought one and not a 78,saved that money and got what you really wanted.The front end might not be that bad ,maybe a few bracket changes but the back end will have to be cutout and a new tail panel put in it ,its not as simple as taking the 78's out and puttin the 74's in.Sell it ,save the money and buy what you wanted to begin with.Like i said i aint trying to sound like a ****

 

your not being a ****. but here is the thing i paid 100 dollars for this car and all it needs is floor pans and about 8 inches of 1/4 panel so good luck finding a 70 this clean for 100. so i will have less money in it this way. i could find a rusty 1970 turd for 1500 bucks and still have to put 1/4s and floor pans and kick panels and most likely rockers.

the rockers on this car are spotless, like new. and hey you all should be happy i came from mustangs to camaros lol.

anyways. i think all i need it 70s 1/4 half panels to get rid of the rap tail light and the taillight panel gets put in while i have the 1/4s off. and ill leave the window the same. i actually like the way the window in the 74-78 looks. the only thing i dont like it the tail lights and front nose

the front fenders and hood are the same i am thinking.

so i guess what im asking for is a little help on if anyone has done this .



or if i guess you all think i will have more in this car even starting out at 100 dollars that buying a rusty 70 and putting everything into it.

im thinking ill have less than 3 grand it the body and it will look like a 70-73 and it will be ready for primer. but i could be wrong


i have been taking picture since i got it as a pretty complete car minus front fenders, and now it is a bare shell on roller i make to role it around.

i will post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing how the project goes


i would for anyones help and advice to make it be the best it can be , and i figured coming to a camaro forum would be best. but so fare the second reply i got has led me to beleive some wont be so helpful, thanks

 

or maybe i offended you by saying i dont like the 74-78 front end...... sorry that was just a personal opinion. dont get me wrong they are nice cars... i am just more of a fan of the 70-73 and i cannot find one around here that doesnt need everything from a dash to frame rails.

 

http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/g...aro%20project/




this is the link to all the pictures and progress i have made stripping it down and what not

 

I'm not offended,people have different tastes.Thats a clean car for 100 bucks.I gave 500 for mine and it was in worse shape.I go to alot of local carshows and i see more early 2nd gens than i do late 2nd gens but the most common is the 1st gen.I've often heard that the 1st gen was cheaper to build than the 2nd because of parts availability.When i built mine(78 model) 4 years ago i was told that the car is so old that chevrolet dont stock alot of the hard to find items and wasnt quite old enough for the aftermarket vendors to have all the parts available.Now that i have it built and look at the parts available ,alot of the parts i had to scrounge for are available.I wasnt trying to come off as a **** but i just dont have any idea,like i said i think the front end want be that big of a deal,a few brackets,maybe the front core support but rear like you said ,the very back of the quarters and the whole tail panel is going to have to be changed.You sound like you know alot about whats going to have to happen and maybe some guys will get on here later and help you out.give it a little time ,some guys dont get on here during the week due to work,somebody will help you,bunch of good guys in here

 

I to was temped to do a project like this. On craigs list I saw a 79 camaro that had a new 350/4speed it was a unfinshed project it needed all the body work and I saw a 73 retired race car that was striped to the shell and no title. I could have gotten both cars for under 2K total. I was thinking a low buck rat rod type car. I just have to many project already going.

Here is one thing to think about. You got your shell for a great price but you putting in floors, partial quarters and a front clip. With a couple hundred hours of work and $1000 -$1500 you will be done. In this market you could find a 70-73 decent shell for under 2K with the work it would need you would have about $3500 in it. Now you need a driveline and a interior. Lets say you spend 5K and another 200 hours.

So you would have $6500 and about 400 hours invested and it would be worth $3500 to $4000. With the real 70-73 you would have $8500 and 400 hours and the car would worth $10,000 to $12,000

I am not saying you should not do it and I have no idea what plans you have. You are not the first to do this to a later model 2nd gen. I have seen these car for sale pretty cheap for what they are. There is no real market for them. Its all cool I am just giving you a heads up. This was why i was thinking just a fun rat rod. One thing I hear a lot in terms of project regret. "I wish I would have started with a better car" Saving money on the base car you start with may not be the best deal for a year+ long project.