Your timeline may be very aggressive.

Body Work: The big question is there structural damage. It appears to me that there may be. The damage to the roof will be problematic is it is caused by the car twisting. The damage to the roof or the front could cause twisting of the unibody.

The title: Again depending on the state the process to get a title could be very drawn out. Some states require you to advertise in news papers and wait for a while before a new title will be issues and some states will not reissue a title for a car that has been totaled. In some state to get a rebuilt title you have to submit the paper of why it was totaled and proof of how it was fixed. This is to stop people from cleaning up flood car and bashing the front end in then selling the r titled car because there was just because of minor front end damage. This is why I think your timeline is aggressive. Maybe its not a problem in your state but I have known guys that have waited a 3 month on new titles for lost titles. Getting a titled reissued in a new name can take a year.

By all means do not put a penny in the car until you have either a salvage title or a clean title.

 

You are right. I don’t want to pile $$ into it then have it taken. I am in the process of having everything figured out with titles and Planning timeframes etc. If the frame is bent and it takes a year or so I’m ok with that. It might be a money pit, but eventually it will hopefully be a fun ride.

 

What are you looking for out of the car. You know that if you have all the major numbers matching parts that you may be able to just trade for a pretty cool non-RS/SS car in running driving condition.

Assuming you have the original motor and trans you would really want to have the car repaired by someone that knows these cars and has a reputation in the car world. There is a HUGE gap between fixing a wrecked car and restoring a car back to original. These guys know which spot welds were done on a jig and which ones where random by hand to add strength. You can ask these guys that do these restorations which you want a car that was wrapped around a tree or a car that was wrapped around a tree and already repaired. It is much easier fixing a wrecked car than refixing a wrecked car.

Restored and ready for shows this is a valuable car in that color. From the looks of the picture that is a very well optioned car. You have the factory gauges, console and the deluxe interior.

If everything is there and correct you may want to just advertise it for what it is. Original barn finds of numbers matching cars are very rare. I would not even clean anything. Leave it right where it is and ask 30k for it. The guy the buys will flip it or sink 35k into it. If the right guys do the work it could be a 80K show car. If you just do a repair by people that are not known by the show world you will spend a lot of money and it may not be worth much more then it is right now.

Of course, this is your car do with as you see fit but I found owning a mostly original car starts to feel like a responsibility like you are its caretaker but owning a car that has already been changed from stock allows a freedom. There are tons of guys that want to be caretakers but most of us want to drive and modify.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I am wanting to use it as a weekend car to drive. I’m more of a big engine weekend rider type of person, but not race or anything like that. I’d prefer not to die seeing a tree covering me. I’ve got a few other trucks I use as daily driver for construction etc so if it’s a little awkward to drive I’m ok with that. I do want to keep it as factory as possible for the original engine so I might swap the other 350 and build it up or just have this one reworked. As far as the shop goes it is a restoration shop for classic cars and they have done several 60s model Camaros I like. Not sure about them getting it perfect but probably close enough for me to enjoy. I am always open to options though and seeing what works best.

 

Well the Camaro is a unibody car not a full frame,it has front and rear subframes and those can be replaced,it's the body being twisted that you have to worry about.
There are complete new body shells available but at a pretty hefty price,sometimes worth it as the cost to repair can be as much or more then still not be as good.
You can buy a brand new front subframe for $1500 plus shipping of course.
https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...-1612905138042

 

There's a number of body shells available,from what I've heard Dynacorn is a little more money but top notch.
https://dynacornclassicbodies.com/19...-camaro-coupe/

 

Looks like I got lucky. No damage to the frame. drivers door now closes perfectly. I am currently ordering all new hoses radiator gas lines etc. I’m about to change everything that could be old and hope for the best. I plan to oil cylinders replace gaskets and let it sit for a day or two. Hopefully when I change everything out it will crank and see what else I need to replace. I’m trying to get it to be able to move before I hit the body shop. I am still thinking of engine swaps but haven’t decided which way to go, so for now I’ll see what happens. If anyone has suggestions on repairs before I crank up let me know.

 

So you have title sorted already? The unibody repair of structural components can be tricky to get right. All the door closing means is the two door posts are right compared to each other. You can not think of it like a full frame car. I have seen unibody cars that even professional body man did not realize there was an issue until a mechanic tried to align the wheels. He was able to get everything working and got all the gaps on the car to on size. Problem was the car was shaped like a banana. It was 4 weeks before he came back for a new alignment.

Lets say the car is perfectly straight right now. Someone going to have to cut the back section of the roof off to replace it. The car could spring at that point. It should be on a frame rack before and after that major work is done. If you fix the roof without knowing the cars is in the right position the fame machine may not be able to fix it. Once that and the front frame section is replaced, and all the measurements are good it is just comedic from that point on. There was no point in which a RS/SS was not a at least fairly valuable car. There was a reason it was parked. Maybe the guy did not have insurance. More likely is the car was totaled and he bought it back in hopes of fixing it someday.

Repairing this car incorrectly will de-value it. Metal that is bent can be straightened metal that is assembled wrong will need disassemble. Body shops quote repairing a wrecked car all day long most will not quote fixing a car done with bad metal work. They will do it, but it takes how many hours it takes and that is what you pay.

 

Wow! Nice Find!

 

Thanks I got lucky and bought the right farm.