Hi all, looking for my first Camaro. I have a friend with a 67 Camaro Convertible. It is in pieces, completely torn down to the body, been in a couple shops over the last 20 years. All of the parts are there. Has a new crate motor ZZ4 350/355hp but it was installed in 2010! Saginaw 4 speed, ford 9” with 3.71 posi.

The body is in really good shape, haven’t seen the seats yet but he said he had upholstery for them. No rag top, but all the hardware has been powder coated. All the trim has been re-chromed.

The front frame has been removed and powder coated and reinstalled and has disks on all four corners.

I am looking for some suggestions on a price to offer/questions to ask.

 

Since it is a 67 you need to look at how the car started life. Even though it is not numbers match it still matters to the value. An SS or a RS option would increase the value. Do a search decoding cowl tag 1967 camaro.

I have been told many times that all the parts are there but they are not. I am going by law of averages. If the car has been to shops and moved around stuff is missing. I have seen too many times cars have been apart for 6 months in the same shop and parts come up missing.

First the body. Where the Cowl box connect to the rocker panels is critical. If the repair was done was it done by a pro on a body jig? Unlike a non convertibles the rockers panels are an important structural components. They are your frame rails. If you price just the parts for a rocket panel replacements you will see they are completely different. Where they tie in to the Cowl/Fire wall is a common rust spot and is why so many of these cars went to the scrap yard. It is also why Dynacorn started selling complete bodies. The cost to repair this area correctly was too high. Also floor board and frame rails need to be correct. All of this will come into play when you have the top installed.

Saginaw trans with that rear and engine? You should find a Muncie. I broke the case on one Saginaw the first time I took my 300hp camaro to the track and that was just a ten bolt on leafs. In the case of a 13 year old newish motor it should be resealed with all new gaskets if you want a reliable engine.

Even in new condition rag tops should not be considered for many upgrades. The body is very flimsy. It does not matter how many upgrades you do to your suspension if you go around a corner on 3 wheels. That is why GM did not build a Z28 rag top in the first generation. Engineers said no. They also said a stiffer suspension like on the Z28 could twist the body beyond its ability to return to its original state.

Assuming everything is right, your friend could easily have 25K in this project or more depending on how much of the work was farmed out. The time consuming part of a projects like this is yet to come. Getting everything to fit as it should. This can take (60-200 hours.) Then its off to paint. $5,000-20,000. The back for final assembly. (100 hours) Rag top install 2,500-3,000. Up to 4K if its a power top.

I guess the point I am trying to make is the car is not even 1/2 way done. Unless the Car is a real SS it will be hard to get over 40K for it. Finish someone else's projects is a great way to save money but you really need to know what you are doing to put a real price on it. If you are buying the car as a learning project keep in mind you have to add in the factor you did not take it a part. Putting a fender on is easy, Putting together the whole front end to find out you did not assemble it currently 3 times can be very time consuming.

Your original question. What is it worth? its hard enough pricing a car when it is finished without seeing it. Pricing a project in pcs we can not see is even harder. I can tell you what I tell guys selling projects.

"Forget your labor, you can count somethings like getting the body dipped and metal work done if you have proof it was done by a pro. But no matter what you spent a new rust free body can be bought for 13.5k so a repaired one can not be worth more then 10K. (that is high quality metal work) After that expect 50-70 cents on the dollar for parts and services. That assumes you find a guy that would follow the build you already started. If the guys plans to return the car to stock undoing some of the stuff you did will cost him money. Problem is there is a very small market of guys that know how to do this work, They have cash cause a bank is not going to finance a pile of parts. Pro will low ball you and walk away if you do not take it because they know the problems that can come with the fitting assemble of a car built by someone else.

Could it be an awesome deal, sure. Could it be a nightmare of missing small parts and parts that do not quit fit, YES! Do you have the back ground to fix it if it becomes a nightmare? You have to buy the project right, that means the some of the parts could be sold off to at least break even. and when you are all done with the car you should have less money in it then what you could have bought a one year old restoration for. Do you value your time or is this entertainment for you? I understand both. I know guys that build one take it to a few shows then start the next. The other thing is how you are I have known guys that had to have everything their way. It starts with I am glad they powder coated the the sub frame but I wish they they would had used semi gloss, to now the frame has to be striped and recoated. That is the kind of guy that should never buy someone else project.

 

Thank you for such a detailed post. There is a ton of great info in there.

The car is an RS, verified the VIN. It was built in So.Cal, spent its life in the desert down there. (I am in Sacramento CA) He purchased it in ‘74, last work was 2010, it’s been in a warehouse ever since, put in the container about a year ago. It is up in NorCal now. I found some surface rust on the gas tank and brake calipers (thought that was odd) and brake rotors, that was expected. But nothing else on the body, although I have not gotten into the front yet. The cowl was removed so I did get a good look from the top. There was no major damage to the body.

I spent my youth in body and fender shops owned by my father, now passed, and going to car shows. He built a few cars for show, man I wish I inherited his painting skills. This is a fun project for me. I am in tech, so at a keyboard 10 hours a day, the mechanical nature of it is a draw.

My last project was a 3rd owner 1966 Jeep CJ6 about 8 years ago. Re-wired, suspension fixes, steering fixes, mostly back to factory. I know what you mean about the missing parts. Hell I had missing parts on the CJ and it never left my garage!

Thanks for the insight on the motor, that was a concern for me having sat for 13 years. He has the invoice for the crate motor and it was about 4K.

Again, really appreciate the detailed response.

 

That would be an easy $20K asking price up here in the Pac NW but they're hard to come by up here that aren't rust buckets full of mouse turds.

 

There is more BS about first gen Camaros on the internet then almost any other car. You can not verify a RS with a Vin. RS (Rally Sport) is and appearance option, there is no Vin place that shows options. There is no source that says this Vin = these options
Here is a break down of the Vin, Sample
124677L1XXXXX

Break Down
1=Chevy
2=Camaro
(4)=V8 (3)=6 Cylinder
(67) = Convertible (37) = Coupe
(7)= Year 67
(L) Los Angeles (N) Norwood
(1) Is just the beginning of the serial number , So the first camaro would have 100001 the second would be 100002.

The 67 is the only Camaro that had a cowl tag, Mounted on the fire wall is a stamped metal tag that lists the options the car came with. It is worth it to decode those option. A V8 RS with some rare options that may have been discarded like a tape player, stock gages, shoulder seatbelts can add to the value of a completed car. While if the car was originally a 6 cylinder it could hurt it. All nice things to know when you are talking about Value. Camaro VIN, Cowl Tag, and other Numbers Decoding

 

I hear that. I sold a couple of 4wd suvs to a guy in Seattle because they had no rust, coming from California.

 

Thanks again Gorn, that was meant as two statements. It is an RS based on all the badging I can find. He stated it was the RS. I also verified the Vin as a ‘67 California convertible with a V8. It isn’t the original V8, but it shipped with one.

i didn’t see the vin tag, all look for it next time. He gave me the vin from paperwork he had.