I passed this ’67 Camaro in town yesterday and had to grab a couple quick shots. It’s not often you see a Camaro in this condition—completely stock and not customized to the gills. And that patina! (swoon!)
I’m guessing a bit on the exact trim level, since so little trim is extant on the car, but since I’m partial to them (and the fender badge has no displacement listed), I’m calling it for an absolutely base model with a 230 cu. in. (3.8l) straight six.
So who wants to place bets on whether it’s A) getting restored to stock, B) being customized, or C) on its way to the scrapyard?
Scrap is where thats headed out here someone would restore it as they are quite rare or rod it for the same reason and youd be more careful strapping it down for the trip home.
Looks too far gone to me. But on the bright side, tons of these have already been saved and restored–I’ve probably seen fifty 1967-68 Camaros in the last year alone.
They are outnumbered only by 1969 Camaros.
I’ve seen worse for sale. My money says it’s either coming from, or going to, a swap meet. It’s utterly unbelievable the heaps that can be seen for sale at those places (and for unbelievable money, too). Some of these cars (like this one) look like they’ve been, literally, yanked from a boneyard somewhere by a delusional individual who thinks they can make a fast buck by hauling it to some kind of gathering and selling it someone even ‘more’ delusional.
With a Dynacorn body, this car’s VIN tag and a bit of elbow grease, she’ll be cruising the streets in another 12-18 months!…
…Personally, I’d like to see somebody get the thing running and drive it EXACTLY like it is.
I’d do it.
IS what I’m thinking, they bought the vin tag, get a new Dynacorn shell and call it an ‘original’
Scrape the mold off it and if the floors are good, drive it!
It will be a Whirlpool washer by the fist week of September.
Pretty much.
It’s gonna be dismembered for usable mundane parts; those are gonna be on Ebay next week. The sheet steel is gonna go right to the metal processor.
How much will be saved? There’s a lotta glass there that looks okay. Window winders, surely. Maybe some upholstery. Others based on what it brings and what it is – how rare.
But there is no way this can do anything other than donate life to others of its kind.
Regretfully, it’s another Upper Mid-Western salt eaten wastrel-mobile. I’d say, glass, hardware pieces, if it still has an engine, perhaps the block; trunklid if it isn’t eaten away. Otherwise, it’ll be the aforementioned Samsung refrigerator later on in the year. Badges on the side and the fact that it appears to be a regular sport coupe probably mean this was originally a 327 2-bbl/’glide car.
I’d have to split my bets between C) scrap or parts car, or B) being turned into a repro Z/28 (if it’s lucky) or some totally overblown street rod with a 454 in it.
Nobody takes a car in that condition and restores it to original anymore. You can’t get the kind of money you’d want out of it when its time to sell, and it’ll be just as expensive to bring it back to original as to turn it into a piece of four-wheeled over-compensation.
My ‘grandchildren’ will go thru life never believing that a Camaro was built with a stovebolt six and a three-on-the-tree or column shifted Powerglide.
On the bright side, that straight-six ’70 Camaro I wrote about earlier this year is still alive and well-looks more purposeful with new, non-whitewall tires. Seen at the Galesburg Railroad Days car show back in June:
I would love this ’70 Camaro – base model, straight six and all just because it “is what it is” although, I think the moon hub caps are not correct for 1970 (1971-73, yes). I recognize the ’70 Illinois plates.
Boomers have pushed pony & muscle car values so high that there is no such thing as a write off or basket case. Even if this one’s not headed for a restoration, someone will probably want to hold onto it with the hopes that values will continue to rise.
It’ll probably wind up on ebay with a 4K reserve. “Barn Find!” “True Survivor Car!”
Its fender flags tell me it’s a 327 car. Too bad.
Original rust! Original cobwebs and mouse poop! 🙂
RS/SS or COPO “tribute” car, in resale red.
They may even turn it into a convertible – why not, with the work that’ll go into it, might as well make it pay off.
Im betting that, just by the way its strapped down its hiding a bunch of other scrap car parts under it and its all heading to the scrapper. Now I have been doing the scrap thing for a long while and if this where my find I would look the thing over and see if it could be salvaged. If it was solid enough to be salvaged I would try and find a simpathetic buyer who would buy it from me at a little over scrap value to restore it. If the car could not be saved I would take the useable parts like the rear end steering box, suspension bits and anything that sombody could use in their resto and sell it on and scrap the rest.
It’s ugly, but honestly it isn’t THAT bad. I don’t see any rot holes around the wheelwells. Every piece of sheetmetal that car could need is available. If it was in the northeast I would have a hard time seeing it become scrap. Probably is on the way to a swap meet like someone said. These cars are like the 57 Chevy’s, nice but I get so tired of seeing them, they’re the equivalent of putting on the oldies station and hearing the same song for the 100th time.
Free Bird!
Maybe they can call those guys from that Fast, Loud and Annoying show on…..whatever channel its on……
They’d just clear coat it, and toss something in it to make it run.. if they go to that much effort.
Eh, just another first gen Camaro. I’d shed a tear if it weren’t for the fact that I have grown tired of seeing them on the cover of every muscle car mag for the past 30 years. I am convinced that there are more of these on the road now then in the 60’s.
I second the notion that this one has already been “restored” by cutting off it’s VIN, which is now welded onto a Dynacorn replacement body. What you see here is the old parts (old body minus VIN can’t be resold) being hauled off to the scrap yard. The “restorer” could have saved the glass and trim, but why bother. That old glass and trim is dirty. Might as well buy ones new from Year One, or NPD to go with that new body. The old 327 could have been rebuilt, but it will be ditched in favor of a big cube crate motor. The old wheels could have been refinished, but that won’t sell. Need to buy some 18″ Chip Foose wheels with as much chrome as possible.
In case my tone didn’t come across right, I just described everything I hate about what the “restoration” business is today.
+1 Your tone came across just right Carlo.I agree totally,nothing wrong with early Camaros I see plenty at shows and in magazines and think this is heading for the monster crate motor/big wheels/loud paint rebuild.Not my cup of tea when “restored” like that but I can appreciate the work that goes into it
+2. I’m with you 100%
I have nothing against them either but they are so frequently seen at car shows (like 57 Chevys and 65-68 Mustangs) I tend to walk right by…
Yep… I did the Power Tour this year, and saw tons of tri-fives, and F-bodies of all flavors and years, and quite a bit 68-72 Chevelles, didn’t even really stop and look at them, I looked at the unique cars, or the cars you don’t see often, like the Kaiser Darrin, or any wagon, or sedans, and driving my sedan, people would stop and ask me questions about it and were glad to see one on the tour.
I am a 65 Mustang owner and I totally understand that. I like to see original Mustangs still because it was my first project car, but I can’t bear to see any more restomods, Eleanor mustangs or Shelby clones. Same goes for a tri five, or a camaro. I like original survivors or period correct racers.
I have a couple of friends with gen 1 Camaros and even they are tired of Camaros.
That’s pretty bad!
If you MUST have a 1G Camaro, better go to California or look for a well-preserved six cylinder model that Granny back east had undercoated and washed regularly.