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1971 Camaro For $3,500!

1971 Camaro

When I first spotted this Camaro, I almost bought it for myself! A ’71 Camaro barn find with a V8 motor for just $3,500, it seems like a steal, but then I saw the back half of the car and realized why it hasn’t already sold. That first photo is a bit misleading! This car has some serious rust issues in the back. Was the barn it was stored in at the bottom of a lake? Well, if you think you’re up for the challenge of repairing the rust or want it for a parts car, you can find it here on eBay in Chester, New York.

Rusty 1971 Camaro

I really like this year of Camaro and seeing this one in such sad shape makes me sad. That being said, I don’t know if this car will ever be saved. At $3,500, it’s too pricy to be a parts car and with all the metal work it’s going to need, I think it would need to be significantly cheaper to make worth restoring. Seriously, did someone drive this thing into the ocean before parking it in the barn?

1971 Camaro Engine

If this car were a Z/28 or even just featured one of the high performance engines, I think it might catch someone’s eye as a long term project. Personally, I would be interested in it at $500. I’m not saying that simply because I’m cheap, but because if you account for shipping and buying all the replacement sheetmetal, you’re going to be into it well over the current $3,500 asking and then some. So what do you think, is there any hope for this Camaro?

Comments

  1. Avatar PaulG

    One of the main reasons I moved from NY to the Arizona desert at age 18.
    That was nearly 40 years ago, and not having to deal with RUST…priceless!
    You’d be underwater (pun intended…) the second you paid for this car.

    Like 1
  2. Avatar piper62j

    Very serious rust / rot issues.. However, if you are motivated and have the time, money and experience to bring it back, all the parts needed are readily available..

    Great find.. Best of luck to the buyer..

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Tom Member

    Only 2 problems with this car. #1 everything. #2 overpriced by $3499.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar JW

    I too love the second generation Camaros, but he is dreaming if he thinks he will get his price for this car. I do hope some motivated person brings it back to life only for the reason it should be. Way too much work for this old man.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Waldon Herdman

    $1000.00 Parts car..

    Like 0
    • Avatar JamestownMike

      I think $1,000 is a very generous offer!……..I’m not adding up $1,000 of useable parts. I think it’s a $500 PARTS CAR! Absolute major rust/rot, SWISS CHEESE mobile! I’m missing Arizona after looking at that! You wouldn’t believe the cars I found at the local pull-a-part yards in Phoenix!

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Robert

    Moisture and road salt killed that one.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Jason Houston

    If it were a 1957 Supercharged Thunderbird in Dusk Rose with Overdrive, it would be a bargain. But it’s not! It’s just a $300 parts car nobody ever appreciated.

    Maybe it’s just me, but I thought the ’67-’69 Camaro was another big nothing “me too” car from GM. I really went ape over the 1970 when it came out, and still think it was Camaro’s finest hour! Too bad it never came as a convertible, or I’d have a yard full of them.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Mike

    That’s more than I sold my 71 Camaro SS/RS 396 4 spd back in the day ($1300.00) (Same price I sold my ’70 Chevelle L78 4 spd). Bought a Maverick for the economy. Smart Guy, Huh?

    Like 2
  9. Avatar AMC STEVE

    I was driving around yesterday and saw the same old cars sitting in people’s yards forever that have been there forever and the earth is slowly reclaiming there resources. I began to think about BF and the cars like this one.

    With the economy being the way it is are these sellers trying to get some money for these hulks that have been sitting for decades?

    That’s what these cars equate to in my mind.

    Like 0
    • Avatar R.Jones

      I would give it a shot… After recently doing a major rear half recon on a ’70 RS…but would have to check it in real life to make an assessment.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Jason Houston

      They aren’t trying, they just think they are. The Internet has spawned a whole new, heretofore unknown but very addictive disease, called ‘investitus’ and it’s highly contagious – usually from one infected flipper to the next. There is no known antidote.

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Scott

    There’s nothing top restore. At what point doesn’t it pay? You’d be better off building one from repro parts than trying to bring this back from the dead. Just buy the vin tag and throw the rest away.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar MountainMan

    No love at all for this 2nd gen Camaro huh? It is pretty rusty but as mentioned all the parts are available to repair the body. These are the best looking Camaros in my opinion and even without all the desirable options its still worth saving. Of course to make sense financially it will need to be priced much, much lower. Maybe it can get a new life as a drag car? It would be a labor of love for sure but I would sure like to have one of these Camaros so maybe somebody else will feel the same. Hopefully the seller will realize that this car just has too much rot to be worth more than $500-$1000 and let it go for less money.

    Like 1
    • Avatar John S

      A drag car would be cool but the wrong end has been lightened.

      Like 0
  12. Avatar Gary I

    In my opinion this is a parts car. I have a gorgeous survivor 1970 Camaro in factory Citrus Green and it still has its factory vinyl top and metallic green interior. My car is nicer now than most of these cars were when two years old. It has been an Ohio car its entire life and lovingly garaged and taken care of. It has just over 100,000 miles on it and was repainted in 1989. I see where people think if a car has been repainted it is not a survivor, if you can find a better example than mine, then grab it because I turn down offers up to $25,000 every summer when out enjoying it. This car sadly could never be restored to the condition mine is in and I have been doing restorations for over twenty years. I think they are only factory once and after a full $50 to $100,000 restoration most cars are over restored and never as tight as when made. I could put ten more thousand miles on it and sell it as a ten thousand mile car and someone would buy the story no problem. If I were to sell mine it would take $35,000 before I would entertain the idea. If this car were restored correctly you would have that in it EASY. I found mine four years ago for $15,000 on Craig’s list after ten years looking for the right one, keep looking they are still out there.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar waltb31

    Looks like flood damage.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Tom Member

      FLOOD DAMAGE, WHAT FROM LIKE WHEN, NOAH’S TIME? “FLOOD” as in it has been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for a couple decades….or maybe that is de-cayed’s….

      Many of the comments from those talking resto don’t have an F’ing clue about rust. If you knew or know ANYTHING about rust you should know this …. that if what you can see from the top is THIS BAD, I GUARANTEE YOU everything else is that bad OR WORSE. Structurally, more than likely, I agree with the swiss cheese comment.

      Go for the resto. oh and another good idea is go slam your hand in a car door! Come on guys. I agree with the don’t crush em, restore em line but there is a point that you have to call the TIME OF DEATH. This car has FLAT LINED gentlemen.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Russ

      Looks like it was in a vault along with that 57 Fury they buried in OK.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar cyclemikey

    That’s not flood damage, That’s New York road salt from being driven on winter roads, then being put away like that. From reading the seller’s copy, he has no idea what a hopeless pile this is. I’ve met lots of people like that from salt country – they think that cars like this are in reasonable shape just because the parts are still there.

    In reality, there’s nothing left here. That corrosion will have gotten into everything and weakened virtually every single component to the point of uselessness. You cannot restore this car at any price short of just affixing the VIN tag to all new parts. I’m gobsmacked that anyone would bid the $1,025 that it’s trading for.

    Hope springs eternal, I guess.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Roseland Pete

    The ad says it’s a RS but I can tell you right now that it’s not.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mike

      I think that the RS in this case stands for ROUGH SHAPE!!!!!!

      Like 0
      • Avatar Russ

        … or ‘ruined s***box’.

        Like 0
  16. Avatar MountainMan

    anybody else read the ad ? it says “good rockers”….it sure looks to me that they are rusted pretty bad.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Cassidy

    is this what a 356 looks like just before it turns into rust balls?

    Like 0
  18. Avatar GearHead Engineering

    MountainMan, maybe he means the rocker arms inside the engine.

    – John

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Mike

    This is nothing more than a parts car, it has got some serious rotting issues, I would think they should pay me to take the car off their hands. I know you can buy the various body panels to replace what is ate up, but you need something to start with. I will almost guarantee the frame and floor pans are gone, what could be holding this car together especially being a uni-body.

    Like 1
  20. Avatar piper62j

    Tom.. you are spot on.. Visible rust is just the tip of the ice berg ..What is NOT visible is the spread of it all thru the metal.. Think of it like the roots of a tree.. the rust veins go everywhere and in all directions, deep inside..

    The only way to deal with it is to cut the metal as far back into fresh steel as possible and weld in or replace the panel. You can chase rust till the cows come home and never stop it.. Bondo bubbles over it.. Fiberglass lifts off it and paint will not stick to it..

    Granted, there are rust treatment chemicals out there that do a pretty good job of converting or sealing the rust in, but I am from the old school and prefer surgery..

    That’s my very humble opinion..

    Like 1
  21. Avatar RBTempe

    Recovered from Davey Jones Locker

    Like 0

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