I’m sure that every person who both reads and writes the articles published here on Barn Finds dreams of the day that they open the doors of a shed or barn, and sitting before them is an ultra-rare and valuable car, just waiting to be brought out into the light of day and restored to its former glory. That is our dream, but maybe it is cars like this 1967 Camaro Convertible that really best demonstrates what being a devotee of the Barn Finds culture is all about. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the Camaro is listed for sale here on eBay.
The owner of the Camaro located it 2-years-ago after it had been left to sit for 25 years. He took it home, did what was needed to do to revive it mechanically, and then set about driving and enjoying the car. Not only has he not made any attempt to repair any of the scratches and dings on the car, but he hasn’t even washed the accumulated dust of 25 years of sitting from the car. The dust you see on it is the dust that was on the car when it rolled out of hiding. Regardless of that, the car does appear to be solid. The owner has posted this YouTube video, and it shows that the underside of the Camaro is rock solid. The rest of the car looks to be free of rust issues. The only bad points are one tiny dent that won’t even show up in photos, and a multitude of scratches in the paint on both doors and the rear quarters. Apparently, the original owner had a dog that used to enjoy riding in the Camaro. At the prospect of going for a ride, it used to get so excited that it would try to “dig” its way into the car. That’s a great story, and in a way, it will be a shame if someone eventually repairs these scratches, as they are an interesting part of the car’s history.
Under the hood are the 327ci V8 engine and manual transmission. After the car had been sitting for so long, there was some work to do before it kicked back into life. The owner fixed the brakes, rebuilt the carburetor, changes all of the fluids and gave the car a full service, and it has come back to life really well. The owner has posted this YouTube video of the engine running, and it sounds really strong and clean. He has also posted this YouTube video which seems to indicate that the car drives quite well.
The interior is crusty and dusty, but it is essentially complete. Judging by the dust on the passenger seat, it does appear that the car’s owner is a man of his word when he says that the car has been left as it was when it came out of the barn. There is certainly a decent layer of dust on everything, which is hardly surprising given the fact that the soft-top is gone (although the frame is present). The missing door trims are included in the sale, and the floor console and a full array of gauges all seem to be in good condition. In fact, if you look at what lies below that dust, a lot of the interior trim could be revived with a good clean. The big question is, would the next owner do that, or would they attempt to preserve the Camaro as it is?
This Camaro is an interesting car with a really great back-story. It is a solid car that would really restore quite nicely, and I suspect that this will be what happens to the car. I really would be surprised if the next owner leaves it as it is, and if that is the case, it will be a shame, as its cars like this that really define what the Barn Finds culture is all about. The owner has set a BIN price of $18,900 for the Camaro, but the option is there to make an offer. This is going to be interesting: If you bought it, would you restore it, or would you preserve it as it stands?
This seems to be a really nice car, and the price even seems reasonable. While there are a ton of Camaros out there, most of them aren’t solid, survivor V8 convertibles with manual transmissions.
Keep as-is or restore? That’s a tough question, but if I owned this I would likely go the partial restoration route—re-doing the interior and installing a new top (and giving the rest of the car a bath). The exterior could be left as-is or restored at a later date.
So the PO had a dog that tried to dig his way into the car? Why would anyone keep it like that with a ton of claw marks?? Unbelievable how some people think!
I agree with J_Paul, and I would definitely keep the exterior the way it is. You can’t duplicate that patina, except through time and the right conditions. That’s something you could be proud to display while out driving this Camaro.
Yes it’s a convertible,but it’s a “dime-a-dozen”Camaro!
I’m one of those “some people”.
love a great story.
the doggie scratches could stay.
give it a good bath, including under the hood and then replace door panels and whatever else is missing or badly damaged in the interior.
j.m.h.o.
Its a great find…camaros are great cars. Still looking to find me one.
“Honey, can I take you out for dinner and a nice drive in my all original as-found classic car? Oh, and wear your finest evening gown!”
Hey Woody, I wish they were I dime a dozen! If you can find them cheap fill me in I will by them all!!! If you can find one under $15,000 that is a driving car I will take it!
They all seem to bring a more money then my restored 67 mustang?
I unfortunately lost my brother last year, and we won’t be able to keep his ’67 convertible RS. He probably spent close to $100k on it: was never powerful enough, never handling well enough of braking hard enough. It’s quite perfect now, including a wall-shaking sound.
The prices for the cars should just be listed with the pics. In the future they won’t still be on craigslist or eBay and it would be nice to be able to back check what certain vehicles went for.
I’d rather have his Biscayne wagon .
Like…..is that a factory steering wheel ?
Has been driving it for 2 years w/o cleaning it up? Oh he’s a car guy for sure.
I could see hittin a few car shows with all the scuz to show how it was found. But then you take your camera, take some more pictures, cause they should have taken some when it was first uncovered. Then its bathtime, let that car shine as best it can leave the scratches and fix the rest i.e. the top, interior panels, awful steering wheel. Don’t understand wanting to ride around in dirt, JMO.
I really like this and I’m not even a Camaro guy, couple of days detailing, clay bar, wax on, and voila!! Driver quality. Because fake patini/barn find/dusty appearance is the flavour of the day now we see more and more vehicles sprinkled with the dust canister from the vacuum and beaten with a leather strop. I hope I live long enough to see these fads and fuzzy dice go the way of the dinosaur.
Thanks to whoever sent the Craigslist saving link, and i agree the editors can’t track everyone down, but whoever posts them should put the price down.
Paul,are you interested in a ‘68 convertible?they are asking $15,000 or best offer,and says it needs finished.More details if you’re interested it’s in central Pennsylvania.He is selling due to health reasons.www.autoconnection.com
An epilogue to the dusty 67 Camaro saga:
I purchased the Camaro in January and had it transported to my home in Kansas. I spent a few months cleaning out all of the dust, fixing almost everything on the car, tuning the engine, replacing missing parts and installing the used parts that the previous owner had generously sent me. I have not restored anything so far. I removed the fenders to adjust the doors and have discovered that the car has been wrecked and partially repainted. It had A-arms from a 68 Camaro on one side, and a body man told me that the primer in some areas was not original.
I showed the car as is in the Salina, Kansas annual “Kustom Kemps of America” ( of which I am a member) car show and ask people at the car show to vote on what they would do with the car. 77 people would restore the car, 36 people wanted the car left as is (and some were pretty adamant!) and 4 wanted to at least put a new top and interior on the car but leave the paint as is.
I would love to post some pictures of the car in the car show and the ballot box with the BARNFINDS.COM article blown up on fiberboard and shown under the hood for people to read but I don’t see how photos can be posted in the comments.
I will probably start with a little engine work, then a new top on the car and then move to the interior and leave the paint for last (if I ever repaint it.) It is a fun car to drive and I want it to run well and be comfortable for the driver and passengers and not just let it sit as a museum relic.
I love original vintage things as well as the next person but seeing that the body and paint on the Camaro is not all original may propel me to give it at least some top and interior fix-up.
I have appreciated everyone’s comments!
I want to buy this car! I tried to buy the car when it was for sale. It was sold before seller got back to me!