From January 13 through the 21st, while nearly every other city in the United States is shivering from the cold, the crew at Barrett-Jackson will be warming up the city of Scottsdale, Arizona with another one of their mega auctions. As I am sure you have noticed, there are prime auction times, and those times are reserved for the most spectacular automobiles at the auction. Each one of those desirable cars has a pedigree of some sort. Full classics, Italian exotics, and rare muscle cars almost always are the best or rarest of their breed, and often set records at auctions such as this. Of the muscle cars, options matter most. Each muscle car’s build sheet is its pedigree, with the options basically deciding what price the bidding will be at when the gavel falls. While it is too late to for many of us to pick up that ZL-1 Camaro or Hemi Cuda convertible, now is the right time to start gathering up the most desirable muscle cars of this era. One good candidate is this 2000 Chevrolet Camaro SS, found here on craigslist in Clermont, Florida. With just 84,000 miles on the odometer, a clean Carfax, and in immaculate condition, this Camaro can be part of your investment portfolio for just $7500.
The story of the SS Camaros from this period is a bit hard to decipher, so I welcome any reader corrections in the comments. From what I can gather, stock Z-28 Camaros were sent to a company called Street Legal Performance, which had a facility in Canada at that time. There, they created SS Camaros for Chevrolet by adding their parts and pieces, and allowed dealerships and customers to add to that by ordering other products offered by the company. The standard SS package included a 320 horsepower LS-1 V-8, forced air induction system, special fiberglass hood with an air scoop, low restriction dual exhaust system, high performance suspension package featuring a set of lightweight cast aluminum wheels, power steering cooler, a special rear spoiler, and SS badging. This option was called the WU8 “SS Performance and Appearance Package,” and the WU8 rpo was listed on the door sticker. Often, these cars had a separate sticker from SLP as well, listing any additional options.
In other pictures in the ad, this car has the factory sticker with the WU8 rpo and a second sticker from SLP that is all but indecipherable due to fading. You can contact SLP with the VIN number for them to verify, and there are fakes out there. Believe it or not, there are even “tribute cars” popping up on occasion. While I an almost certain that this one is the real deal, you should trust, but verify in all instances. The seller, who lets us know that this is a female owned car, claims to have all the documentation. They further state that the car is equipped with numerous SLP options, but doesn’t list them in the ad, and that the car is bone stock and unmolested.
It is obvious that the car has been well taken care of, and the seller’s claims of it being garaged seem plausible. The interior, listed as Neutral for a color, is nearly immaculate. The leather seats are almost perfect, as is the carpet. The SS floor mats, which I believe to be an SLP option, look to have a bit of wear where the driver’s heel rests. As for the rest, I cannot find a blemish.
As for options, this car comes fully loaded with a power seat on the driver’s side, cruise control, in dash stereo controls, tilt wheel, air conditioning, and an automatic transmission. The automatic is a little unusual for an SS car. A majority of the coupes, 4,772 units, were 6 speed cars, but 2,569 more coupes were built with automatics. With just 8,912 SS cars produced, including the convertibles, this makes for a fairly rare vehicle.
Factor in that nearly all of these cars were purchased as drivers rather than collectibles, and the people who order high horsepower Camaros are typically not Grandmas driving them to church and the Piggly Wiggly, Thus, finding an SS in such fine condition is a rare thing. While it does have a fair number of miles on it, the car has not been monkeyed with and is in incredible shape. For me, not having a six speed is a bit of a downer, and the Light Pewter Metallic isn’t my first choice in colors. However, this pedigreed car will likely appreciate in value if kept in this condition. If you think the price is too high, that will likely be a temporary problem. Camaros are always collectible, and well optioned cars such as this one are never bad investments when purchased at the right price and/or the right time.
That is a super good deal. These are sure to be collectors. I would buy it for sure if I had room for it. It’s an amazing car at an amazing price.
WU8 SS Performance and Appearance Package looked at quickly sure looks like wuss… just sayin’. You can take the car into another decade but the mullet is there in spirit.
If the car and ad are legitimate this is a great deal. I hope someone that wants to drive the snot out of it winds up buying it.
Steve R
I love the years of this body style! This color is one of my favorites too! If I had the funds I’d be buying this in a heart beat!!
I see what you did there.
Definitely a great color for people that want to drive fast. Looks so low key that it wouldn’t warrant a second glance from the authorities.
So, who wants to be the killjoy to mention it NOT being in a barn? 😒
I believe this is a Cul-de-sac Find.
Hard to find these unmolested. I think I yawned when I saw the auto trans. Nice car for the right buyer. Low cost = worth it, again for the right buyer. Sold our SS SLP 6 speed manual convertible a few years ago with only 5K miles on it. Nice car, but it is far down the list of “cars I had that I should have never sold”.
No it’s a automatic!
I had one of these almost just like this car. maybe mine was just a lemon but it was the worst car I ever owned. constantly had problems and seemed to always be breaking down. I had it 2 years and averaged $500.00 a month in repairs.
Jwinters
I had a similar experience in that I bought a 1962 Ford Cortina 1200cc coupe in South Africa in 1965 that had engine No. 1 and Frame No. 1. Ex Managing Director’s wife’s car. My wife drove it from Mon. to Fri. and I fixed it on Sat. and Sun. I swear I could get the gearbox out, change the clutch, pressure plate and release bearing, replace the gearbox and have the engine up and running, all in an hour and a quarter! It also had a habit of knocking out the centre main bearing if it was over revved as the crankshaft would whip! I eventually fitted a Ford Consul 1700cc motor which was much better. I sold it for about $25 a couple of years later to a friend of mine who quickly became an ex friend! He cursed me for years afterwards. If I had kept it the rubbish would now be worth a fortune!
I drove a friends 1999 SS Z28 with a 6 speed a couple times back when it was new and it was a pretty hairy car. I think this is a pretty good deal. Why do people restore worn out junk when a good survivor is always cheaper and far less stressful.
I bought a 1999 SS automatic with about these same miles back in 2005 for 8 grand. So I’m not sure I would want this in my “investment portfolio.” It would be the financial planning equivalent of sticking the money in a mason jar and telling your teenagers where it is.
But if you like these, this wouldn’t be a bad car to buy and drive the wheels off. I never really warmed up to the styling myself (or the enormous doors, cowl shake, and squeaks and rattles) but there’s no doubt that they are fast, and very much like a ’60s-era muscle car in feel for a lot less cash.
The ad states it is “female owned”.
OK…..
Are we supposed to think that because a female owner it, it was driven lightly or drove hard and put up wet, or what??
Why mention that?
Total chicks car and that awful slush box is why the ask is so low?
That’s a good deal. I had an 01 SS 6-speed – they’re unforgiving cars, very raw. Kind of like a poor mans 1st gen Viper.
I’m an original owner of a 99 HOSS 6 speed fun to drive and Buku torque
One owner and Mint is the only way to buy one of these, with so many trashy daily drivers still on the road. I really like the leather, and I like the color too…I just don’t see myself in one…too old I guess!
Not too old here – just 78 and drooling. What a neat car! What a timeless design! If it only had a clutch and a rowing stick… Nice write-up Jeff!
That leather driver’s seat looks great for the mileage. My ’99 seat was all sorts of worn on the left bolster at about half that mileage.
Not a bad car to contemplate (especially if it were a convertible) if looking for an inexpensive fun summer car that you can take the kids in. Yes, I’ve been thinking of getting an SS convertible in this generation. The biggest problem would be getting it out of the hands of my wife, who loved the ’99.