Update 6/8/2018 – This Camaro has been re-listed here on eBay and still has a BIN of $12,500. There’s no word on why the previous listing was pulled down, perhaps someone made an offer and then backed out of the deal?
From 6/6/2018 – It seems like the vast majority of the Camaro Z/28s that we come across are missing their original 302 V8 and this one is sadly no different, that is if it even is a Z/28. The original engine is long gone, but the seller is including everything for a 454 V8 for it. Well, everything except for the engine block, which seems like a pretty important piece to have! The body is said to be straight and it really does look to be in solid shape. The BIN of $12,500 might not be a bad price, but the lack of information and documentation makes it rather difficult to justify. You can have a closer look yourself here on eBay in Colebrook, New Hampshire with the option to make an offer.
If the seller can prove that this Camaro is a genuine Z/28, it might be worth making an offer. The lack of the original 302 definitely hurts the value, regardless of the condition of the rest of the car. There are countless beautiful Z/28s for sale with big blocks and they typically sell for a fraction of what all original complete examples fetch. Having a 454 under the hood would be fun, but since there’s no block included it would be easier and cheaper to buy a crate 350 to drop in this one. The 4-speed is present and it looks like the rest of the car is complete, so at least you won’t have to find an entire drivetrain.
The interior looks to be in decent shape, although it needs to be cleaned out. By the looks of it, this Camaro was still on the road not that long. The cassette player and plastic cup holder suggest it may have been on the road in the ’90s. There are lots of engine parts stashed in here and given the seller’s statement about having parts for a 454, it’s probably safe to assume these parts are from a 454 and not the original 302.
It’s always a bummer when you find a special car like a Z/28 and its engine is missing. The 302 is what made the Z/28 stand out from the SS, but that doesn’t mean that there still isn’t value here. The other Z/28 parts are still desirable and help wither performance. It would be great to know more about the story and history, but at this point, I’m more curious to know what’s going on with the cowl. It looks like there is some serious rust issues in the cowl, but it’s hard to see just how bad the issue is. This one is definitely going to require a closer look. So would you want to take on this project and if so, would you try to find a 454 or a small block for it?
A 302 is 327 with a 283 crank…
Seems easy enough to replicate. Whichever engine is going to end up in there will have lots and lots of money thrown at it, why not make it somewhat originalish?
It’s not that simple
Drag racers had been running 301cu in since early 60s
These engines were NOT factory balanced or blueprinted.
BUT had a steel c rank and PINK rods hi compression pistons.
Very few 301s turned out 375bhp.
Have you checked lately
on passenger car (non-steel) 283 rorating assemblies?
Not many good ones left around
Have a great day.
You answered your own question.
” These engines were NOT factory balanced or blueprinted “.
I would, of course, custom balance, the engine, along with Align Hone,
The crank bearing assembly, plus the 180 deg crank, would go a long
way to lessen the crank stresses.
What I’m proposing is something even MORE Radical than the 301 !
At higher R.P.M.’s the 301’s tore themselves apart, like the Ford Boss 302
never knew that. thank you.
WHY NOT GO ALL THE WAY !
ENGINE:
Chevy SBC 400 block w a 302 180 deg Crank..
Longer Connecting Connecting Rods.
A Roller Hydraulic Camshaft w Roller Rockers
& Edelbrock Aluminum Valve Covers.
Edelbrock Aluminum Heads & Victor Manifold,
Holley QFI™ system
Moroso Valley Pan Baffle.
Hedman 4-2-1 Headers.
Complete M.S.D. Ignition.
TRANS:
Temeric 6 Speed Transmission.
SUSPENSION:
Big -Block Front Springs.
Rear- End:
Adapt a 12 bolt 3rd member, in to a Big-Block Corvette I.R.S.Rear-End.
Shorten Half Shafts.
Strengthen the Frame !
Recarro Front Seats, REMOVE the Rear Seat.
Custom Dash with Autometer Guages.
etc, Etc, ETC
yea love big blocks , keep this small block thats its history,,
Seller says car has 10 bolt rear end. Did Z28s have 12 bolt rear ends?
No all 12 bolts…
Yes. ’68’s had 12 bolt rear axle and multi-leaf rear springs. I didn’t see anything on the car that convinces me it was an orginal Z. Should be priced as a standard ’68 in my opinion.
I would go LS and build a Penske/Donahue/Sunoco tribute. If I had any money to do such….
Yea…not very likely it’s a real Z/28 so it’s no wonder it’s missing the 302 – because it never one to begin with. No factory tach or gauges and a 10 bolt rear end…I highly doubt the claim.
Funny, I was thinking the same thing!
It. Has an RPO ZL-2 hood not released by Chevy until fall 1969
The front spoiler should be dull black not painted car color.First thing I check before VIN does it have the taxi cab deluxe rear bumperettes,ALL Z28 had these.
Then check the bolt on rear end,all Z28 had heavy duty chassis parts
Like their big brothers SS 396 or COPY 427’s If you.get the VIN Send.it to Jerry McNeish,in Baltimore Hi- po Camaro expert
In closing ,appears to have a Green intrrior.Very few Z28s in Ermine White.
$12.5 K is a lot for a rolling chassis
that maybe or NOT a Chevrolet Hi-performancs
Not all Z28’s had a Tach and gauges, it was an option up until April or May of 1969.
Z28 stickers r cheap
I wouldn’t put a 454 in it..a 350hp 350cid would make it fun and not so heavy in the front end . With a suspension upgrades these cars are fun in the corners as well as on the straight away.had one wish I still did. But I had to make a deal with the cops after 7 tickets in one summer I had to put it for sale and… since I had just gotten a Suzuki MZ550 katana.. I still had my Need for Speed
The difference in weight between SBC and BBC is roughly 120 lbs. Moving the battery to the back would take a portion of that away.
I agree, if this car was a true Z, it should stay 302, but the old saying, ” The only substitute for cubic inches, is more cubic inches”
I guess it shows l dig big blocks
One of the best things about NOT having a ” Genuine ” car is
the ” Freedom “, to be ” CREATIVE “.
Simply moving the battery to the trunk, will make the car, ” NOT GENIUNE “
NH and “no rot”??……..COME ON! Did the seller look at his own pics? The windshield cowl is swiss cheese!……..how is that NO ROT??
The seller never mentions Z/28 in the ad. It’s a leap to suggest this might have been one. One emblem on the grill, doesn’t give you much to go on. The cowl induction hood wasn’t available in 1968, there are no rear bumper guards, fender or taillight panel emblems, 10 bolt and what appears to be a drum brake master cylinder.
This car stands or falls on its current condition, it without more and better pictures it would be hard to pull the trigger on this one.
Steve R
It’s priced like it’s a real Z28!
But, Da’ad! I want it!
’68 Z’s did not get a Z/28 grill emblem. Early 68 Z’s got 302 Fender emblems while later ’68’s received a Z/28 fender emblem. The only other clue was the tire sticker decal on the glove box door. Z’s received 15″ tires.
No Z28 script on the front of the fenders, no Camaro emblems behind the front tires.
Did they put the Z28 emblem on the grill in 68? I thought the diff was a 12 bolt but unsure. Too many questions on authenticity for me. I’d have to see a build sheet and do some looking for accident damage on this one before I’d consider it authentic.
Early cars had 302 on the fenders, later ones had Z-28….(I’ve owned like 8)….15 inch wheels, power disc brakes….check inside the glove box door for the tire size sticker….should say 15 inch, if still there….
This is just a Sport Coupe with some aftermarket add-ons. Certainly not a real Z/28, not that they claim it is. Pretty rotten for a car listed as ‘no rot’. Pass.
If I could make a offer he would accept which I doubt I would remove the Z/28 from the grill and put 302 emblems on the fenders then drop in a Ford 302 drivetrain just to get back at the guys who put chevy motors in Fords. I wouldn’t be deceiving anyone with the 302 emblems and only real car guys would know immediately when I raised the hood.
Toro makes a Premium 302cc 4-cycle OHV Engine too. No one will know except lawn care guys.
As Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of Taos, New Mexico used to say, “There ya go!”
There is a z28 block on ebay right now block date 8/24/67
I’m NOT interested in a 100 point rebuild.
The larger 4.125 in. bore, over the standard 4 in. bore, would allow a better
Bore to Stroke Ratio, than the standard. Also by using a 3 in. 180 degree crank,
would allow the engine to Rev, Much Higher than Normal, RELIABLY !
No.10 bolts on z.28s.in.68..sorry..its a phony..rj..good luck.on.12.5k..more like.1500..rj
If you read about my engine plans, the 12 bolt conversion on the planned
Vette I.R.S. Suspension.
It’s just for RELIABILITY !
Am I missing something here. The car being advertised isn’t the same car as the one when you go to the eBay site.
It looks like the seller pulled the ad (eBay no redirects removed listings to a similar car). They must have received an offer and accepted it. Hopefully, the new owner will let us know more about it!
That’s just way over priced
Ironically,add is no longer on eBay-or was it pulled? Not do I know…
Maybe flakey fakester got his covers pulled.Too many red flags here.RUM AWAY ! ! !
Looking at it as a project only, completely disregarding the Z-28 debate, a small block of at least 350 cubes would be the norm, but that song has been overplayed to the point it’s not very interesting anymore, not interesting even thirty years ago. The 454 would require many upgrades and even that story has been worn out a bit. Still plenty fast, just soo familiar.
I have had 3 1969 Z28s and 1 1969 SS 396. That was from ’69 to ’75. I would take a 1969 Z28 with all options over any modern car. More excitement, more challenging to drive and obviously worth more than even a new Corvette. Had 3 of those also. If you think there is no excitement in any of those I can’t imagine what you are driving. New Camaros are nice but so disconnected from the driving experience. All 3 of my Z28s could be wound to 8K in 2nd,3rd and 4th gears reliably. Now the SS was another story.
Yes, very exciting to drive, absolutely no doubt about it. Way more thrilling than anything new, not that I’d even consider a new one. Just can’t get into the new “techno” muscle of today, whether they are faster than anything ever built or not, something is missing.
I’d like to see this turned into a Baldwin/Motion 427 clone, now That would be interesting! Way expensive, but at least it would be different.
If you had a 180 degree crank, you could reliably wind it even higher.
A roller cam, & Valley Pan Baffle, would help too.
Instead of a Baldwin/Motion 427 clone, why not just add an LS engine
& Temerec Manual Trans, like everybody else.
At least my idefa is different & never benn done.
What I would do if I just wanted to build a muscle on steroids, I wouldn’t waste a rare VIN to do it. I would use a DynaCorp chassis and build the road machine I want. Not that much into a straight line machine, I have an insatiable need to turn left or right at the end of a straight. I kind of value rare machines, whether they are cars, motorcycles or other mechanical devices. Once they are gone, they are gone. Too many “new” old cars being remanufactured to waste a real one.
As it was I hit over 145mph at 7500rpm by just having it professionally rebalance. Don’t need anything more for public roads. At that time I lived in Nevada with unlimited speed limit outside city limits. Even Indian Reservation cops had Dodge Charger 440 six packs. Outran it on a dirt road in excess of 150.
For sure it had a Z28 small block last engine, redline on tach about 7600 RPM…Needs a lot, and investors buy them at any price restored. All parts can be had. Just need the money to spare and a shop that does these all the time.
If you want a 100 point car…
I DON’T !