I’ll start out by stating that I’m not a big fan of second-gen F bodies. The earliest versions, ’70 to ’72 get two thumbs up, after that? Not so much so. I owned a ’77 Camaro that I bought new and it pretty well left me with a meh feeling about the design in general and the Camaro specifically. That being the case, when I saw this ’77 Camaro, I thought it time to reconsider my position by taking a closer look at what was undeniably, a major league seller for Chevrolet (218K copies). This 1977 Chevrolet Camaro is located in Spotsylvania, Virginia and available here on eBay for a current bid of $2,000, 31 bids tendered as of this writing.
By 1977, the Camaro was in its fourth year of wearing the same clothes. The only notable difference since its 1974 redo, was an enlargement of the rear window which occurred in 1975. The ’77 model year started out, much as the previous two years had, with a sports coupe model, an upscale LT version, and a Rally-Sport two-toned appearance package as the primary offerings. February saw the reintroduction of the Z28 which was much more than a duded- up standard model Camaro. The Z had some serious sporting intentions and componentry but it was short on power.
This Camaro is listed as a garage find, having been in solitary for twenty-seven years. The seller doesn’t have a lot to say about it other than the rear quarters were replaced and not painted properly. The passenger side panel looks it. Also claimed is the thought that this would be a solid project base with no wrecks in its past. There are no images of the driver’s side included but the passenger side does appear to be straight with some signs of surface rust. Knowing that the quarters were replaced, I would suggest a thorough underside inspection. At the least, the existing paint will need to be stripped in order to refinish this Chevy and return it to a presentable state. And speaking of paint, this shade of blue does not look like the original code 29, Dark Blue Metallic; I’d assume it’s a complete repaint in a different shade. Of note are the rally wheels, correct for this vintage Camaro but not finished in body color, they would have originally been argent.
The seller indicates that under the hood resides a 350 CI V8 engine. That may be the case but the VIN denotes a 145 net HP 305 CI V8 as the born-with engine. The existing engine does possess a Quadrajet carburetor which was only found on the 350 in 1977, so who knows what it is. Whatever the case, someone has gone real heavy on Chevy rattle-can blue engine paint. There is a statement made that this Camaro needs work and is not driven regularly so I would take that to mean that it does run – again, worth further inquiry. Transmission facilitation is via a Turbo-Hydramatic, three-speed automatic unit.
The interior is a bit of a shock at first but it’s probably not as bad as initial appearances would lead you to believe. The driver’s seat upholstery is obviously shot (no, duct tape does not work well in this instance) but beyond that, it would seem that a deep cleaning may work wonders. There is a lot of mung and mold everywhere! This Camaro is A/C equipped but there is no word as to whether or not it is operational.
So, what was my beef with this generation Camaro? Very cheap interior materials, indifferent workmanship, weak performance, an over-sized and overweight body with a cramped interior, and poor riding characteristics. Pluses? Great handling and strong braking. My Camaro was built at the Norwood, Ohio assembly plant and it was notorious for poor workmanship and poor attitudes. This example was knocked together in Van Nuys, California, perhaps the change of venue helps with overall quality? This car is trending in cheap territory and it only has one day to go in bidding, so it’s not going to be a huge financial outlay to acquire. The devil will be in the details as to what it will take to make this Camaro presentable and roadworthy again. It would be great to hear from late second-gen F body owners regarding their experiences. Am I way off base with my experience, too picky or would you concur?
I own a 1980 Camaro code 29, Dark Blue Metallic. This car is definitely not a factory color. Due to all the television auctions and magazine features on 1970-73 Camaros, the prices are getting too high for the average family man to afford. I would love to have one, but will have to settle for a rubber bumper version. More horsepower is just a mouse click away!
The is nothing new, desirable cars with a limited supply go up in value.
When I was looking for cars just out of high school, in the mid-80’s, I wanted a 69 Z28 or a Hemi Road Runner. I could find any that I could afford. I did what most people did, I shifted my focus to cars I could. I went through several 68-69 383 Road Runners and base or SS Camaro’s, along with several other 60’s makes and models. I realized later on that I could have found a 69 Z if only I had changed my approach and looked harder and in different places. There are still plenty of good cars out there, it’s seems like too many people have tunnel vision and fixate on a narrow spectrum rather than work within their budget and search out cars which will satisfy most of their priorities.
Steve R
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers. Type that real fast three times.
Tony, that is the color I was going to order in ’81, but the Sales Manager talked me out of it, saying that GM was having a problem with that color and were doing repaints. I decided to go for Black.
Sure enough , a year later, I was at the dealership getting a faulty catalytic converter replaced under warranty and got talking to a lady who had brought her year old Metallic Blue Camaro in for a repaint.
How has yours held up – original paint?
The car was 25 years old when I bought it. It was all original including the paint. It was a 10 footer by then, so I repainted it in single stage paint again. It’s a good low profile color if you like to push the speed limit the odd time.
If the price point stays below 3K it would make a nice project for someone wanting to get into the hobby!! I could see this car with the ugly removed and a crate motor and a 5 speed!! One of the worst Rattle can paint jobs I’ve ever seen!!!
I can see why it was replaced with a 350, because the early 305 s were boat anchors. Huge problem with rounded camshafts. This is something you can make into whatever you want performance wise, or keep it as a toned down cruiser.
I had a 1977 Camaro LT, dark blue, light blue vinyl top that only covered the front 3/4 of the roof, light blue cloth interior. The rear quarters were so far gone it looked like Jaws attacked it at the beach. It was quicker than I expected being a 305 (weight loss caused by rust?), and handled awesome once you got over the body flexing (caused by rust).
Obviously, it was really rusty. I called it the Pope mobile, because it was every bit as holy as the Pope lol.
Looks like more than surface rust to me it will most likely need at least on quarter panel
Thanks Steve R for making several good points about classic cars. More collectors have to realize that there are hundreds of different models that may not be among the most popular, but they can be bought and made to perform as well and often even better for somewhat cheaper than the more popular models. And it’s way more fun to show up at a car show in something different.
I would install a 1977 Z28 front spoiler and 1980 Z28 fender vents and function hood scoop. I had a 1980 that my dad and I owned and we installed a stock Chevrolet 400 small block. The 400 woke that car up. It was easy to live with. You have to make sure that the steam hole are open or it will over heat. Today, I would go either with a dart block 427 small block or a 454 big block or a 6.0 liter LS3. If I ran the big block I would use a Pontiac Trans Am radiator, springs and steering box. For those that think that the big block will kill handling, I call BS on them. A Pontiac 400 weighs 630 lbs and a 454 weighs 580 lbs. All Pontiac V8’s except for the 301 are big blocks, so all 2nd Gen F-bodies are designed for big blocks. The acceleration hierarchy of GM, being that the Corvette was first the Trans Am was second and the Z28 the third fastest. This hierarchy was in place until at least 2002. The Buick Grand National was outside of this hierarchy and irritated the hell out of Chevrolet and Pontiac. Taking all this into consideration I would go with big block 454. These are fun cars and are still affordable, thank God.
I purchased my 1978 Chev. Camaro .LT at a local dealership in Central NC. It was a special order purchase, you could do that back in the day, I ordered it in Dark Blue Metallic paint, black interior,pb, pw, ps, ac and am-fm stereo. Powered by a 350 w/quadrajet 4bbl. carb. and Turbo 350 transmission. The 350 was not the engine featured in the Z-28 variety but it was better than my friends 305. Engine paint color looked something like a pontiac/robin egg blue. Enjoyed the car for many years but experienced trouble w/ power windows & the front suspension had to be attended to regularly as I drove this car very hard. Sold it to buy a truck, wished I’d kept the car for restoration. I had to order the car painted in Dark Metallic Blue & pay extra as it wasn’t offered in ’78.
Off topic, but Chevy was really on a roll with it’s sporty cars in the late 70’s. Although we all think of them as the lamest models performance-wise, Camaro and Corvette had their best sales years ever from ’77 – ’79.
Not sure why, any ideas?
All about show, looking pretty, stayin’ fit like jogging and stuff….along with artificial energy white powder.
Trans Am’s sold big time in that era as well, unlike the older versions that were fairly stout machines.
Timing, plus the fact anyone could drive and maintain a ’78 Z28 like any other car, unlike the street machine ’69 Z/28 as an example.
Not really off topic, all kind of reasons I guess.
A friend of mine had a ’78 LT 305 when it was a couple years old. And quick was not how you would describe it. But I seem to remember the speedo went to 130 and we buried it more than a few times.
My 1976 Firebird was already sans the bottom of its rear fenders in about 6 years. Neglect by the previous owner was partly to blame but also the rear trunk with tiny accommodations to flush out debris — never performed. The rear window wraparound rusted where the trim clips were installed at the factory. A moisture trap for sure.
Uhmmmmm, we didn’t ‘knock’ them together in Van Nuys.