This 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is described as a reliable, driver-quality car that isn’t rusty underneath and hasn’t been in any accidents, despite clearly not living under a cover in a collector’s garage. It has 81,000 miles on the chassis but the engine has been replaced, so you’re working with a non-numbers matching example paired to an automatic transmission. The Camaro retains its very cool period body graphics that extend onto the lower chin spoiler, and the car presents well despite not being perfect and losing some of its originality. The seller claims he has just lowered the reserve, so check it out here on eBay and decide if it’s worth a bid.
The Camaro is currently bid to $8,800 with the reserve unmet, which I’m guessing is somewhere around $10,000. It’s a great color combination of white with red graphics over a red interior, and the cabin appears to be in fine shape. The dash doesn’t look to have any cracks, the steering wheel isn’t overly worn, and the console trim and carpets appear to be in fine, used condition. The seller notes this is a T-top car, so hopefully water intrusion hasn’t been an issue in the past. Even better? The air conditioning still works, truly a rare find in an unrestored car with some miles on the clock.
The seller notes that the original engine was swapped out, but doesn’t disclose why. The replacement mill is a rebuilt unit courtesy of Jasper Engines and installed about 500 miles ago. I almost grabbed an engine from Jasper for my Isuzu Trooper project before realizing they don’t offer one for that era of car, but I’m still curious what their quality is like given plenty of owners use them for replacement drivetrains. Regardless, the engine bay looks tidy, and if the rebuilt motor is of good quality, you’re looking at a Camaro Z/28 with a very low mileage engine under the hood. The seller reporters the T350 transmission works as it should, and that the master cylinder was also recently replaced.
The floors and frame rails are said to be solid despite the Camaro residing in New York, and while the seller points out it has never been restored, he also emphasizes that it has clearly been maintained all of its life. I dig the rear window louvers and the T-tops, along with the OEM wheels and Z/28 graphics – it’s an original car aside from the engine replacement, and given these haven’t risen to exorbitant values like some other vintage muscle cars, I wouldn’t sweat the non-original drivetrain too much. What do you think a fair reserve price for this Camaro should be?
Everything goes up in value over the years.
I remember in1986 being offered one same color with t-tops ,air shocks, keystone wheels , headers, and a shift kit for 400 which ran good but needed tires.
Those were the days when muscle cars were pennies on the dollar…
Now fast forward to 70-80s bring high dollar with some having rust, sans engines or apart for 5-10 plus 🥺
Good luck on sale !
A single 9/3 o’ clock horizonal steering wheel spoke would not have blocked some of the gages. Was the chevy designer of this steering wheel farsighted? lol
I wonder if some states had an issue with the location of the front license plate here – i got pulled over, because i hung a vanity plate below the front req’d (centrally located) license plate! Today, many audi, etc owners love to NOT mount a front plate where req’d, & i’ve never seen 1 pulled over by today’s cops – same with loud radio – got an expensive ticket for that too back in the day & spent the whole day in court! – not happy. lol
I wonder what the penalties would be if a 19EIGHTY camaro was registered in California, still had its cat converter, & the new owner then “adjusted” the exhaust system like on this car? – later to be pulled over & caught without a cat. Probably would never happen – today.
If that Jasper motor is not far from stock, too little backpressure & huge pipes may actually do more “harm” than good, than say stock diameter pipes on a dual exh ’71-4 camaro.
I guess that air induction is good for 5-10 hp.
I had two of these Z28s, a ’78 and a ’79. This one looks like a scruffy driver quality example. Grill is incorrect. Should have horizontal stripes. Someone painted and installed a pre-1980 or non-Z28 grill. And the exhaust tips are incorrect. Beyond that the livery including the wheels is correct for a 1980 model.
Rear power antenna and stereo are aftermarket items. It has the obligatory Flowmasters, but the engine bay looks stock. Interior looks correct. T-tops are a must-have for some but they leak like seives and rattle on this generation. I’d prefer a car without them.
Bad colors and automatic.
I had a 78 RS with T-Tops two items for the potential new owner!
Putting T tops on this completely negates the possibility of putting any good HP under the hood in street form. I found even with welded in sub frame connectors it’s was still way to “flexible”! I was running a SBC that dynoed at a bit over 500 HP. My last resort to get the car stiff was strip the interior and go to a full cage to tie the two subframes together.
Second these T-Tops were made by a company called Cars and concepts and they have been gone for many years, I had to replace 2 panels on my T-Tops and they are almost gone! If you buy this car DONT BREAK A T-Tops panel! If you get lucky it’s just going to cost a lot to replace it and the unlucky side is you can’t find one anymore?
Check everything underneath for rust and good luck!
My two had a lot of cowl shake, I distinctly remember, and they were not t-top cars. I can imagine the car being very flexy with t-tops! A guy I knew in high school had an ’81 Z28 with the 305/4-speed combo with t-tops. But I only rode in the car a couple times and never drove it, so didn’t get an impression.
Bid up to $9,700 but didn’t meet Reserve.
I have owned my 1980 Z/28 since 1985, it’s a 350 4 speed car with T Tops, & as long as they are properly maintained, keeping the hardware tight & the weatherstripping soft, they do not leak.
Compared with new cars, they are slow & a new GMC truck handles better, but lower the windows & take the tops out, & you will forget about that as you are instantly transported back 30 years! These 2nd gen cars are pure fun.