We’ve probably all been there. A half-finished project car will appear on the market, and we find ourselves torn on the question of whether we are game to take it on. The thought of fishing through a pile of parts to determine what is missing is an overwhelming prospect, and it is easy to throw the whole thing in the “too hard” basket. However, there will be the occasional exception to this scenario, and this 1968 Camaro Z28 shines out like a beacon in the darkness. Most of the hard and expensive work has been completed, leaving the buyer to add the finishing touches. If that isn’t enough for you, this is a seller who is organized well beyond what you might typically expect to see in a situation like this. Every part that comes with this project is boxed, the boxes are numbered, and a comprehensive catalog, including each individual piece’s condition, is included in the sale. Forget hours of wading knee-deep in bits because it will all be laid out before you. Located in Eugene, Oregon, you will find the Camaro listed for sale here on eBay. The bidding has hit $37,200, and the reserve has been met.
The timeline of photos for the Camaro is a bit all over the place. We know that the car is currently sitting in a restoration shop and that all of the metal massaging has been completed. It is a rust-free shell that wears epoxy primer and is just waiting for someone to apply a fresh coat of the original Matador Red paint. I believe that this photo might have been taken on the way to the shop because you can see evidence that there was preparation work that was yet to be completed. The first photo in this article appears to be more indicative of the vehicle’s current state because it shows panels that appear to be perfect. Every square inch of the body has been gone over in a full nut-and-bolt restoration, and you can be pretty sure that there won’t be a single spot of rust in this classic. Every last piece of exterior trim and chrome is present, and it has all either been restored or new replacement parts have been sourced. The exception is the trim that runs across the bottom of the windshield. This needs to be cleaned and polished. That’s a good thing because you can’t have everything handed to you on a platter! The tinted glass is in excellent condition and replacements for every seal and gasket around the Camaro’s exterior are in the boxes waiting to be fitted. It is worth noting that the car is being sold as-is, so the buyer might choose to have the restoration shop complete the paintwork before taking delivery. Naturally, that will be completed at the buyer’s expense.
It should be no great surprise to learn that with the restoration at its current stage, the Z28 does not have an interior. Once again, this should not be a problem because the inventory shows a complete interior trim kit included in the sale. This includes new foam for the seats, all of the correct insulation and sound-deadening, along with virtually every screw and clip required to complete the reassembly. Many original items like the seat frames and console have been restored, and there are even fresh lenses included for the gauges that sit in the console. The only notable deviation from original is the seller choosing to equip the interior with a complete factory tilt column. This is a smart move from a comfort perspective. However, if this isn’t to the buyer’s liking, reverting to the original setup should not be a problem. It is also worth noting that the Z28 was originally ordered and delivered in Hawaii. It was ordered as a smog-delete vehicle, but more importantly, as a heater-delete. A faithful restoration will leave it this way, which means that this might well be a “warm weather” classic…unless you want to rug up pretty snuggly!
The Camaro is a full numbers-matching car, and all of the original mechanical components have been retained and restored. This includes the gorgeous 302ci V8 that pumps out a healthy 290hp. Bolted to this is the original 4-speed manual transmission, which sends the power to the numbers-matching 12-bolt rear end. When this Z28 was shiny and new, it would have been capable of slamming the ¼ mile in 15.2 seconds. Part of its secret was the power that the 302 delivered, but part of its ability came from its relatively light overall weight. At 3,060lbs, the Z28 was no porker. Once again, everything looks perfect, and that V8 has been fired into life following its rebuild. The owner identifies a water leak coming from around the intake, so that will need to be investigated. Otherwise, there are just the regular tasks like bleeding the brakes and performing alignments to get the Camaro mechanically roadworthy.
Tackling someone’s unfinished project car is an undertaking that is fraught with danger. Countless enthusiasts have been left tearing their hair as they try to locate missing parts and components. That doesn’t look like it will be the case with this 1968 Camaro Z28 because the seller has meticulously cataloged everything for the lucky buyer. He also has a pile of invoices for parts, and this alone accounts for a $16,500 outlay on this project. That is before you consider the cost of refurbishing the original driver-train or what it would have cost to get the bodyshell to its current state. There’s a good chance that the seller will lose a fair chunk of money on this one when it sells, but that can be an unfortunate part of the classic car scene. One person’s loss can be another one’s gain. Could that winner be you?
So I’m going to call BS seems like it didn’t sell on ebay and didn’t give anybody a chance to bid higher. Why bother
Hah! I deal with bags of car parts everyday. Mine are 1/25 scale though.
This almost sounds too good to be true… However I’m a believer… And good luck to the new owner.. I sure would love to see it once it’s all done…
Since I was a 16 yr old kid it fascinated me when I saw ads stating things like $10,000 invested, will take $6,000. Reading Hemmings Muscle Machines you’ll often see cars that had tens of thousands of dollars dumped into them and sell for $20-50,000 below auction estimate..some even more. It’s a funny thing what cars do to our logical minds!
Sadly, that is a reality. I had two cars I completed in the late 80’s, a ’68 GTX and a ’68 Satellite. I needed to sell both, I had $10K in the Satellite (built 440, reverse manual Torqueflite, blablabla), sold it for $6K, the GTX was more extensive, completely restored, had $16K invested, at the time it was only worth $12K, I ended up selling it to Keith Rohm, a Mopar Nationals judge, for $9K. If I had been able to retain ownership, I could have received a better return on my investment, but I did not have a crystal ball to predict what was going to happen in that market, so lesson learned.
If you leave off the back window…instant Wagoneer!
No such thing as smog delete. Anybody who knows anything about GM cars, can clearly see bronze plugs were put in the exhaust manifolds. Another dreamer trying to cash in. Why did he pull the listing so fast. Maybe sold. Whatever, good luck to the new owner. Buying someone else’s headache is just downright stupid unless you know what you are doing. To Mr. Blankenship. I wish I had bought a green all original 68 GTX I test drove in 1984 for $1,500. Original, but already needed quarter panels, I walked because no reproduction metal available. I am still kicking myself.
To George: I was not aware of all of that when I bought the car, I just wanted to drive it. I drove around southern Ohio trying to find a junkyard car to get the quarters of of, but that was when my automotive IQ went up a bunch when I realized they were ALL RUSTED LIKE MINE. I saw 3 GTX’s in one day that had rusted into the ground. Restoring it involved cutting off the body panels, I was only able to reuse the roof, sail panel, hood, and passenger door. The rest was southern parts, a piece of a 4 door quarter panel and a driver’s side quarter panel from AZ. Having it put on a rotisserie and completely sandblasted and rewelded was the best thing I ever did for it, it drove like a new car. I learned a lot, but never wanted to do another. Fortunately, they came out with the trunk panels just as I got to that part of it. I agree about the smog delete.
I too call BS on the smog delete, and I have my doubts about the heater delete too. The smog system and a defroster, were both required by Federal law in 68, making it illegal for an automaker to sell a car without them.
It would have been nice to see a picture of the engine stamp pad, especially since there is no way to identify a 68 Z from the trim tag. If it is a legit 68 Z/28, a red with black gut and white stripe RS, will be a pretty car when done.
You are right gbvette62, The only Camaro’s that had smog equipment was California Camaro’s . If you ordered it in California it had smog equipment, like it or not ,of coarse lots of owners removed it . As for as the heater delete never heard of that because it was Federal law .Radio delete was optional. The side marker lights was new , GM changed the shocks to be staggered in 1968 , Astro ventilation, no side vent windows. Those were the fact changes for 1968 plus different interior, gauges, consoles, trim, colors ,lights/bezels slightly different but inter- changeable.