When the Ford Mustang broke cover, it created a new segment referred to as pony cars. Other manufacturers joined the fray, including Chevrolet with the Camaro. This 1969 Camaro SS is a stereotypical pony car, but I have often wondered if the tag is as appropriate as we have come to accept in this guise. The reality is that when you slip a 396ci V8 with at least 325hp under the hood, the line between pony car and muscle car could become blurred, and that makes the Camaro as much a raging stallion as a pony in my book. I’m sure that comment will court some responses, so it will be interesting to see what our readers think. Regardless, this is a project that shows a lot of promise. The seller has significant experience with Camaros, and he seems confident that this is a good one. However, he has decided to part with it, so he has listed the SS for sale here on eBay. It is located in Hillsdale, Michigan, and hot bidding has pushed the price to $20,000 in this No Reserve auction.
The Camaro started its life wearing Daytona Yellow with Black hockey stick stripes. Someone has performed a color change, and from a personal perspective, I don’t think it does this car justice. If I were to buy it, the Daytona Yellow would be finding its way back onto this classic. The panels are generally pretty good, and the owner includes some new parts to address some of the issues. There is a new front valance, and he also includes patches to address the rust in the rear quarter panels. When it comes to the question of rust, it all looks quite positive. It seems that all pony cars from this era had a habit of dissolving like a soluble aspirin under the right circumstances, but this Camaro is not that bad. There is limited rust that we have already looked at and plenty of surface corrosion on the floors. There have been some visible previous repairs to the floors, and I agree with the owner when he suggests that these should be redone to achieve a better finish. The frame rails look good, and all of the other rust-prone areas seem to be sound. Most of the trim and chrome appears to be in an acceptable state, but there are a few pieces that might need to be refurbished or replaced if a high-quality finish is the end goal.
We don’t see a lot of the interior, but we see enough to know that it will require restoration. I’ve always been an advocate of trim kits in these cases because the quality of some of these today is equal or better than the original product. They aren’t cheap, but they are a worthwhile investment if the Camaro is to be returned to its head-turning best. Prices range between $2,500 and $3,500, but they give you everything down to the last nut, bolt, and clip. Take it from someone who has been through the process when I tell you that it is incredibly frustrating to have an installation grind to a halt due to one missing clip. Arrgh! The Camaro isn’t loaded with optional extras, but the original owner ordered it with air conditioning.
This SS is not a numbers-matching classic, but it is faithful to its original specifications. The 396ci V8 included with the Camaro started its working life under the hood of a ’69 Chevelle SS. It has been freshly rebuilt, and it hasn’t been fired into life since the work was completed. The V8 should be pumping out at least 325hp, which would find its way to the 12-bolt rear end via a TH400 automatic transmission. At 3,684lbs, the SS 396 is a surprisingly heavy beast, but it still should be capable of whipping through the ¼ mile in 15.3 seconds. There is a chance that the engine has received some internal upgrades to components like the camshaft. If this is the case, it would be fair to see that figure tumble substantially. This sort of performance potential prompted my earlier comment about the line between a pony and a muscle car.
We see a few 1st Generation Camaro project cars here at Barn Finds, and while some are very promising, some are real dogs…complete with fleas! This one appears to be anything but a dog, and the bidding to date would seem to support that. There is no shortage of people who have identified the possibilities and are willing to put their money where their mouth is. I don’t doubt that this would be a fantastic car when completed, so it will be interesting to see whether we have any readers who might be willing to take it on.
Interesting Camaro. Van Nuys built. January build. Daytona Yellow, Black vinyl roof, standard black interior. Without any documentation, it’s almost impossible to provide it was originally a 396 car. There are some telltale signs to look for, but not listed in the posting. . My concerns are is this a real SS? No 396 badging on the fenders. Hood is a different color than the body (added later)? No decent interior shots. The SS wheels actually could be correct, very limited usage on Camaros but the date frame is correct. Would be interesting to get the date codes off the wheels Expensive resto project for sure.
not a real SS396, a clone,
20 large with a scammer with the hi bid, zero feed back. Adam hit it on the head- you would have to look at this and see if you want to take it on. Better than some we have seen here but still plenty of work to get it to whatever level you want to take it. Good luck and stay safe. I’d slide a 4 speed in there.
Cheers
GPC
Dark blue or actually black, with the white hockey stick decal, no front bumper, L88 hood scoop, black anodized Torque thrust wheels, and anything else I can think of to replicate the “Wanted” poster Baldwin/Motion 427 Camaro street killa. That ride has been in the back of my mind lately. All business, stealth fighter looks, the ultimate Chevy street machine one could have actually ordered straight from Baldwin Chevrolet.
One comment about the whole pony car—-muscle car thing…..If it was a die hard Ford fanatic they’d of called this Camaro a donkey or jack as_.! Ha ha.Somebody over the age of 70 please respond: did anybody call a certain class of mid sized cars a “muscle car” back in the sixties-early seventies?? I’ve heard the term “super car”used.
Lightweight, shorter wheel base, good looks,,it was only natural for the big engines to find their way under the hood of pony cars and cheapy Nova’s. Leg room was optional, if at all for rear seat passengers. Have a great day!
Yes, I still have a stack of late ’60s magazines that label cars such as the Baldwin Motion “Phase 3” Camaros, Corvettes, Novas, etc. as “supercars”, and many others as “muscle cars”. A significant percentage of those muscle cars would not fare well against my 2018 bone-stock Honda Accord with a 2 liter turbo 4 cylinder, which is good for a 14.1 quarter at 103 mph. Oh, and it goes about three times as far on a gallon of gas, handles and stops much better, etc. Of course, it’s not quite as fun to drive, except when I happen to surprise one of those muscle cars..
It ought to be faster, considering what it costs(& have you priced mainstream used cars today? What teen can afford(let alone look kewl in) them, unlike back in the 70s when i could find a very kewl lookin used car for < $1000! & unless the Accord is an old man's FOUR door version, 2 of your 3 friends are gonna have to walk or take their car & follow.
Mickey mouse front drive cv joints – no thanks!
All 3 friends will fit in any of the 60's & 70's compacts – even in the tiny 2 door pinto! Not so today!
& 1 can buy 1 hell of a powerful small block crate motor for an old chevy today for not much money. Many have.
But back in the day, it didn’t take much to get a stock muscle to really perform. Add some headers, intake, carb, maybe a higher lift cam with some big tires on back, and it transform the car to street screamer….much harder to do today’s cars.
Phase 3 Camaro, what a machine! The man who actually owned that “wanted” car was an editor for “High performance cars” magazine. It was just like any other L72-427 Camaro with high 12 second quarter mile capabilities, expensive car too. Driving such a car of mayhem is completely different than the turbo Honda’s of today, Haha, both are great yet completely in different directions. As I can imagine from both personal experience and observation, a well heeled older muscle car, I mean really amped, can turn into quite a handful if things begin to get squirrelly. Like that Baldwin 427 Camaro, learn to respect the gas pedal or else..
JoeNYWF64, I agree with you on the cool factor; however, we disagree on the interior room. Although my Accord does happen to be the “old man’s four door” (I’m an old man), even the 2-door Accords have more room than the ’60s Camaros, Mustangs, etc. I rode in a lot of Pintos, and yeah, even sat in the back seat, but wouldn’t want to do that for longer than a few minutes. The Honda CV joints are plenty strong for the power level, and are easily changed out if more power is desired. A friend’s ’96 Acura Integra (680 wheel hp) went 168 mph in the Texas half-mile, and the CV joints held up just fine. Regarding the cost, the value and performance per dollar for new cars is light-years better than it was in the ’60s considering inflation, but I know what you mean. My first hot rod was a ’66 Valiant that I bought in 1972 for $575, including a ’68 340. It was a work in progress, but as you mentioned, parts were cheap! It had the old trunnion-style 4-speed and 7-1/4″ single-leg rear end. I bought an A-833 4-speed from a junkyard for $125, and an 8-3/4″ rear end complete with springs and brakes for $60. A sure-grip center section from another junkyard was another $60, and I paid a friend $25 for a brand new 4.30 gear set that he decided not to use. When I rebuilt the 340 in ’75, I added an Edelbrock LD340 manifold (also brand new, and also $25, from the same friend), Holley 700 double pumper ($100 brand new), Mopar Direct Connection “purple shaft” cam (about $50 as I recall), Crane lifters ($45), Direct Connection electronic ignition conversion kit (about $70, including new distributor, plug wires, control box, ballast resistor, voltage regulator, and wiring harness), and JR fenderwell headers (about $110). Oh, and I paid less than $400 for all the machine work on the engine. I had a high-12-second car for substantially less than $2,000. That’s equivalent to about $10k today, so yeah, prices have increased more than inflation would seem to justify. I swapped the 340 into my ’65 Barracuda in ’78, where it resided until 2015, when the car underwent another transformation, this time with an aluminum 433 c.i. 3rd gen hemi with Hilborn stack injection and dry sump oil system, Tremec 6-speed with sequential shift conversion, full frame, independent rear suspension with Hammerhead center section, Detroit Speed front suspension, Viking active shock control, and some other fun stuff that all adds up to over $400k. Is it worth over 200 times more than the $2,000 I had in that Valiant? Probably not, but as the old saying goes, “Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go?”
Looks like not only the 396 engine and trans came out of the 69 Chevelle but are those wheels also from the Chevelle?
If it’s that heavy, it must have been horrible in the snow & maybe the rain too – back in the day.
U’d be hard pressed tho, to get stuck in the snow with a GM car this size with the 6 cyl & no heavy a/c.
Not sure if shackles in the back are a good idea, tho they do work.
Muscle cars , by definition(?), should be an otherwise unassuming , 2 door commuter/grocery-getter , with a big displacement engine stuffed in it and some badging. A pony car is not intended to get groceries, but to be sporty, and maybe go real fast. How’s that?
Camaros and Mustangs were known as Pony Cars not muscle cars.