Some classic cars can be mystery machines, and this 1973 Camaro Z28 is no exception. Someone has commenced the process of restoring this beast, but this has stalled. It was originally ordered with some nice optional extras, but how complete the vehicle actually is remains another mystery that will need to be investigated. Located in Richwood, Ohio, you will find the Z28 listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $4,627 in what is a No Reserve auction.
The owner refers to the Chamois paint that the Camaro wears as being rare. I’ve undertaken some research on this, and I’ve had no luck in confirming this claim. I hope that one of our knowledgeable readers might be able to fill in the blanks on that one. It also wore a Black vinyl top, but this has been removed. This is the only full exterior photo that he supplies, and it shows that someone has commenced the restoration process. The rear quarter panels have been removed, and it’s probably a safe bet that this was due to rust problems. The same is true of the front sheet metal and the glass, and it isn’t clear whether these parts are included in the sale. There is still plenty of surface corrosion present on the body and what can be seen of the frame, and there are rust holes in a few places in the floors. These are of a reasonable size, and I think that they are beyond being patched. Potential buyers should probably be prepared to replace these entirely. The wheels are original, but these also require restoration.
If you went into your local Chevrolet dealership in 1973 to order a new Camaro, this was about as good as it got. What we find here is a 350ci V8 that pumps out 245hp. The Camaro was also ordered with a 4-speed manual transmission, a 3.73 Posi rear end, power steering, and power brakes. The Camaro remains a numbers-matching vehicle and would have been capable of covering the ¼ mile in 15.1 seconds in its prime. It appears that the car might be close to mechanically complete, but it also looks like it might have been a while since it saw a road. The owner provides no information on whether the car will run or move under its own power or if the engine even turns freely. There are times in life when less is more. In this case, it seems that less is, well, less. I wish that the owner had been more forthcoming in his listing, so we’d have to hope that he will be willing to answer questions posed by potential buyers.
The owner describes the interior as having very little wear, but that it has been sitting for a while. I believe that this is code for it all needing a thorough clean because it is all dusty and dirty. The seats seem to be free from rips and appreciable wear, and the door trims show promise. The dash and pad are in good order, with only some wear around the gauge edges worth mentioning. The shopping list for this one will include carpets, a headliner, rear trims, and sundry smaller parts. The console is in good order below the dust, and the original AM/FM radio is intact.
This 1973 Camaro Z28 is a frustrating car because it raises more questions than answers. My feeling is that the owner has done himself a disservice by providing such limited information and photos. However, this hasn’t deterred potential buyers because there have been 30 bids submitted at this stage. With what we’ve seen, would you be willing to be the person to make bid number 31?
Adam Clarke wrote: “With what we’ve seen, would you be willing to be the person to make bid number 31?”
Not unless I was representing a hot rod building enterprise like Detroit Speed or Pure Vision.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote : “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
So maybe it can be restored!
No pictures of the back of the car…Wait, there is no back of the car. Flintstone floorboards also.
This exact car was on BF less than 2 weeks ago. C’mon BF…stop repeating content so often.
I think that Adam’s statement “Someone has commenced the process of restoring this beast, but this has stalled.” might be backwards. I think it more likely that this one was used to supply needs in the restoration of the beautiful avocado Z in the background. Cool car either way.
No No, the green 70 Z is all original.
Not likely, all of the valuable easily removed parts still on the car.
The seller is either telling the truth or realized it wasn’t worth the effort and bought a better car.
Steve R
Sheet metal.
Sheet metal? That’s funny. Why would anyone go through the trouble of harvesting readily available and inexpensive replacement body panels from such a rusty car? Based on the visible rust there wouldn’t have been any sheet metal worth the effort.
Steve R
Unlikely that a car with this much visible rust would have any sheetmetal worth of transferring to another car.
Paint is indeed pretty rare on that car. There’s hardly any left 😂
Obviously a super rare factory lightweight that’s missing a trim doodad or two. Don’t sweat the details, drive it as is.
“Car seems to be very low miles(32,000).”
HA HA HA HA!
The console is missing the lid on the storage box or at a minimum the vinyl covering. Looks like a piece of plywood.
Regardless the car is for parts and many have already been nipped. I suppose you can go to the local 7-11 and spend 10k on all the missing bits and bobbles and then inb3est another 20k in restoring it. Youd be upside down substantially so this car would need to be a labor of love not a flip investment.
The lid is on the console and intact. What you’re seeing is the foam underneath the vinyl covering, which has been removed. That being said, not sure that it can be correctly restored without replacing that lid altogether, so it may be a moot point. Well, I guess you could salvage the latching mechanism, which may not come with a replacement.
Wish I had a nickle for every real Z/28 that wasn’t…so without a cowl-tag shot, we have nothing. The fakes are almost always LA built cars, too. ’73 fenders are different and tough to find. The deluxe interior is a nice plus as is the AM/FM radio. I’d like to see the #’s for the engine-trans-rear. It’s salvageable, but gonna take $$ to replace all those missing parts. May as well give it the full RS treatment, too, as it won’t cost that much more at this point. It is a very scarce color. At $4-5K, there’s room to work with if you can do much of the work yourself and are careful in sourcing parts.
If you clicked on the ad you would have seen pictures of the trim tag, build sheet, dealer invoice, engine and transmission stampings.
Camaro’s used the same front fenders from 1970-1977 when they switched to the rubber bumpers.
Steve R
Man, I just LOVE the look of split-bumper Camaros! This one just happens to be—uhm—more split than usual.
Tough crowd. Lol
I would make 2 phone calls. First to Dynacorn for new body. Second call to the crusher at the local junkyard to reserve a spot in line. $5,000 for this scrap metal? Wow.
come on guys , Not even $500.00
Total POS. Crush it.