For some enthusiasts, the lure of purchasing a classic car that is ready to be driven and enjoyed immediately is hard to resist. It can become even more tempting when that classic is being offered for sale in a No Reserve listing. That is the case with this 1979 Camaro Z28, which has been listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Billings, Missouri, and comes with a clean title. Bidding has been spirited and has pushed the price along to $11,100. Remember, this is a classic that is being offered with No Reserve.
The Camaro is finished in its original Code 11 White. The owner states that the vehicle did receive a repaint approximately 10-years-ago and that this has held up quite well. The paint on the nose has discolored, but this isn’t that unusual. A good body shop should be able to address this if the buyer finds it to be an issue. The panels are as straight as an arrow, and the gaps appear to be consistent. Rust is not a problem with this car, as not only is there nothing visible, but the owner claims that no nasty secrets are hiding below the surface. The blue graphics look to be in good condition, with no evidence of fading or cracking. The color-coded wheels appear to be free from staining, while the glass is in good condition.
Moving on to the Camaro’s interior, and it does look to be very tidy. The owner identifies a cigarette burn on the passenger seat and a small tear on the driver’s seat, but otherwise, it presents well. The only other issue that I have spotted is some fading of the carpet, but at least it appears that it is not stained or heavily worn. The rest of the trim seems to be in good condition, with no signs of any cracking on the dash or pad. The Camaro was originally equipped with an AM radio, but this has been replaced with a CD player. It could be worth considering sourcing an original radio, but for me, comfort would probably outweigh originality in this case. One of the interesting features of the interior is the fact that the original owner chose to order it as a console-delete vehicle.
What you get for your money with this Z28 is a 350ci V8, a 4-speed manual transmission, along with power steering and power brakes. Emission regulations had impacted the Camaro by this point in time, with the 350 producing 175hp. That means that the ¼-mile journey takes around 16.7 seconds, which isn’t that fast. However, this is a classic that is in sound mechanical health. The owner states that it runs and drives well and that the tires are nearly new. Included in the sale is the original Build Sheet, along with miscellaneous other pieces of documentation.
There is no shame in buying a classic car that is ready to be driven and enjoyed. For some people, the concept of tackling a restoration project is enough to have them chomping at the bit. For others, this is not a viable proposition, and it is cars like this Z28 that become an attractive alternative. I would expect a car like this to easily sell for a figure over $18,000, although sometimes the classic car scene will produce a pleasant surprise. This has the potential to be one of those surprises, which means that it could be a listing to watch carefully if it ticks the right boxes for you.
Fifty shades of white…
I like it. The original buyer thought out exactly what they wanted, then ordered it. No console, 4spd, manual windows, no AC, light color, 3.73 gears and cloth interior. It makes you wonder what they would have ordered during the height of the muscle car era. Lack of AC isn’t a big deal where I live, and it is easy to covertly increase power on a small block Chevy. If the price stays at a reasonable level someone is going to drive away with a unique and interesting car at a bargain price.
Steve R
The 4 speed, 3:73 gears, crank windows and no a/c all came standard on this car. The cigarette burn concerns me. I had a black 1978 Z28 to that was owned by a smoker. Luckily it had the standard vinyl interior. It took gallons of cleaner to get all the tar and nicotine out of that car. A clean white rag would literally turn brown cleaning it out!
If you look at the build sheet, at the bottom of the fourth column, it says “customer order”. Dealers did not order cars like this for their inventory.
Steve R
Yes Steve R., I do agree that a customer custom ordered the car. He did not have to specify the 4 speed and the 3:73 gears as they were standard on the Z28 package. He did not have to specify crank windows as they came standard. It is like the coveted radio delete block off plate. These cars did not include a radio. If you wanted one, you paid big money for the privilege.
Nice to see a clean Camaro (currently) not priced out of the reach of most peoples budgets. I would place a bid but I have too many toys already.
I like it (a lot), but my son thought it just so dated looking. He mentioned the TV show “Laugh-In” and something about locating some bellbottoms to go with it.
I’ve owned two of these cars personally and I’ve had friends who have owned several more. I have never seen a 1977-81 Z28 without a console in my life. I’ll have to check my White Book when I get home but I’m very comfortable in saying this is extremely rare if it’s legit.
I wonder if you could get the console delete with automatic. If so, you’d end up with a column shifter, which would be interesting!
Anyone know anything about this console delete thing?
I have owned four 78-81 Camaros and dozens more between my friends. I have never seen the console delete either. Doesn’t seem to save enough weight if you think you are building a quicker car and you have nowhere to rest your arm on long drives.
I bought an engine/trans out of a 1970 SS 396 Camaro. It was a column shift car, the only one I ever saw. The engine was a CE stamped 1971, maybe it was a warranty engine, but the real surprise was the trans turned out to be from a 1970 LS6 Chevelle, proper codes, converter, governor, etc. The car was white with a tan interior, and is still using the column shifter, although it is now shifting a 4LE80 with a LS3. My preference for the Z/28’s of this era (78-81) I prefer the look of the 81, the horizontal grille slats make the car look lower and wider to me.
Ok, according to my research, the D55 console was standard equipment on the 1979 Z28 with automatic, and was a mandatory option on all other automatic cars. It was also a mandatory option if you got power windows.
So in theory, a 1979 Z28 could have come without a console, but only if it was a manual and did not have power windows. And indeed, this car’s build sheet does not indicate code D55, which means this is likely one such car.
So how rare is this thing? Since I’m a complete nerd, I wanted to find out. According to the Camaro White Book, 278,407 out of 282,571 1979 Camaros had the console. So only 4,164 did not. And there were 33,559 manual Camaros built that year. So, crunching those numbers, we know that 12.4% of manual Camaros in 1979 did not have the console, because all of the automatics had the console.
Everyone with me so far? Alright, 18,987 Z28s had the four speed in ’79. Assuming, just for a moment, that Z28s were just as likely as all other Camaro models to be equipped without console, then about 2,350 Z28s came without one.
Of course, I will guess the real number was a fraction of that. First, the Z28 was the top of the line model and was more likely to have power windows than, say, a Sport Coupe with the 3-speed and the straight six. And most buyers of the top trim level would have at least sprung for the $80 console even if they didn’t get power windows.
So realistically, I’d be surprised if the number of non-console 1979 Z28s wasn’t in the low triple digits. As I said, this is the first one I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of these!
I know of a black 79 Z-28 with red interior that is also a 4 speed console delete, crank window car. I haven’t seen it in a few years as the owner got a dui in it a few months after he got it, but it’s likely still in his garage.
How’s THIS for rare!—>
Did they build any base 2nd gen(or for that matter 1st gen) f-bodies with COLUMN MANUAL 3 speed shift?!! lol
I seen pics of earlier 2nd gens – even t/a’s!! with column shift automatic – which was std equip if you wanted automatic!!! – since the console was NOT std! But who got THAT combo? lol
’74-77 white camaros had no different shades of while problems since the bumpers were metal & the upper front valance was fiberglass, not plastic/urethane, like on the ’78-81.
Joenywf64—I have never seen one equipped with a 3 on the tree, but I have read somewhere that they did make them in the first couple years. Probably a price leader to get people on the lot. I would want one because I am screwed in the head like that lol.
Speaking of screwed in the head, Superdessucke did some wonderful research in this! I say this with all respect, I am just as nerdy as you and if you hadn’t done the research & number crunching, I would have been wondering about this lol. Thank you for your efforts!
I had a plain Jane Camaro coupe with this interior, 3 speed manual trans (floor shift) behind the 229 V-6, and that light blue cloth was impossible to keep clean. I tried hard, but failed miserably lol.
Mine didn’t have the console either…or a radio.
This is a perfectly spec’d car. Would only add aftermarket a/c (need my creature comfort) and that’s it. Even though build quality wasn’t that great during these years, still would buy it.
These are great driving and handling cars. Loving the 4 speed, but lack of A/C kills it for me. Build the original engine to the same specs. as the 295/300 horsepower GM crate 350 and this would be the perfect car for cruising, car shows, stop and go daily driving, etc. Even good for the occasional blast down a drag strip to relive the bygone era of these awesome cars.
Sold with a high bid of $16,300.
Steve R