This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro seems to have been in the same family since new. It was passed down from the uncle to the father and now to the seller and could have been in storage for up to 35 years. While Chevy built a then-record 243,000 Camaros in ‘69, only 1,450 came with a rare option: RPO U46 Light Monitoring System (more on that in a bit). It comes with two engines and transmissions, with the originals not currently installed. Located in Carpinteria, California, this true barn find is available here on eBay, where the current bid is $17,600 (reserve unmet).
The 1969 Camaro received a facelift, though it looks quite familiar to the 1967-68s. The production run lasted 15 months because the second-generation Camaro got delayed in getting to market. The 327 cubic inch V8 was in its last year, and one was in this example when it left the factory, likely paired with a 2-speed Powerglide. For reasons unknown to the seller, they were pulled out (and kept) in favor of a 350 V8 with a TH-350 automatic. The seller indicates that the rare RPO U46, branded as Vigilite, is onboard. It’s a feature I have never heard of, and it uses fiber optic cables to follow exterior lighting activity. Why such a thing existed at that time is beyond me.
This Chevy has been pulled from its long-term storage and cleaned up. We’re told it’s rust-free (except for the patina variety) and the factory LeMans Blue paint looks okay for the experience. The black interior looks decent too, with a split in the driver’s bucket seat. The vehicle was parked for unknown reasons with 75,000 miles showing on the odometer. One of the photos shows some body damage around the front bumper.
We’re told the engine was running as of last year, but the fuel lines have been disconnected, awaiting a new gas tank (which comes with the sale for the buyer to put in). An assortment of OEM parts is included that date back to the 1970s. The VIN indicates this car was built in California, so it may have stayed in that state all of its life. While the exterior and interior look okay, there’s a lot of surface rust under the hood, like it got wet and said liquids were never cleaned off. If the U46 option appeals to you, you might be hard-pressed to find another Camaro project that has it.
I don’t find anything special about the U46 thing. Ok, so it’s a tad different, but doesn’t seem to make me think it would increase the value much.
It’s a good looking project starting point, but only for a reasonable amount. I would say if the current bid isn’t close to the reserve, it should be.
Yep…it’s kinda funky looking and not like the Mopar offerings on the B-Bodies but does look like the A-Bodies of 1967/69….the 1966 was a little nicer looking….my mom loved her 1967 Valients which were like the B-Bodies – as it gave folks the idea from the next lane that she was moving over. Mustangs had them sorta inside the middle of the hood which made it a little harder for the guy in the other lane to see…..bet alot of these were tossed out in the junk pile…….
Cool car that you’d want to see in person, Carpinteria is on the coast. It’s hard to say where the bidding will end, if it is truly rust and damage free it’s worth a significant premium due to the cost of rust repair and bodywork in terms of time and money. It wouldn’t be surprising if this car becomes a high end project, people building that type of car start with something solid.
The U46 is a good conversation starter, but not sure if it brings much value on its own. That’s changed over the years, in the mid-1980’s and through the 1990’s a friend made a good living selling rare Camaro options and was always on the lookout for this one in particular, people at the time wanted to load up a car during restoration.
Steve R
The blue 350 is a low horse power smog era late 1970s to early 1980s engine.
I noticed that too, Don. It would be a 1977 or newer. Put back the 327 with Powerglide.
An automatic on the column in a Camaro. That is an option that should have never been available. Completely ridiculous. Along with the bench seat.
Bench seat ..Where families were planed.
A high school friend had one just like this. It was originally equipped with a 307 2 barrel. He had someone put a 400 “smaaaal block” (that’s the way he always said it) in it. It was a fun car to beat on, but it wasn’t fast. It was just a weird poser, and it suited his personality to a tee
looks like some really poor workmanship has been going on under the hood. the fiber optics are cool but does not make the car rare. that o/e motor looks pretty bad too. but he reserve is 30k+
1970/71 Corvettes also had the fiber optic system, as I recall.
I owned a ’69 Camaro in LeMans Blue. IMHO, the ’69 was the best Camaro design (especially in LeMans blue.)
Although it doesn’t seem like a big thing today, fibre optics were pretty gee-whiz in 1969. Kinda like all the electronic gizmos we have today. Clearly it wasn’t a big draw, just trickle down from the luxury cars of the time. Looks like it was driven with both feet.
The U46 option was fairly popular on GM luxury cars but very unpopular on anything else.
The 1969 Corvette had fiber-optic lines lead to a small display in the cabin to be able to check if a bulb was burned out. I think only for the headlights and main tail lights – others please correct me….
The 68 corvette came with the fiber optics to show the lights condition
I always liked the base Camaro with AC and soft ray glass! A pal had one in sunburst yellow and a 4 speed. IIRC it had a 350/4V. Regular old style Rally Wheels. It didnt need anything else. The U-46 option is pretty neat. If nothing else just seeing the fender top monitors and one just above the rear window visible in the rear view mirror at night while “seeing things” and listening to King Crimson reminds me of a time when things were better. I had that option on a 1967 Impala SS 327. $$ ? Maybe a bit tall but Id do it if the years werent crowding me. This one deserves some help AND get rid of that column shifter! Why in the world did Chevy insist on mounting that AC compressor on the drivers side though? All the others are on the passenger side; just sayin’…
I don’t know looks like bucket seats to me
Would be a good project to up grade the car is worth around 14k
Looks like the original motor been sitting outside by the curb long time . Rusted locked up ? Surprising how much people pay for a carcass.
Vigilite was available on 67-70 full size Chevrolet’s and Chevelle’s and 68-69 Camaro’s. While not available on 67 Corvettes, it was standard on 68-71 Corvettes. On Corvette’s it monitored the headlights, taillamps, parking lamps/turn signals and license lamp, and I think it monitored the same lamps when installed as an option on other Chevrolet’s.
On Corvettes the monitors were displayed on the console, on other Chevrolet’s the front monitors were in chrome pods on the fenders and the rears were in a pod on the package shelf that could be viewed in the inside rear view mirror.
A similar system was offered on some other GM brands and models.
While rare, I don’t know that it adds much to the value of this car, but a complete Camaro Vigilite system itself will sell in the $2000-$3000 range.
The fiber optic light monitoring system made it’s debut in mid 1967. It was standard equipment on the 68 thru 1971 Corvettes. 67-69 Firebirds, Camaros, and others I believe the same for GTO’s also used fiber optics for the ashtray light illumination. It used an existing dash light for illumination, saved GM some money per car, no lamp, brackets, wire, etc.
I wonder how many mice are still residing inside this poor Camaro.
Its nice that they knocked some of the dust off the inside and outside before they took photos. Too many sellers put the car up for sale while half of the garage trash is still stacked on top of it. (oops, I went to ebay and they have a before / after!!)
This one also looks like an unmolested (although used) car instead of an unfinished project. The price is out of my range, but somebody could have a solid fun runner for only a bit more than the auction price.
Fiber optic light monitoring was a standard feature on C3 corvettes up to ’71-’72. I have restored a couple and it’s actually pretty cool. Looks like the lenses are in housings on the fenders as opposed to console placement in Corvettes. Could be hard to see in daylight?
Auction ended on 8/2/2026 with a high bid of $30,000 RNM, there were 60 bids from 10 bidders.
Steve R