The owner of this 1969 Camaro bought it with the intention of building a 427 COPO tribute car. Lacking the time to undertake the project he has chosen to sell the car. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the car comes with a clear title. Bidding has been quite spirited on this car. From an opening bid of $1 the bidding has now reached $4,050.
I don’t wish to state the obvious, but the body of this Camaro is going to require some work before it is in a fit state to hit the road again. There are rust issues in both rear quarter panels which will require work, although replacing both would be a better option than repairing them. There is also rust visible in the bottom of the door and the rocker on the passenger side, but we don’t get any pictures to indicate how the driver’s side is. There is also a fair amount of what appears to be surface rust in all of the floors. In all honesty if I were taking this car on I would strip it to a bare shell and either have it dipped or blasted so that I could clearly see what I had to work with. The car is also missing the driver’s window. On a positive note at least the majority of the exterior trim appears to be present and in decent condition.
While the dash and console appear to be in decent condition, the rest of the interior trim is either missing or going to require reconditioning. The door trims and carpet will require replacement, and the headliner appears to be badly torn. The front seats will also require new covers as a minimum.
The rear seat looks to be in pretty reasonable condition, but as with the front there is plenty of trim that will need to be replaced. I guess to put a positive spin on things, with the interior in its current state it would afford the new owner the opportunity to have the entire interior re-trimmed in the color and material of their choice.
There is no engine or transmission included with the Camaro. Originally the car was a V8 with an automatic transmission. Power then went to a 12 bolt axle which is still installed in the car. The seller had originally intended to install a COPO 427ci V8 backed by an M22 transmission, but this has never happened. The seller intends to list these components separately for sale, but at the time of writing this has not happened.
There is no doubt that this Camaro represents an enormous amount of work in order to be brought back to life. Judging by the intensity of the bidding there have been 15 people bidding who must see some potential in this project. There is little doubt that this car can be salvaged and restored, but it will be interesting to see where the bidding finally ends.
I guess in Wisconsin that is about the best one can do for a ’69 Camaro COPO clone donor car. I just don’t get it.
WHY??? Just not much useable left.And how much rust under the car??
Depends on the volume of rust and true condition, But the price on this is not out of line at all,, especially for something East of the Rockies.
To answer Sir Mikes question, Its simple math. These used to be everywhere when I was growing up in the 70s, The overnight they vaporized in thin air. NO SUCH THING as a cheap pre 70 Camaro. I looked on Portland Oregon CL for 67-69 and best I can find is this one for $5500 and only slightly better condition, But even project cars tend to go over $10k. 20 footer cars start at $25k and go up. $35,000 is the average but some track much higher.
If you have to pay someone else to do the work, By all means, do a good inspection with an expert and buy a completed car, But for us guys who take pride in building ourselves, and that means everything,, A buildable core needing everything is going to start at $5k-$6k and better to spend more for a better core.
Heres the cheapest viable project I can find in the area:
https://corvallis.craigslist.org/cto/d/1967-camaro/6699097323.html
I have a 1967 camaro rally sport project car 327 automatic column shift car I will post as many pictures I have if you want more pictures or have questions text or call me anytime at show contact info .
I found the car in pieces and have found a good amount of parts but some parts are missing. The hideaway headlight stuff appears to all be there.
To much stuff to list if interested come take a look.
Rust spots are drivers side middle floor pan,3 spots in trunk,front lower dash ,passenger side lower rear quarter and passenger side drip rail edge little pin holes in rear lower window edges front lower back fenders.
Every other sheetmetal part looks to be solid Appears to have all original sheet metal.
original 10 bolt non posi 2:73 pw code rear axle
Comes with a Powerglide automatic transmission and a 1967 327 small block 2 bolt main 2 barrel engine but I do not know if they are original to the car
I am asking $5500 good title
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*Not my car, but illustrates the issue. When looking at a car like this, A FPI is critical. Structural issues are where you will be in a bind if too much cancer, But quarter panels are a easy repair. A drill and spot weld cutter and approx 125 welds later, BING! off it comes. Line things up and start tacking and welding. Ive done at least 32 quarters on a variety of cars, Repops are cheap, EVERY part you need for this you have a choice of multiple vendors,,
If you wanted to take on a full car build, This is where I would start.
At least the one you found comes with a 327 and a transmission.
Sadly our classic vehicle “hobby” continues to be a classic vehicle “busine$$” and the average Joe / Jane continues to be shut out of something we could all afford once upon a time.
There are and always will be reasonably priced cars available for those willing to put in the work to find them. If someone is on a limited budget they probably can’t hold out for a 1969 Camaro, but they might find a 1968-1972 2 door Nova or a 1968-1972 2 door Chevelle. Many flippers a continually finding cars, it’s not by accident. The smartest buyers are beating the bushes looking for cars that haven’t been advertised to the public, that’s often how the best cars are bought and sold.
Steve R
Heres another, I agree how expensive things have gotten, Its crazy, And just makes me wish I would have hidden away more old cars. (not helping my hoarding tendencies at all here am I?)
Used to be in neighborhoods it was common to see a guy rebuilding a car like this,or doing body and paint in his driveway. Hot Rod and Car craft used to do annual DIY Paint issues in their magazines and while a OSHA Nightmare,, How to build a paint booth in your driveway with plastic sheeting and scrap lumber. (I still have some old issues and makes me chuckle)
While its not gone away entirely,, Its just not as common anymore, But it still happens. (my nephews in their teens are building cars, So I have hope!)
But before closing out the CL search page, Here is a better project, and at $18,500 seems crazy expensive but I feel it illustrates the discussion quite well.
My wife & I got our Chevelle projects during the last recession and had been looking for years, Dejected we would never find one we could afford. We paid approx $1,000 each and now they are worth 5x to 7x that with no work done to them, So it shows how expensive vintage muscle cars have gotten. We feel blessed we got them when we did. We didnt intend to have 2 either,, It just worked out that way.
But this example seems illustrative:
See: https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/d/1967-chevy-camaro/6691312162.html
’67 Camaro project, 327/4 speed, DD code “Nantucket Blue” with blue/white interior, nice looking color combo. Original engine has been rebuilt to 327/350HP specs. Has power disc brake conversion and rebuilt front suspension. Has new 12 Bolt Posi rear end with 4.11 gears. Weld alloy wheels with new tires. New interior, lots of new parts. Has minimal rust in lower fenders and behind rear tires, better than most Camaros of this vintage. Needs body, paint and reassembly.
Clear WA title in hand
Buddy Repperton…..
This car reminds me of a 69 Camaro my uncle bought back in the 90’s. Same color but no vinyl top, stripper model with a slant six and a powerglide. It was sitting in some “poor folks” front yard near Bay City, Tx, in easy sight of the highway. We knocked on the door and ended up hauling it home for $500. Oh, the good old days. His son, my cousin also had a white with orange stripes 69 Z10 “Pace Car Coupe” (which we had no idea at the time), and previously a blue with white stripe Z28 clone (350 with a 350 auto(!). My deceased brother was pretty deep into 69’s too. He started with a yellow with black vinyl top RS “parts car he bought for the RS front clip to go on a light green with green interior “stripper” that was missing the front clip. He was building it into a COPO clone(with a 69 vette 427/ 390 when he came across another 69 that he did a ground up resto on. It was numbers matching, a black with red “hockey stripe” 69 SS, 350/300hp/ 4 speed PS PDB AC deluxe black interior dog dish hubcaps. He sold the COPO project and parts car to finish the black SS, which he then sold for $8500 in the early 90’s (d’oh!) to get married (double d’oh!) and later divorced (You know…) He did hang on the his 69 pace car, (which at the time of his death had the 69 vette 427/390 but has since been pulled for sale) which I’m sure by now “regulars” here will know was featured here a few years ago, and is now in the possession of my oldest brother.
Slant six in a Camaro, I’d be checking for a broken motor mount
Hmmm, Steve, I wasn’t aware any Camaro came with a “slant” six. Know of many with a straight six though, even some Landcruisers with stovebolt sixes in them.