There are plenty of things in life people change their minds about or get cold feet regarding. Statistically, I’m guessing getting married, or not, may reign supreme, or at least be near the top of the list. I forgot who first said that it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, and I’ve learned through trial and error that the happy-wife-happy-life concept really does work well, especially when you’re ready to sneak another vehicle into your fleet. But guys change their minds too, and in the case of this 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, I’m certainly thankful the owner had second thoughts about his original intentions for wanting this car in the first place. The Chevy is located in Marietta, Georgia, and can be spotted here on eBay with bidding currently standing at $16,100, but it’s going to take more than that for it to be yours as the reserve hasn’t been reached yet.
This beautiful Z was spotted by Barn Finds reader Larry D., and we’d like to thank him for the tip! This one’s got an interesting story, and only in about the last three months of the Camaro’s life was its destiny about to be interrupted. The story goes that the present owner had been searching for an original survivor-type ’81 Z28 for quite some time, with the idea of using the car to build an LS on a Roadster Shop Chassis. No specifics are given about exactly what all that would have entailed, but the important thing here is that after the seller began driving and appreciating the car as it is, he decided he just couldn’t bring himself to tear it apart!
Before his acquisition, this had been a one-owner Camaro, which included such niceties as all the original paperwork and even the build sheet. The paint is stated to be original, and while a few imperfections are said to be present the finish still shows surprisingly well, especially to be over 40 years old. There’s no rust present, no sagging doors, and according to the seller, there’s really nothing that needs immediate attention before the next owner can just enjoy driving it.
Under the hood is a 350 cubic-inch V8 with a claimed just under 55k miles, and it’s paired with an automatic transmission. Prior to the seller’s purchase, every seal and gasket on both the motor and transmission was replaced, and now there are no leaks anywhere in the engine compartment or on the car’s underside. Things down below appear solid, plus the shocks are new in all 4 corners and that exhaust system looks to be ready for action.
Inside, the interior seems to back up the low-mileage claim, with everything inside appearing to have had an abundance of care since day one. There’s an aftermarket stereo system in there and some aftermarket floor mats, but otherwise, things appear to be mostly original. Even the door jambs look exceptionally good, and I’m hoping the next owner will follow suit and continue to preserve this one just like it is. What are your thoughts on this 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28?
Finally! – Someone who did the “Right Thing”,rather than
ruining an original car.If you want a Camaro of this vintage,this
is probably the one to get..
Mike, you’re on thin ice with an opening paragraph like that. I may be presumptuous, but many the people here, I bet don’t have a good thing to say about marriage. I never adhered to the “happy wife” thing, probably why I’ve been single for 20 years. I was married 16 years, 2 wonderful kids, but I can say with all honesty, physical attractions last about 7 years, you can bilk several more, but it’s common ground that makes a marriage last. Common religion is a biggie, money, of course holds marriages together, no money, hit the road, Jack, and you should be able to buy FIFTY cars, and not hear about it. Men and women are from 2 different worlds, even more so today, and a miracle if it jives at all. Negativity is not very common in women, I found.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, nice car, never cared for this style Camaro, but when America was America and built FUN cars, not jelly bean SUVs.
Your comments are off base. You need to stick to talking about cars. Your rants have no place here. Lets enjoy the cars.
Totally disagree. My stunning wife has let me do what I want. She is very reasonable about spending. We each make just over 100k in Canada. I will say boats were a stretch (3) only because she doesn’t swim snd they made her nervous. Now guiding her through ALS. Wrong in our case.
Same here! My wife is fine with my car addiction as long as I don’t lose money on them and I don’t drag home junk. In fact she encouraged me to make the last couple of purchases when I was on the fence about them. Glad she did!
I have friends who’s wives don’t support their interest in cars and think it’s stupid. I’m thankful I have a supportive wife and I support her interests.
Back to the car…really glad they didn’t decide to cut this one up. It’s a beauty!!
Hey Howie- Put you wife on for a few minutes. We would like to hear her side.
Howard,
Sorry to hear that you’re so sour about marriage.Some of us
have been very fortunate to have found the right one.I’ve been
married for almost 45 years (to the same woman),& she still puts up
with me.
I wouldn’t want to be married to me,but for some strange reason,
she does.
Sorry Howard. Got to call you out on this one here…Was the happiest guy in the world WITH my wife of 40 years. Best friend, partner, supporter, everything and more than I ever could have expected. So you are welcome to your opinion, but I lived the dream friend. And comments that are disparaging to women entitle them to have the same poor attitude seen here. God bless you man. BTW, I lost my wife on Sept. 4 2022. Money meant nothing to us, ever. Love is love. Money is a tool and that’s about it. So even though most days I feel like life is over, I also spend Aton of time and effort remembering and believing the real love. YMMV, and good luck.
Sorry folks, broken heart here, but gotta add this for consideration. Without love we have nothing of value. My sweet girl was 62 and just unbelievable. I swear to God, not 1 complaint at all in 40 yrs. No diamond ring, no new cars ever. She got a 1 year old Toyota truck in 1991, (almost new) and said she felt lucky. She managed the money that she made with good sense and extreme frugalness. She also made 100 dollars for every 1 typically earned. I lost over 1 million bucks in the markets in 2008. She did not say a word. So some of us just have unreal good luck friends. I sure miss her, and never one fuss or argument. We got to give to get. Not a religious deal here, faith in another person, and their faith in you back is what makes all good relationships work, married or not… Better luck next time if you get that chance.
Ha! Got ya’ talking, not my intent, for the record, In the 68 years, I do know like 6 marriages that worked, and good for you. I suppose I am using Barn Finds as a cheap psychiatry session and will stick to cars. I guess it was the “sneak another vehicle into your fleet” that ground my gears. As a truck driver, we had/have the worst record, and statistically, more marriages fail than succeed. While I AM agin marriage, ( was with my live in GF for 12 years after my marriage went south) and would welcome that again, but I found, most women of retirement age want nothing to do with a man. Times have changed, and women do perfectly well today without one, making it all the more difficult. Ooops, this session is up, next week, same time? Thanks all, and to Mike, I heard, buy a bus, saying it’s for storage, park it right in her view, and fill up the yard,,
Life is way too short to have this kind of baggage. Bitterness is disheartening to even read and destructive to carry. All of us have had the ups and downs of relationships. I can’t imagine aging without the love of a spouse in it. Whew.
As for the car, with new cars now over 30K and as long as this one doesn’t go too crazy on price, this one might be a fun daily driver. Unusual to see in this condition, reliable, good MPG and cheap to insure. Wonder will it will land.
Physical attraction lasts about 7 years? How did you come up with that?? I’ve been married for 37 years (almost 38) and I find my wife just as attractive now as she was when I met her 40 years ago.
Maybe yours wasn’t the “happy wife, happy life” problem. Maybe you needed to try to listen to her and understand her better, and not talk so much? 🙄
Wow, ‘every seal and gasket on both the motor and transmission was replaced’. Who does that before they sell a rig?
@leiniedude
Probably an owner of a car that is pouring copious amounts of fluids onto the floor beneath it.
Good decision! You cut up junk to to build restomods as described up top, not rolling car art.
If you are putting an LS engine and a full frame under a unibody second generation Camaro, you probably want to use the best donor car that you can find. This one probably has $100,000 into after parts and labour.
https://youtu.be/7AEkkxWkzN4
Beautiful Blue paint, gorgeous Chevy.
Had the twin in 88-89, it wasn’t this nice then. Cool car, I would have to get the wheels painted back the correct color.
They pop a little too much for my taste.
Gonna make someone a nice car.
I remember back then my brother in-laws brother bought this exact car. The color was awesome electric blue. Rode nice only quick for back then but it was a nice looking z28…,.
What are those white things on the doors and jambs? Some sort of anti-rattle device(s)? Is that original?
Those white things look like plugs to block the holes that they drill in the metal to insert the rustproofing wands. All of my cars and trucks have black plugs from Krown Rustproofing.
Yep, rust-proofing. Ziebart, Rusty Jones and others were/are out there. Ziebart used yellow plugs on my 72 Cutlass I had just before being drafted. My 70 Elco had a color change before I bought it, all the plugs were missing. I called Ziebart about replacement, they would not provide any yellow plugs unless there was proof (receipt), but they did send me a bag of generic black plugs for free!
I have learned after several years there are 2 words that hold the key to a successful marriage— “You’re Right” My beautiful wife has put up with me and supported all the car & truck purchases along the way. We currently unnecessarily title 2 Harley’s, 2 Vettes a Jeep and an old Chevy powered F100. She’d rather putt around in the F100 than any of the others. Arm out the window, Saturday morning with a huge grin all the way!
Nobody cares about marriage we are here to talk about cars .I am single guy now who enjoys cars ….”Stick to the subject ….CARS”
All things are connected. Even a 1981 Z28! YMMV. Have a good one.
Chris- Howard is here because he feeds the business model. A story that might garner 10 replies goes off the charts after Howie chips in. We are all part of the game. Very few (Especially me!) can resist engaging Howie. If we ignored him he might go away but that ain’t happening. I have concluded that BF is performing a public service by giving him a place to vent rather than having him roaming the streets shouting at people having fun.
And Howard is a BF member so he ponied up $50. He ain’t going anywhere.
Full disclosure- I gave BF money for a classified ad a few years ago and it was well-worth it as I have mentioned before. They gave me very good advice on writing the ad and the car sold in two days.
Does anyone know the purchase price of this beauty?
While these cars were slugs in the performance department, finding one this nice is hard to do. The color is gorgeous. I don’t think I have ever seen an original this nice. These cars were famous for quarter panel and rocker panel rust, and the interior plastic would get sun baked and the seats would come apart.
Howard is a lot like a house fly, you can swat at them and shoo them away but they keep coming back…. As someone else mentioned, maybe this keeps him off the street.
I thought this site was about cars not couples therapy?
Listing ended, no sale. I was a died in the wool GM guy when these cars were new. What a disappointment. Big, ugly, and slow as a snail. Let somebody younger that may have wanted one as a teenager save them.
Great looking Zed28 in a killer color!
@bobhess
I agree that you should not cut up an original car to do any swapping or resto mod work, and instead find a beater to bring back to road worthy life.
I am not really a fan of the hot wheels tire profile between the front and the rears, that was one of the first things I brought back to original on my Grand National. Just my personal preference.
This should get strong money, but I could not find the final purchase price when I checked on the eBay listing.
@leiniedude
Probably an owner of a car that is pouring copious amounts of fluids onto the floor beneath it.
@Frank Sumatra
You wrote: “And Howard is a BF member so he ponied up $50. He ain’t going anywhere.”
I believe I see some form of favoritism in the vehicles that various people contribute to BF. By that, I mean it seems to me that certain contributors receive special treatment based on their membership status, one in particular.
I don’t mean to stir anything up but I notice that I can contribute a certain type of vehicle and it will get passed over while some certain other contributors have the same type of vehicle accepted. So I have to chalk that up to membership.
I do have one writer at BF who supports me and appreciates what I send in to BF. He always seems to have my back, membership or no. He knows who he is. And I appreciate him very much.
Holy cow! I’m genuinely curious how many of these mid 70’s – early 80’s Z/28s are left in the world in such outstanding condition? They weren’t exactly on par with the LT1 Z’s performance wise, so they didn’t garner instant classic status like their forebears did. I read an old Car & Driver article from a 73 or 74 test of that year’s Z/28 and it made around 175-180 horsepower and got 13 MILES TO THE GALLON HIGHWAY. I capitalized it because I don’t know how to italicize words, but imagine owning a car that took over 17 seconds to run the quarter mile and got such horrendous gas mileage to boot? Probably why we don’t see a whole lot of them in excellent condition nowadays.
My dad’s best friend back in the day was a real car guy, and he always had some kind of muscle car that we’d beg him to take us for “death rides” in. He bought a 1980-81 Z/28, I can’t remember exactly which year, but it was practically brand new and he took us kids for a ride in it on a really twisty road. Now that I’m a lot older and have owned many truly fast cars and motorcycles, I understand that car wasn’t really all that fast but to 10 year old me that car was ffffaaaast and it handled the turns like a race car! I loved watching the cowl-induction hood scoop opening every time the 4-barrel opened up and started sucking in lots of air.
This Z/28 is just as nice as the maroon one from a couple weeks ago, and I definitely wouldn’t kick either of them out of my garage if I came home and found one parked there. I’d rather have the maroon one with the 4 speed, but this one is just as sweet.
Only original once. Don’t mess with it.
Man, I was just in Marietta for the holidays.
My brother-in-law and I would have loved to have gone over and checked out this beauty.
If it was rustproofed that helped save that crap GM sheet metal of the 80s. I worked at an Olds dealer while in college from 1977 to 1981, and did all the rust proofing. We used Rusty Jones. That crap looked like butterscotch pudding. I drilled two holes in each door, did under the hood, trunk lid and entire body of the car. After more than 40 years, most of the those cars I did are in the junk yard. Leave this Z as it is. Do not put in a stupid LS engine that has many valve train issues among other problems. Dissimilar metals is what causes all the headaches today. I keep iron cylinder heads on my iron block in my 73 Corvette.
Surprising how simple it is under the hood with few vac hoses, valves, electrical wires, sensors, etc.
Looks like a ’60s car under the hood w/o a/c. Or should it?
The optional chrome side window moldings clash with the blacked out
moldings elsewhere.