Well, I can honestly say that I have never seen a car like this. Located near Elkton, Maryland, this is a 1979 Chevrolet Camaro equipped with a straight six cylinder engine and t-tops. Every 1979 Camaro I have seen has had at least a 305 cubic inch V8 engine. The seller states that the car still boasts its original paint and drive train. The car can be seen here on Craigslist for an asking price of $5,300. There are only three pictures posted on Craigslist but we can tell a lot from those pictures. The car rides on rally wheels and shows rust around the wheel openings and along the rocker panel. It would probably be a good idea to get pictures of the bottom side of the car and identify any rust repair before purchasing it. This Camaro was optioned with the rear spoiler, body stripe and t-tops.
With a total of 129,000 miles, the engine bay looks clean and the car is equipped with power steering and air conditioning. I can’t see a brake booster so the car may not have power brakes. What is important to note is that the car is equipped with a 250 cubic inch inline six cylinder engine. At 4.1 liters, the inline six cylinder engine came standard in the base and RS models. The 250 cubic inch inline six cylinder engine generated 145 horsepower and on this car is mated to a turbo 350 automatic transmission. The car has an aftermarket air cleaner mounted on its one barrel carburetor. When this engine was used in trucks from 1975-1984, it was equipped with a 2 barrel carburetor. According to online sources, the 250 cubic inch inline six was discontinued in passenger cars after 1979 in the United States. The seller states that the car drives great.
The interior of the car is tan and has the base vinyl interior. It shows very well and there are no cracks in the dash. The console lid has been replaced and not repainted to match the interior. The carpet appears to have been replaced also. With sales of 282,571 Camaros in 1979, it was a banner year and the best sales year for Camaros since their inception. So what would you do with this car. Give it to you high schooler to drive? Or maybe yank the inline six and build a motor for it? If you owned a 1977-1979 inline six Camaro, please tell us about your ownership experience.
I tried to buy a 79 Camaro like this when I was in high school in the mid nineties. I could swear it was a V6 however. I know for sure it was a six and my mother wouldn’t let me buy it because she correctly believed I would put in a bigger motor. I like this Camaro a lot. Clean interior also. I would leave the straight six, it would raise a few eyebrows at the local car show.
You are correct. Both a 229 cubic inch Chevy and a 231 cubic inch Buick were available from 1980-1981.
I owned a 75 Camaro straight 6 with a bench seat never seen another bench seat Camaro since
There were no 1975 Camaro’s to leave factory with a bench seat…..it was not a option offered at all on any second generation Camaro’s…..someone may of added it afterwards from another type of car.
The Briggs & Stratton air cleaner raises my eyebrows.
If the tin worm hasn’t devoured too much of this, I would rework and paint the body, and enjoy as is. Any other Camaro at the show you’d take it to would be a V-8, doubt very seriously if there would be another one like this at the same show, winner in my book. The older every man car is going by the way of the do-do bird!
I had one of these as a weekend loaner from the dealer back then and put 500 highway miles on it. The power was impressive for a straight six and the gas mileage was a pleasant surprise. That 250 is bullet proof too and was high winding.
A friend had exact same spec in white with a blue cloth int,blue glass Inc the T tops in the early 90’s here in the UK.
True, this is the last year for the straight six in this, and false it was rated at 145 horsepower. Maybe in 1971 gross measures, but SAE net wise, about 105 by this point.
110 in 78 and 115 in 79
After college I bought a new ‘76 Camaro with a straight six, manual transmission and no air conditioner. It had a lot of pep, and gave me 70,000 trouble-free miles when I sold it in ‘82.
I owned a Camaro very similar to this in the early 80’s. I bought it for a winter beater. I can’t remember the exact model year but it had a straight six with a 3 speed manual floor shifted transmission, no t-tops and a spoiler. I paid $300.00 for it. I enjoyed driving it and it was fairly economical to own.
The engine in this car actually made 115 horsepower, not 145. Which is pretty low, but people in California had it even worse—with their emissions equipment, it only made 90!
The car reminds me of the ’81 Firebird my friend had in high school: 6 cylinder, t-tops, and sloooooow. At least it wasn’t beige, though.
These were actually pretty common back in that era. All dressed up with no place to go. Chicks drove these.
Bye bye 6 ☹️
Weren’t those Camaro steering wheels fat enough without the cover on it?
For durability, I’d take that 6 over the 305 V8.
All said, someone near Maryland ought to grab this. Beige and all.
Deserves to be preserved. Probably not quite worth the asking price, but the next guy to bid will probably cram a cheap crate in the bay and respray the body.
I would be one of ‘the next guys’ I’d leave the body and paint alone but yes, I would put a Good Wrench crate 350. One of the 290 hp versions. I wouldn’t want it to be a car that would keep up with a new Corvette or anything, just more power to compensate for the automatic. I personally did have a 79 with a straight 6 but mine had a 3spd manual. Fun enough to drive. I tried one with a 6 and automatic and it really made me appreciate my 6/stick combo. I don’t care about it being the only one at a car show. I don’t show my cars, I drive and enjoy them.
According to automobile catalog, 0 to 60 took 17.7 seconds. I imagine this one is a little slower due to the weight of the t-tops. The quarter-mile took 21.8 seconds. I think that might be why it’s a unicorn?
Never discount the power of a inline 6..I had one in a shoebox Chevy II it was bored out .30..crank was turned undersized..slightly hotter cam..hedders..port matched intake with a 4 barrel and aftermarket ignition. It would do good work against the v8 crew. And with a power glide
It’s overpriced, a 79 Camaro with a straight 6 with an unknown amount of rust isn’t a good value at $5,300. Sure, it has proponents on this site, but none of them are going to spend their money on it.
Steve R
I had an ’80 Camaro with a V6 as a teenager. Wasn’t fast but it looked cool. I put American Racing wheels on it, big raised white letter tires, a Thrush muffler and tinted the windows. Thought I was pretty bad-ass.
That straight six engine was a good engine… it wasn’t a V8 but, it had get up and go. I had a Pontiac Ventura with a straight six, it could smoke up the tires. Also, I knew a friend that had a 1981 RS Camaro with a V6. It looked exactly like a Z28, hood scoop and all. But, man was slooowwww…
It has always been interesting to me how few Camaros came with 6 bangers and how many Mustangs were ordered that way. Most every 60’s and early 70’s Mustang I see for sale or on the street are 6 cylinder powered. Never quite understood that since the 2 cars were in the same market. :-) Terry J
Six cylinder, A/C, automatic, old man tan. AM radio permanently tuned into “the game.” Currently offered from the Mr. Rogers estate. It’s strongly suggested that all potential buyers be very patient.
Fantastic. This one survived in the condition it’s in because of that 6 and that color. Chick car. As I have said before here on BF, my family were quite clever at finding these kinds of oddball Camaros and Firebirds for sale in the 70s-80s. I presume my 76 Firebird used the Chevy-sourced I-6. My only question is, at some point in the late 70s could you get a straight 6 or some kind of V6 from the General in F-bodies?
A Unicorn without a horn.
I would buy this if it were closer and I had the room. I had a 6 cylinder ’78 and it was one of the best balanced cars I’ve ever owned. You can laugh at that if you want; the car was used to commute on mountain roads. Could not have asked for more. Sold it to my neighbor, who gave it to his nephew for school, who rebuilt the engine at over 100,000 miles and is still driving it. I see it frequently; it doesn’t look like much, advancing age, but runs like a clock. Buy this car somebody. You won’t be disappointed. Try low horse power small engine orientation. See how much you’ll like it.
I had a co-worker who bought a 1980 Camaro – 229 V6, manual, T-Tops, nice maroon paint. I liked it a lot, so in 1981 I bought one – 229, auto, rally wheels, black,
We were definitely the all show, no go squad.
I forgot to mention, his was non-power brakes.
But, he had to have those T-Tops!
The 250 L-6 is a great, rugged, long-lasting engine. Had one, stock and original, is a 1980 Chevy shortbed 4X4, 4 speed Muncie trans. Not the quickest off the line, reliable, and great mileage!
I had a ‘79 with the 250 automatic in the ‘90s. It had over 200,000 miles on it and ran strong. Though no racer, it performed much better than expected. It was sub-frame/body mounts and general wear and tear that sent it to the boneyard. I enjoyed that car so much that I own a ‘79 Z28 today, with low mileage and original condition.
I owned a 1979 Camaro, straight six engine, with a three speed manual transmission and T tops. It was console delete with manual disk-drum brakes. Great running and driving car with that combination.
This would be a great car for me if it were either rust free or $2,000. Not a big fan of tee tops, but since these didn’t have a sunroof and I love open air motoring, these would have to do.
I can picture the person who bought it new…a crabby 50 year old guy who wanted open air motoring, but also valued economy. Still, he wanted a sporty looking car body, but being an older feller, he liked beige.
Wow! Sounds like me! I would have picked a different color lol.
The co-worker that I mentioned earlier that had a maroon one that he bought new was 20 at the time.
They were nice enough looking cars that a young guy or gal could afford to buy new.
You may not recall this, but loan interest rates and gas prices were both high in the early 80’s, so cost-conscious young buyers (like me) went in this direction. I also had plenty of friends who went the other way – loaded T/A’s, Z/28’s, etc., but they lived for their cars.
You could be right lol. I just know I like the car for what it is, then I look in the mirror & see what I am lol.
None the less, I like the car. I just find the tee tops and rear spoiler in odds with the rest of the car. I think that is why I like it so much!
Me too. When looking at the option sheet in 1981, I made a lot out of a little. No A/C or V8 for me. Instead, I got the rear spoiler, rally wheels, radio delete. Made up a car that I looked good (to me) and I could afford.
My buddy got the T-Tops instead of A/C – they cost about the same.
My first car was a 1970 Nova, with a 230 6 cylinder, and a 3 speed hydromatic auto trans. That engine put out a whoppping 140 hp. I got the car from my aunt with 3500 miles on it. I put the SS trim on it, jacked it up with air shocks on the back, big block springs on the front and slapped on some Cragars with radial T/A’s. I fully intended to put a 350/4 speed in it one day, but Instead got interested in other projects and sold it got a mere pittance. It actually cruised pretty good with that six cylinder in it and all my friends still talk about all the fun we had in that “bad” Nova. Thinking one day I may buy myself a real 350 SS, but that would probably ruin the memory.
Please, whoever buys this car, can I have the inline 6? I know most likely, you don’t want that motor. All of it please, and thanks in
advance. johnnydadog@gmail.com.