Legendary hot-rodder Mary Poppins once quipped that “Well begun is half done,” and while we don’t know the back-story on this 1972 Chevrolet Camaro, the Hamburg, New York project seems to have been well begun indeed. No VIN or provenance here on eBay suggests nothing special in its original configuration, but the car’s been taken down to bare metal and partially built back with what looks like highly skilled work so far. At least 12 bidders think so, taking the top offer above $16,500 so far on this calico split bumper project.
Our Chevy experts may chime in, but the seam sealer around the shifter opening for the Borg-Warner manual transmission may suggest a different original gearbox. New floor pan, rockers, quarters, door skins, fenders, and more bring new life to what have been a long-time Empire State driver. Undercarriage pictures and rear drum brakes show a rebuild using mostly stock replacement parts and lacking the extreme details of a show car.
The “fresh built” 350 cid (5.7 L) block features sturdy four bolt mains. Though details escaped the listing, that looks like an Edelbrock carburetor, aftermarket headers, aluminum intake manifold, and an aluminum radiator. All mechanicals look clean and well-sorted, suggesting a good starting point for the new owner.
The new metal panels were welded using a spot-welder to closely mimic factory welds. I’ve always taken the poor man’s route and plug-welded panels with a MIG welder to imitate spot welds, but investing in a spot-welder shows serious commitment. The 3.42:1 gears in the rear end should deliver a solid launch with modern tires while still allowing reasonable highway cruising. For a driver I’d consider a five or six speed with at least one overdrive, but the old-school four-speed with its 1:1 top gear is certainly authentic. With this solid starting point, how would you finish this build on the scale from stock to custom?
Has a ways to go but holy cow the tuff stuff has been handled! Takes some serious ambition to get it this far. From the pictures someone will get a really nice driver when it’s done. The heck with the show thing, drive it!
“Legendary hot-rodder Mary Poppins once said” is the best opening line on a write-up I’ve ever seen.
I saw her in a grudge race once against Mrs. Doubtfire.
To bad that it’s in New York. I would love to load that up in my enclosed trailer and finish it for the right price.
Seems like a terrible place to have to let go of the project. A little more time and money and you could have it driving, which would probably bump the selling price up drastically.
Judging by the photos, looks like a well meticulous rebuild. Will make someone a nice vehicle.
I second that. Lots of attention to detail on this rebuild.
I’ve always wondered if a ’69 firebird dash would fit in a ’69 camaro – and if a 2nd gen firebird dash would fit in a 2nd gen camaro. Those 2 bird dashes IMO look a lot better than the camaros’. & the 2nd gen bird HVAC controls are not to the left of the driver, like they are on the camaros(why, Chevy!?).
If the new owner of the above car has a 2nd gen bird dash layin around, now would be a good time to see it it fits. Camaro purists may go berserk, but just remind them that the ’67-68 bird got the camaro’s dash & some 2nd gen birds got chevy’s strait 6 & even small block.