What would you do now, with the benefit of hindsight - a base for your PT build.

[Simmo]

I’m having difficulty figuring out the most cost effective way to get my hands on a solid 69 Camaro body/roller. Being in New Zealand I really don’t want to find out I’ve dragged over a lemon! With a budget of around $15K US for a good base (feel free to burst my bubble if you think I’m dreaming!) what would you guys recommend?

Option 1: Find a solid CA or AZ donor on eBay or the likes.That way I have most of the hardware to re-furbish and only replace what I feel necessary to keep costs down.

Option 2: Find someone else’s project and pick up where they left off. Most of what I’ve found is already painted/primed so it’s still a bit hard to know what you are getting.

Option 3: I’ve noticed a crowd (musclecars98) on eBay doing bodies with title for 13K or 14K with tubs. Noticed other crowds (mikescustomcars)charging a touch over 20K for the fully prepped product ready for paint. Has anyone had experience with either of these guys?

Option 4: Dynacorn – are they any better in terms of fit now than they were a few years ago? Will have to re-jig the budget to include a donor car.

I’ll be looking at a Art Morrison/DSE subframe or similar and same goes for the rear end so I’m not too concerned about the existence of them. Numbers, ss or rs etc etc don't concern me. I can do mechanical and electrical but my fabrication/welding skills are non-existant which makes the last two options attractive, however the cost of the remaining hardware and lack of spares available locally scare me.

I appreciate it all comes down to how much of a deal you find, but I’m sure with the amount of builds being carried out on here, someone with the benefit of hindsight can help narrow it down or perhaps offer some advice!

[SLO_Z28]

I’m having difficulty figuring out the most cost effective way to get my hands on a solid 69 Camaro body/roller. Being in New Zealand I really don’t want to find out I’ve dragged over a lemon! With a budget of around $15K US for a good base (feel free to burst my bubble if you think I’m dreaming!) what would you guys recommend?



$15,000 will get you a running driving car. I would go that route. Get something like:

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1969-Chevrolet-Camaro-484751.xhtml?conversationId=268725

Drive the car and upgrade as you go along, never letting the car be down for more than a short period of time.

[Simmo]

Cheers James...certainly looks exceptional for that kind of $$. (a comment on it says it's a scam so I'm not sure!) I've just been spooked buy a few threads mentioning how a lot of cars in this price bracket are held together by bog and steel wool etc etc etc. Been told to buy from CA ideally, and AZ if your desperate...reckon i'm misinformed?

Hmmm so maybe eBay/craigslist shouldnt be where I'm looking. If there are any other site's I should be checking out let me know...

[Simmo]

Yeah it's a scam...check out the 67 vette he's also selling:-

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1967-Chevrolet-Corvette-484750.xhtml?entityId=484750

Good thing I work for an airline so I'll be flying over and paying in person, in cash :smoke:

[Payton King]

Based on other people's dealings and stories, I would stay away from Mike's Custom Cars

http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=32779 Here is one that looks promising. Running driving car that you can change as you go. Located in Ca for easy shipping.

If I had it to do over, I would spend less on paint and bodywork, little interior and make it the badest track car I could...this coming from a guy that just repainted the bottom of his car.

[andrewb70]

.......

If I had it to do over, I would spend less on paint and bodywork, little interior and make it the badest track car I could...this coming from a guy that just repainted the bottom of his car.

Now that's funny...

I would agree. Pretty cars are fun for a while, but at the end of the day they are a pain in the a$$. The most fun I had with a car was my 1988 RX7 which I swapped over to an LS6. The car had faded original paint and a dent in the drivers door. I used to clean that car with Windex and a shop rag, sometimes even a clean one. Didn't care if it got scratched, dinged, or wrecked. Maybe that's why it ended up nose first in a telephone pole, but that's another story...:rolleyes:

Andrew

[Ron.in.SoCal]

If I had it to do over, I would spend less on paint and bodywork, little interior and make it the badest track car I could...this coming from a guy that just repainted the bottom of his car.

Good one Payton! What we want vs what we build are often two diferent things...:)

[MonzaRacer]

I dont know if your not stuck on factory Z or SS seems to me a rust free Dynacorn and rust bucket with clean title would save you tons of grief. I believe it was MArk Stielow that used one and said that even after dipping a body he had rails full of leaves and crap, and the Dynacorn one was a pleasure to work on.
Havent heard many have much gripe about them on quality, beats buying a $6k body and putting $20k in it fixing it.
Just my $0.02 .

[Simmo]

Thanks for your thoughts and advice...keep it coming!


If I had it to do over, I would spend less on paint and bodywork, little interior and make it the badest track car I could...this coming from a guy that just repainted the bottom of his car.

I remember hanging the shell of my last project from the ceiling of my shed to do the same (it was a strong shed :) )...and stripping the interior to match with the exterior base coat..so I get ya!

I definately dont plan on building a trailer queen so it doesnt have to be "perfect" but I hate knowing that gap doesnt quite line up or something has been mutilated to fit.

So the doors and boot..sorry - truck, lid fit satisfactorily on a new Dynacorn shell or is metalwork required?

I guess I have to weigh up the "expense" of having money in a non drivable project compared to the expense of perhaps a full restore with a driver a year or two down the track.

I'm not getting much sleep...

[Charley Lillard]

I dont know if your not stuck on factory Z or SS seems to me a rust free Dynacorn and rust bucket with clean title would save you tons of grief. I believe it was MArk Stielow that used one and said that even after dipping a body he had rails full of leaves and crap, and the Dynacorn one was a pleasure to work on.
Havent heard many have much gripe about them on quality, beats buying a $6k body and putting $20k in it fixing it.
Just my $0.02 .

Monza..Stielow has never used and Dynacorn body and never will. We find good Ca. cars and go from there. Start with a Dynacorn and you will go broke just buying all the hundreds and hundreds of little parts that go with a car. I think I would go with the orange one listed on Lat-G that was posted earlier. You should be able to find a decent plain car in Ca. in the 15K range.

[nvmyss]

Option 2
Would be the way I would go. Unfortunately with the economy the way it is people have to sell. It sucks but you can find deals.

Search through old classified post and you might find someone that gave up. I got a real good deal on my 67 that way.
I’m also sure if you found something on craigslist and if a member lives nearby they would be willing to help out. Sometimes good ones are on there.

[nvmyss]

Another one
http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=32759

[wmhjr]

If I had it to do over, I would spend less on paint and bodywork, little interior and make it the badest track car I could...this coming from a guy that just repainted the bottom of his car.

I wouldn't go that far. First off, every build is different. I'd build my next one less "flashy", but if I were building the GTO over again, I wouldn't change a single bit of the appearance stuff I did. It all depends on the build.

One thing we seem to be losing track of. More and more talk about building the "baddest track car", but to me, that isn't Pro-Touring. That's just building a track car. That would be cool too, but to me it's just not Pro-Touring, it's really racing. I know not everyone feels the same way.

[406 Q-ship]

I’m having difficulty figuring out the most cost effective way to get my hands on a solid 69 Camaro body/roller. Being in New Zealand I really don’t want to find out I’ve dragged over a lemon! With a budget of around $15K US for a good base (feel free to burst my bubble if you think I’m dreaming!) what would you guys recommend?

Option 1: Find a solid CA or AZ donor on eBay or the likes.That way I have most of the hardware to re-furbish and only replace what I feel necessary to keep costs down. This the way I would go, you can find a running car with a clean title for 15K. I am sure once you find a car one of the many members here would willing to check it out for you.

Option 2: Find someone else’s project and pick up where they left off. Most of what I’ve found is already painted/primed so it’s still a bit hard to know what you are getting.Can be a good idea if you find the perfect car that is modified the way you would do it. If it is not modified to your liking you back to rebuilding someone elses work. Can be a headache or a great value, very hit or miss IMHO.

Option 3: I’ve noticed a crowd (musclecars98) on eBay doing bodies with title for 13K or 14K with tubs. Noticed other crowds (mikescustomcars)charging a touch over 20K for the fully prepped product ready for paint. Has anyone had experience with either of these guys? I have no opinion on them.

Option 4: Dynacorn – are they any better in terms of fit now than they were a few years ago? Will have to re-jig the budget to include a donor car. The Dynacorn does give you a solid rust free body, but it still requires massaging to the body to make them nice. There is a ton of parts to get to make a complete camaro, and you still have to get a clean title to register the vehicle. So with this method you still really need a camaro for little pieces and a VIN to make it cost effective and not a major headache at time to license.

I’ll be looking at a Art Morrison/DSE subframe or similar and same goes for the rear end so I’m not too concerned about the existence of them. Numbers, ss or rs etc etc don't concern me. I can do mechanical and electrical but my fabrication/welding skills are non-existant which makes the last two options attractive, however the cost of the remaining hardware and lack of spares available locally scare me.

I appreciate it all comes down to how much of a deal you find, but I’m sure with the amount of builds being carried out on here, someone with the benefit of hindsight can help narrow it down or perhaps offer some advice!

I would find a nice clean Camaro and have it ship there. I concur on the not as nice paint, body, and interior. It is much more fun to not worry about every scratch, ding, and dirty foot getting on the carpet. Run it hard and put 'er up wet!

[Simmo]

Thanks very much for the feed back, getting a clearer picture in my head now. The offers to check a car out on my behalf are most appreciated, didnt expect that!

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=7cfbf804afc0478a813594482008cf3b&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pro-touring.com%2Fshowthread.php%3F81733-What-would-you-do-now-with-the-benefit-of-hindsight-a-base-for-your-PT-build.&v=1&libid=1311996499458&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lateral-g.net%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php4%3Ft%3D32779&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pro-touring.com%2Fforumdisplay.php%3F7-Open-(Pro-Touring)-Discussion&title=What%20would%20you%20do%20now%2C%20with%20th e%20benefit%20of%20hindsight%20-%20a%20base%20for%20your%20PT%20build.&txt=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lateral-g.net%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php4%3Ft%3D32779 - looks like a good start...funny how he says NO Rust yet you can see the ground through the trunk..caveat emptor I guess! (fair enough for a 42 y.o car, but perhaps "rust pinholes in the trunk" in the description would be more appropriate).

Looks like a solid CA car will be the way I go, I've since found a few examples of rollers for quite a bit under budget which appeals.

I have some leave coming up so I'll put the word out on here prior to flying over and see what deals members know of.

Oh, an as far as PT inspired events/shows on the west coast, which would you reckon are worth crossing the globe for? Looking at travelling in the next 6-9 months.

[M.P.G.]

Im in Michigan, and just looked at Detroit metro craigslist. there are a couple of 69's on there. their is one real nice roller for 15,000
it looks like a show car from the pic's. alot of MI. guys get there cars from down south anyway (no salt) in the winter. check it out.

Mark.

[srh3trinity]

If I had it to do over again, I would buy one with the paint and body work done. Decent paint and a straight rust free body can save you a lot in the long run. Color is so subjective though, so it can be difficult to find a car in the color for you.

[NOPANTS-68]

If I had to do it over again, I would have gone straight to the LS swap and built the car that way from the start. I went from a gen 1 383, to a bbc 468, then to an LS. I bet I would have saved 10 grand in parts and tons of hours. While the BBC looked impressive, the LS made the car so much more versitile.

[Simmo]

Thanks once again for all the suggestions. I've just discovered how to search multiple editions of craigslist so I'm on my way...

Looking forward to the trip!

[69X22]

I would have went with a DSE rear suspension, and different glass.

[daytonayellaz]

If I had to do it over again, I would have gone straight to the LS swap and built the car that way from the start. I went from a gen 1 383, to a bbc 468, then to an LS. I bet I would have saved 10 grand in parts and tons of hours. While the BBC looked impressive, the LS made the car so much more versitile.

^^^^ What Dave said! I wish I would have crossed over many years ago!!