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just got a 68 Camaro 327. Very rough. Any tips for restoration?

dawp said:
na, I'd keep the 327 and rebuild it.
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This

My suggestion would be to do it right. You should be able to get anything you need for this car. From that single pic, the paint looks rough but the sheet metal looks good. Rocker panels, floor panels and trunk are more than likely going to be the problem areas. Strip it, bag the parts and fasteners as you go while taking lots of pictures, replace sheet metal as needed and did I say, to do it right?

You use the word restoration, so I'm assuming that's your goal. My understanding is that the car has the potential to be worth big bucks especially if it's numbers matching. I think the best advice would be to truly decide what you want to accomplish before starting on it.

I don't think that roof is factory.
 
Yea the pic is not a lot to go on but it seems pretty good for a older car. Many like that would be rusted out even on the top body.

The sunroof looks weird (aftremarket) but I guess it could be ok.
 
Whatever you do be open to aftermarket/reproduction parts. It'd make no sense to make that car require only OEM parts nor not deviate to better options offered 40 years later.
 
holden j caufield said:
how much more undesirable is it if someone put in an aftermarket sunroof?
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Depends. Did you buy this car for you to have fun with, or did you buy it to restore to factory original and make it a show car? If you just want to have fun with it who cares if it has an aftermarket sunroof? Just build it how you like and have fun.
 
As someone who restored a 69 firebird basketcase in the early 90s I have a bit of advice for you: don't strive for a show quality restoration. Just don't. Unless you've already restored a dozen cars you likely won't make it.

Don't worry about the value of the car. Unless it was owned by a celebrity or has other interesting history you aren't going to make millions with Barrett-Jackson from it.

Find a specific net forum dealing with the first generation F-bodies to get ideas of where to get stuff. Don't expect this to be a cheap project either -- by the time you're done it'll probably run you about as much as a brand new v8 camaro.
 
I'd shy away from a numbers matching restoration unless it's something you've always wanted to do and you don't mind losing money on the project. Unless the car is super rare, it's going to be a money pit to restore it to OEM.

My advice after owning a '73 Camaro is to modify it and make it into something you want whether that be the pro-street look or pro-touring or whatever. How does the undercarriage look? How is the sheetmetal? Those are the biggest money pits IMO. If you start out with a straight body and a rust-free undercarriage, it'll be a lot cheaper project.

I should have checked those things out when I bought my '73 but I was young and dumb and just took it for a spin and bought it. After having it for a few months I finally noticed that my rear subframe was almost rusted through on one side. So I took my awesome 18-yr old body skills and cut the subframe out of a '78 and grafted it in my car. It held strong but man was that an ugly hack job, and expensive. The guy I ended up selling it to opened the trunk and just started shaking his head when he saw the subframe hackery.
 
holden j caufield said:
how much more undesirable is it if someone put in an aftermarket sunroof?
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Only if you don't want one and/or it was done wrong.

Build it the way you want it. It's never going to be a concours car IMHO so why try to get 75% the way there.

You want to cut the dash for a modern CD player, do it, the doors...boom.

Don't like the factory seats...move up to Recaros or the popular Corbeau on many muscle cars.

late 60's Camaros can be awesome street machines when just the body is kept as a 'template'.

What do you want out of the car though? That's going to drive the rest (pun not intended).
 
TehMac said:
rebuilding a 327 is going to be...interesting. But an ls3 delivers just as much power (if not more) right off the bat, is more fuel efficient and more responsive.
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LS3 would not make sense as it will be far more in cost than the LS1/LS2's that are eqivalent.

However, the best way to go is the L33 which shares most things with the LSx series. It's 5.3 instead of 5.7...it's commonly refered to as a 327 (325ci actual).
 
I restored a non-numbers-matching 67 RS. It came with a tired 350 (the PO replaced the original engine with a V8). Parts are expensive, because companies like Year One nickle and dime you on every little rivet and bolt. Parts are made in China (most of them) and the quality is low.

To save money, I joined the local college automotive classes and built a 383 engine (the college had boring/honing machines). The instructor even had a built engine stand to start/break it in. The stroker kit wasn't expensive.

Maybe, this is something you can do? The class cost about $100.

I would stay away from a LSx conversion. You probably better off saving money for a decent paint job. I don't drive my car every day and don't care about gas mileage or how high I can spin my engine.

I tried doing mine on a budget and still about $12-14k down the hole.

GL with your project!
 
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alkemyst said:
LS3 would not make sense as it will be far more in cost than the LS1/LS2's that are eqivalent.

However, the best way to go is the L33 which shares most things with the LSx series. It's 5.3 instead of 5.7...it's commonly refered to as a 327 (325ci actual).
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Yup. I know I guy that bought an '01 Firebird Formula with a blown engine and dropped in a low-mile 5.3 from a totaled pickup. Between the 'Bird and the motor, he was out about $3k. Pretty smokin deal.
 
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