CRG Discussion Forum

Camaro Research Group Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: zegret on May 03, 2007, 03:54:23 AM

Title: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: zegret on May 03, 2007, 03:54:23 AM
How many have you found a Camaro in a yard or field, only to ask and get the usual...."No it's not for sale, I'm gonna fix it up someday" routine?  Probably every single one of us!  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some of these frustrating stories...so I'll go first....

Before turning 16 back in 1990, I found a gold 67 Camaro under a carport near a buddy of mine's house.  All original, vinyl top, no rust, pretty clean and straight car.  Been sitting there for a few years.  So when the time came and I got my license, I knocked on this guy's door to see if I could buy it.  Nope, of course not.  "I'm gonna fix that up soon."  BS, I thought.  So I settled for a '63 Corvair.  Anyway, this car sat there for years and years and years.  It is STILL there.  Has not moved an inch and has 17 years worth of dust on it.  So last year, I thought, what the hell, I'll try again.  Same dude answers the door, gives me the same answer.   >:(  Maybe he'll get it "fixed up" in another 15 years.  >:( x 1,000,000,000,000
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: ggtsvnv on May 03, 2007, 04:39:04 AM
  I know of a matching numbers 67 RS/SS 350 setting in a guys backyard for the last 17 years that he wont sell. It is slowly rusting into the ground, when I first seen it you could still tell it was butternut yellow. Now it has faded to the point that it looks more white, at least where the surface rust has not covered it. Its sad I know of 2 dozen 67-73 Camaros with 8 or 9 of them being first gen cars setting that the owners wont sell.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: jeff g on May 03, 2007, 10:52:57 PM
OK Here Go's These are all within a 45 min. drive from my house. 3- 69 z28's ( 1 burgundy maroon/black standard /front bumber guard's /console delete/flat hood/ # match front to back  w/ orig. smog part's in box/ m21 /4:10 solid floor's but need's qtr's etc. parked since1974 ) 2 ( garnet red /Ralleysport z28 /endura bumber /flat hood/ black standard/ u17 /m21/ 3:73 original sheet metal is perfect I have # match short block offered to owner not interested has 327 w/z28 top head's etc.) 3 (fathom green parked in 1971 in a garage motor exploded /trans has been Pro Shifted/ rear is still there 3:73 or 4:10 not sure/ trunk pan removed for tub's /project never completed/body is perfect still has original paint/ owner claim's he will race the car again some day) 68 yenko  yes that's right a real YENKO Was original green car /sold at Stauffer Chevy vin is in yenko vin list 4 speed/ small block/ big block has blown up long gone/ has fiberglass wheel well flair's owner will not sell) 68 Baldwine Motion body is perfect /has original paint/ has original paper's/ green/ black top / white strip motor and 4 speed sold in late 70's has 427 richmond 5 speed keeping it for his grandson not for sale 4 69 pace car's (two my friend own's one is a real big block/ 4 speed / 3:73  other is small block /auto /3:31/ no gauges  3 rd  small block /auto/ 3:31/no guages is A title car parent's bought it new won't sell sitting in back yard becoming part of the earth again) 4th (sit's in a show room of a car dealer/ theft recovery from the early 70's /one repaint/ small block/ auto/ 3:31/ no guages/ not for sale
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: wtexz10 on May 04, 2007, 12:54:57 AM
Back in 1983 I heard of a 69 Pontiac Judge sitting beside a house in a small West Texas town.   I found the car just as described, tracked down the owner who bought it back in the early 70's when he was a kid.  The car had been sitting for who knows how long when I found it.  It was needing help but appeared to be all there.  Same story, I'm going to fix it one day.

Flash forward 2007, the car is still sitting in the same spot.  I've occasionally drive by just to see if it's still there, the only thing I've noticed is that is seems to have a different plastic tarp thrown over it from time to time. No telling what it would take to restore this one.  The only saving grace is that it's in dry West Texas.

I'm betting it will be there 20 years from now.

Kris
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: JKZ27 on May 04, 2007, 03:29:29 AM
Back in 97, while scouting for parts for my 68 327/PG coupe, I found a wrecked 69 RS on a farm just visible from the road. I stopped by the next day to ask if any parts would be for sale. The owner told me it was the car he bought new in 69 and then wrecked in 74 and it had been sitting in a building since. Only recently was it brought outside, along with the car under a cover that was sitting behind it- a all original cortez silver 1969 RS/SS 350, manual trans, factory A/C in great shape. He told me that if I helped him dismantle the wrecked RS I could have the parts I needed. He would keep the rest of the parts as spares for the RS/SS, which, despite the locked up engine, was not for sale. A few days later after loading my truck with a pile of parts from the wreck, I offered to help get the frozen engine in the silver SS running again, he accepted.
A few weeks later I returned to attempt to make the little 350 run again. Turns out, the rings were just lightly stuck in the bores from sitting for about 15 years. Some light levering on the flywheel with some ATF in the cylinders freed the engine up enough for the starter to rotate it. It fired up! The owner was so happy I thought he was going to sell it to me right then, but he didn't. He did promise me that if he ever did sell it, I would have first shot at it. We'll see!
Years went by, the cover eventually rotted off onto the ground. The cowl filled with leaves. The mid-70s repaint cracked up. I would talk to the guy on a regular basis and occasionally do some work on some of his other cars while the Camaro sat in the field with a couple junky old Chryslers and a rusted 68 Firebird, still not for sale. We became good friends over the years and he would allow me to come start the engine and clean the leaves and pine needels from the cowl area to try and slow the rust in case I ever bought it.
In November 03 I got a phone call. "Its time." he said. " I've had my turn with it. its time to pass it on to someone else" he said.
He was going to sell his 69 RS/SS and he kept his promise. After six months we agreed on a price we could live with and still be friends.(good thing I had refinanced my house that year). I often thought it would just rot to the ground like many other cars, but I guess I got lucky.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: zegret on May 04, 2007, 12:47:17 PM
Great stories!  Keep em comin!

I have found a bunch of Camaros during my searches to finally get my own, so I have a bunch of "Not For Sale" stories.  One car I found in a small town was a 1969 Z-28.  White, looked good from the road, sitting in a driveway.  I was excited because I saw shoe-polish writing on the window and thougt this was going to be my lucky day!  But, as I got closer, my hopes were quickly destroyed, as the writing turned out to say "NOT For Sale".  Rats.  So I continue to drive around this small town to look for more old cars, and sure enough, I found another Camaro.  This one was a 69 Coupe, and the owner was home.  Of course, it wasn't for sale and it was for his grandson who just turned 16, blah, blah, blah, blah.  OF course it hasn't moved in two years and is still under the same carport.  >:(
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: pickelnose on May 04, 2007, 10:31:17 PM
OK here goes,for the last 30 years I heard a story about a guy that bought a brand new 69 SS 396 camaro and took the original engine out and installed a hotter one.all he did was drag race the car. in 1970 or 1971 he was killed in a car accident.I think it was in a corvette.his family locked his garage and hasent touched anything in it since.a few people have been allowed to go in and look if the family knows you,and I have heard that its like going back in time when you go in the garage.its just like he left it in 69.original engine sits in the corner,and theres a set of new pistons sitting on the bench.I,ve heard this story for 30 years but had no real proof untill 6 months ago.a young guy(18 to 20 ) comes to our machine shop with work for his father driving a company truck from the late camaro owners family bussines.tells me his name and his fathers name and its the same last name as camaro owner.when he asked about the price of the machine work I said we can work out a trade with that old camaro they had in the shed.his face went blank and he looked at me real strange and asked how did I know about that.told him I heard all the stories.he eased up and said he's been trying to get it for years but his father wont let him have it. so this camaro hasent seen sunlight sinne 69 0r 70.and they will not sell.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: MB302RS on May 05, 2007, 10:24:58 PM
Ok, I m the one we all love to hate when it comes to buying cars. I bought my 69 RS Z28 , not long after turning 16 in 1978. It was one of three 69 camaros I oned at the same time between the ages of14 & 19. To make a long story shorter, I totaled one and sold one after getting married one month after turning 19. Which left the Z. It was stored in my basement until I moved a few years later. At that time it went to my father's barn. For the first six or seven yrs ,you could see the rear of the car from the road if you got just the right angle. Knocks at their door brought the response we all hate to hear " Its my son's car and he's going to restore it one day" or NO IT"S NOT FOR SALE". Well a few years back it was moved to our shop for dry storage. And to prove it is not always untrue , we are in the process of restoring it now. Thank goodness I resisted the urge for quick money all those times, because I could never afford to buy one at todays prices.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: 67camarorsss on May 09, 2007, 11:01:15 PM
Not exactly a "found in a barn" Camaro story but I'm sure you can all relate. In the mid 80's I was looking for a Hemi car to resto. I'd already been through several A & F body cars as well as a few Mustangs and Chargers. A friend told me about a Hemi car that he had had a friend tell him about as he was into Mopars. I got the guys address and went to see the car. No answer at the door so I look over the fence and see a shape under a tarp. It has a small sailboat on top of it. Seing no dogs and being rather curious I try the gate. It's unlocked so I proceed to check it out. Holy Smokes! It's a 66 Plymouth Satellite with, you guessed it, a 426 Hemi under the hood. AND it's a convertible to boot. The top was gone, the interior had seen better days and there was grass growing up thru the engine compartment. But it was all there.

I tried in vain to get ahold of the guy. I had no phone number for him and, as it turns out, he worked nights and I worked days. About 3 months later we crossed paths. I asked him about the car and got the, "I'm the original owner, I intend to restore it some day and no it's not for sale." I offered him everything short of my 1st born son but he wouldn't part with the car. I did get his phone number though.

Well I kept my eye out for it and about a year later I noticed that it's gone. I called the guy and asked him where it went. Turns out the dealer that sold the car to him wanted to find out the where abouts of the rarest car his dealership had ever sold with the intent of buying the car back for his collection of musclecars. Apparently the guy made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Some days that's just how it goes.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: TStone on May 10, 2007, 12:31:44 PM
http://www.carsinbarns.com/index.html
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: 1968RSZ28 on May 10, 2007, 06:59:24 PM
http://www.carsinbarns.com/index.html

Very cool website.  8)   It's amazing how many muscle cars are rusting away in America.  :(

Paul
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: zdld17 on May 10, 2007, 08:36:23 PM
Too many cars, not enuff money.. tsk,tsk. 
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: VI009DZ on May 11, 2007, 06:11:32 PM
Being a young guy (28) and in Vermont, I have seen NO first gen camaros that are rotting away in the weeds.  With the amount of salt and crud we use in the winter, it is rare to see something like an '86 Chevy pickup in decent shape, let alone a 60's car.

Guess its nice to not have the "I'm going to restore it." hearbreak.....
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: sd1968z28 on May 11, 2007, 10:39:07 PM
it took over 20 years to get my 68z from the shed of my neighbor, i always asked him what he wanted for it and he would never say  then one day i spit a number from my mouth that i thought was fair and to my suprise he said go get your checkbook!!  what a suprise that was.  moral of the story, don't try to steal the car offer a fair price and you never know?
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: zorro on May 21, 2007, 04:49:59 AM
I got one for you.Back in 1985 wen I turned 16 I wanted to buy a first gen Camaro.I knew of one but he of course would not sell.So I settled for a 1966 El Camino with a 283 w/3 on the tree.I had alot of fun with that car.I also learned how to work on it too.Years later (1993)I decided to try again with the Camaro still no luck.I ended up buying a 1967 Camaro coupe a 350/PG,A/C,PS and PB.I went through that car rebuilding the engine and repainting it Black.Ok so here's the good part.Now (2005)I'm married with kids everything is great till one night I get this call about the Camaro I wanted when I was 16.Turns out the guy needs to get rid of it because he's moving.The best part is the guy I'm talking about is my brother.He gave me the car after having it since 1973.I now am in the process of restoring the car.It is a 68 RS/SS 396,4 sp,3:73 12 bolt car.There is no way this car will ever leave my possesion.I have many memories in this car riding around all over town.Isn't life great.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: 1968RSZ28 on May 21, 2007, 04:59:14 PM
Zorro -

I hope you're getting your brother one heck of a Christmas present this year!  And helping him move!   :)

Paul
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: Old Man on May 23, 2007, 03:57:21 PM
I've been looking for another 1st gen for some time now and about a month ago I bought a 69 Camaro 350 SS clone but it's in great shape. I first saw the car a year and a half ago and of course when I asked the owner if it was for sale he said the usual "no I'm saving it for my son". About every 3 or 4 months I'd check back with the guy, well after about our 6th conversation he decided he wanted to sell it and I got it. I couldn't be happier.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: JackalsZ on June 19, 2007, 01:17:55 AM
Okay heres two for the record books. I am 48 years old. I was 15 in 1974 when one of my older brothers told me about his girlfriends - brothers 1968 big block Camaro for sale for $1,500.00. The car had spun a bearing and was sitting in a huge car port in the back of the house where it could not be seen from the road near Annapolis MD. I did not have the money or the income to purchase the car at that time and bought insted a 1966 big block Super Sport Chevelle for $500.00 that had tilt wheel, power brakes and steering and 4 speed trans with 4.88 12 bolt posi rear. That car was fun, but back to the Camaro. My brother married that girl and the Camaro just sat for a while. Every now and again I would see Tommy, ( the guy that owned the car ) and I would ask him if I could buy it now. Him and his dad had a terrible fight sometime after Tommy graduated from school and had not spoken for many years. The car was a high school graduation present for Tommy. It is a stripper Super Sport with no power steering or brakes and only had the gauge package with console and the chrome trim option. It is a light shade of blue with blue interior and of course the 325 horse 396 in the engine bay. Over the years I have worked on cars for Tommy and always ask him if he would sell me the Camaro. His standard reply was the car belongs to his dad and its up to him to decide what to do with it. So the cars sat and sat with the motor out and taken apart for many many years (33 years). At least it was in a car port, but it was not covered up and the elements took some toll on the machine. Fast forward to last year about this time. My brother calls and said Tommy's dad died and the Camaro is for sale. He ask me what it worth and I said I would be willing to pay $10,000.00 sight unseen for it. I currently own, ( for 27 years ) an original paint 68 RS Z/28 and a 69 Z11 Big Block Indy Pace Car, ( 25 years ) along with a Super Pro 63 Chevy II drag race car and just picked up a "barn find" 69 GTO convertible ( 100%  original and numbers matching Madator red with black top and black interior ) that needs a complete restoration. My brother told me he thinks he could get the car for $2000.00 so I told him I would give him $10,000.00 for it. A couple of days later he calls and said he has the car. I ask what it took to buy the car and he said "he just gave it to me".  I said some cuss words and ask what his plans for the car were, ( he has had some nice cars in the past but always sold them off ). He paid a guy to do a "restomod" on the car, Not much from stock, but I wold have restored it to original. The car is pretty and has won some awards for the paint. It has about 40,000 miles on the car. I told my brother that he is so lucky. I worked many long and tough hours and sacrificed so much to be able to buy and keep the cars that I own. He has a college degree and is an electrical engineer. Me, I am just a auto mechanic and make about 1/4 of the wages he makes but he gets a car like that for free. And heres another one for the record books. I know a guy, one of the customers at the shop that Married a local girl. She had a brother that had a Corvette. Not just any Corvette though. This car is a Maroboro Maroon 1967 427 cubic inch coupe  car. He died of cancer in 1971. The car sat in a barn near here for many years and no one even gave it a thought. It was stolen a few years ago and recovered. The family did not even know it was gone!! The police officer is a friend of mine and a different brother, I have 5 brothers. Well anyway the officer ask if we could find the confidential serial numbers on this car to identify the car. We went and looked at the car and my brother says " I know this car " and sure enough its the car that belonged to the fellow that died in 1971 and we know the family. We go to the house with the officer to talk to them and tell them we have their car at the shop and they say " we don't own a Corvette ". The mother is a little old lady now and says yes you do its Jimmy's old car. When the fellow had died the parents put the title in their daughters name and stored it at the farm. So heres this guy that knows nothing about cars and he gets a free 1967 427 Corvette with a great color and  the holy grail of motors. He says he don't know what to do with the thing. He did not want to offend the family by selling it so now it sits in his garage at their house. Every now and again he calls me to drive it and service the thing. I have talked him into driving it some now and he is amazed at the attention people pay to the thing. I would never wish harm to anyone but I sure wish someone would give me a rare machine like these two that I personally know of. Oh, and my brother also won a Corvette in a raffel once a few years ago. And they say hard work pays. I say bull, luck pays a lot better, just ask my 14 year old son who will get the GTO when I get it done.
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: Buddy on June 21, 2007, 07:33:14 PM
My Camaros have been sitting for quite awhile. Maybe I will make mine visible and sell them......hint hint.

Buddy
Title: Re: Found Camaros, Not For Sale...
Post by: Bjv69ss on July 01, 2007, 01:26:52 AM
There's a 69 RS/SS sitting behind the Post Office in our town.  Everyone has tried and failed to buy it.  I've heard that one well known guy in town offered $15,000 for it and was turned down.
The car has been sitting for the 23 years that I have lived here.   The car is a coupe with a vinal top, a/c, 396, munci 12 bolt posi.  Dog dish caps.  Full consol, walnut steering wheel tinted glass. rear deffogger

There is a tree now growing through the right front fender.  It has sunk into the dirt it's been parked on.  It's the biggest shame I have ever seen.  I try not to look when I go to the PO  Oh...he's going to restore it someday...fat chance, it will be fertilizer first!  I'd send a photo but he calls the police when you get too close.