Messages

61

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: December 06, 2014, 08:32:07 PM »

Hello!

I want to revisit this thread after reading the "67 - 69 fuel line" thread a few spaces below this one.

Based on what I'm seeing, it seems that a 68 L78 car (which is what the subject car of this thread claims to be), should have the fuel line mounted to the cross member on the passenger's side by a metal strap held in place by one of the motor mount bolts.  Am I correct?

I ask because that's what I'm seeing on Cook_dw's '68 L78 and Z28Z11's '69 L78 (or at least the remains of the clip)and Rare396Bronze seems to agree as well, although I don't know if Bronze's car is an L78.

OTOH, Vince and Marty seem to have BB cars ('69 L78 and '68 L35) with fuel lines bolted to the crossmember itself, but both of those cars are Los Angeles cars vs. Norwood.

Is there a definitive finding that says a '68 L78 car should have the fuel line bolted to the cross member on the pass side with a strap held down by a motor mount bolt?

I'd like to know because the car that started this thread has that strap bolted to the PS motor mount, which would put another check in the "Original SS BB" column"


On a separate note, I ordered a shipping report for this car from the NCRS, and it should be here in a few days.  I'm going to see where the car was delivered, and see if I can chase down some information from that angle.

I also called Barret Jackson to see if they had any info on my car other than what's listed on the 2008 auction page I found, but they said that they couldn't disclose any information.

The quest continues...

Chris

62

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 30, 2014, 07:42:32 PM »

Cook -

Thanks for your help.

Emails sent, total of 8 pics.

Chris

63

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 30, 2014, 07:23:34 PM »

Hello -

Managed to get some pics of the fuel line from the owner.

Of course, they're too large to post here, although I'm trying to resize them.

Anyway, all of the clips that I can see in the pics are riveted to the frame.  Does the bolt (small block) vs. rivet fasten (big block) to the frame apply only to the engine compartment along the cross member, or all along the length of the fuel line?

Thanks...

Chris

ps. If anyone can tell me how to resize pics, I'd appreciate it.  I can crop them to reduce the size, but they're so big that I'd have to crop them so small that you probably couldn't tell what you were looking at.

64

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 27, 2014, 12:01:35 AM »

Bullitt -

Agreed.

Hope you guys don't mind a few more similar threads from me...

Chris

65

General Discussion / Re: Which old car would you choose?

« on: November 26, 2014, 12:56:18 AM »

Either of the Fleetlines look good/workable.  Pick the one that's most complete with the best body.

The green pickup would be my 2nd choice.

4 doors are worth less than 1/2 a comparable 2 dr model, work/utility trucks have a very small following.

My .02, and worth every penny...

Chris

66

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 25, 2014, 11:34:57 PM »

Ok, looks like the thread has run out of steam.

So...looks to me like the general consensus is that the car is most likely an SS...if no, someone has gone through a LOT of trouble to make it appear as on.

So...what would you guys offer for it, understanding that rust free cars DO NOT exist in the Northeast.  His comments to me were "high 20s"...I'm thinking more like mid-20s...maybe $26.5.

Thoughts?

Thanks to everyone for their posts.

Chris

67

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 19, 2014, 10:00:28 PM »

From what I remember, the fuel pump had a piece of rubber hose running to it from the gas line, which seemed to have been cut off before it got to the motor mount, so I can't really comment on how it was or may have been attached to the frame.

Let me see if the owner can let me know if it's 3/8 or 5/16 line.  I'm pretty sure it was 3/8, since I had to struggle to move it out of the way to measure the motor mount.

Chris

68

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 18, 2014, 11:38:43 PM »

Cut and Paste from the Chassis section:

Manual drum brakes on all four wheels remained standard for all models except Z28 and mid-year SS396. RPO J50 power assist remained a separate option for drum brakes, but RPO J52 front disc brakes now included RPO J50, and thus all 1968 disc brakes were also power disc brakes. This was the last year for the 4-piston disc brake calipers. The disc brake emblem appeared on the brake pedal of disc brake equipped cars in the January / February 68 timeframe.

Initially, SS models did not require any brake options. That changed when power brakes were required on SS396 models per the  April 1968 ordering information.
For Z28, RPO J52 front disc brakes were a mandatory option.



The cowl tag indicates an early April build, so the car may or may not have had power brakes.  Maybe someone with some more experience than me can chime in...

Chris

69

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 18, 2014, 10:51:37 PM »

and one more...

70

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 18, 2014, 10:34:04 PM »

As promised, more pics....

Looking forward to more commentary and opinions.

Chris

71

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 18, 2014, 09:43:19 PM »

Joe - good point.  The hood didn't have any problem staying open when I raised it, but it also didn't have the underhood insulation like it should.  If the springs were replaced at some point, they may have removed the insulation to help the  hood stay up.

I'll try to get some pics of the engine compartment.

Unfortunately for me, the car is in Delaware and I'm in CT.  I happened to be in Baltimore for business, so I rented a car and drove the 2 hours to see it.  Getting any additional pics will be difficult, although the owner did send me some engine pics before I went to see the car.  I'll try to get him to resend them to me.

Chris

72

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 17, 2014, 07:22:32 PM »

Cook - NOT trying to challenge or argue, just want to clarify...

How can you tell that the stripe has been repainted?  I could feel a paint line on it when I ran my fingers over it, don't know if the original stripe was supposed to be painted or a sticker.

When I inspected the paint, I looked in all the places that you'd normally find a tape line and/or overspray...none on the window fuzzies, around either window molding, weather stripping, any of the emblems, the radiator support, any part of the inner fenders, hinges, jambs, etc.  If this is a repaint, the car must have had the entire body, drive train, and interior stripped.

I did notice that there was no sticker with directions for changing the spare on the underside of the trunk lid...my understanding is that there should be one.

I looked at both pics, and it seems to me that both emblems are in the same location on both sides, although to me, it's kind of hard to tell from the pics, as they don't provide a "straight on" shot of both sides.

I inspected the tailpan paint lines pretty closely...what would I be looking for?

Chris

73

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 17, 2014, 05:49:54 PM »

Thanks to all for the replies.

L78 - I don't know what size the fuel line is...guess I missed reading about that one.  What size gas line should a BB SS have vs. a SB SS?

Bullitt - This car will be a driver.  Sure, I don't want to lose my shirt on it if I decide to sell it in a few years, but I'm not looking to buy it to flip it.

Jock - The price thrown about was "high 20s", but no firm number mentioned.

Here's a link the B-J auction page from 2008.  There is NO WAY I would have paid $51.7K for this car, but the economy in 2008 was a lot stronger than it is now.  I believe that they serve free drinks at those events, and that's the reason for it! 

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1968-CHEVROLET-CAMARO-SS-COUPE-64432

My "dream car" would be a '67 RS/SS Big block, but that's like finding a hen's tooth, and I'm certain that it would be near impossible to find a driveable/decent on in the mid-high 20s, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Keep the opinions coming.

Chris

74

General Discussion / Re: New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 17, 2014, 04:22:49 AM »

glove box

75

General Discussion / New guy - Hello! Need opinions - is it a real SS?

« on: November 17, 2014, 04:17:07 AM »

Hello!

This is my first posting.  I’ve loved old cars since I was young, and have owned over 10 in the past 12 years, and have successfully done a fair amount of work to all of them, including engine rebuilds, rewires, tranny rebuilds, tranny and rear end swaps, front end rebuilds, etc.

A few months ago I realized that I had too many cars that I “kinda” liked, but rarely drove.  I decided that it was time to go after the car I’d wanted since high school, and that was a 1st gen Camaro.  I sold 3 of my cars, a ’41 Chevy Coupe, a ’53 Chevy ½ ton 5 window, and a ’52 Plymouth and started looking, and that’s why I’m posting.

I was chatting with one of the fathers from my daughter’s soccer team, and the subject of cars came up.  Turns out that his father passed away a few years ago, he was now trying to liquidate some of his father’s collection, and one of those cars was a ’68 big block Super Sport Camaro 4spd w/a posi rear.  It was former Barrett-Jackson car sold in ’08.  If you search on the VIN (below), you’ll find the auction.

Long story short, I did about 4 hours or research on what to look for, and just went to see the car.  It’s nice…I’m interested, but, because it’s a 68 that won’t have any code on the cowl tag to ID is as an SS, I want to make absolutely sure it’s a real SS, at least to the extent that I can.  Below is what I’ve got, and I’m looking for opinions…real SS or not?  Worth it or not?  Asking price will be in the high $20s.

Vin:  124378N410626 – Norwood build, original V8 car

Cowl tag (pictured) – First week of April build, standard black bucket seats, lemans blue

Engine code T0304MY – NON original 396/325HP March 4 build, automatic car – other number sequence does NOT match the VIN.

Car is advertised as having a 375HP 396 – and it DOES have a factory aluminum intake manifold with the correct snowflake casting, so it may have been built to 375HP specs

Carb is a Holley 4bbl with mechanical secondaries – air horn is marked LIST 4779-2 2126

Block casting # 3935440 (hard to read, but the last 3 numbers were definitely 440)

Tranny not original either - Borg-Warner with a 5-30-79 casting date on it, the sequence MLT1198A.  Casting # is 1304065908.  Also says WG Div  FC 4.  Driver’s side pad is stamped with F2992.  Most likely a Super T-10.

There IS a reinforcement ring around the shifter hole on the underside of the floor indicating that the car originally had a floor shifter hole

Rear end is a 12 bolt, code is BT032502, with an E underneath – which IDs it as a 3.55 Eaton posi unit from March 25, which seems to jive with the VIN date.  I don’t know what the “02” at the end stands for, although the zero could have been a 6 or a G, very hard to read.

Rear springs have 5 leaves.

Driver’s side motor mount is taller than the pass side motor mount,  2” vs. 1 3/8 as close as I could measure, indicating big block engine mounts.  The don’t appear to have been replaced, but I can’t guarantee it

Speedo cable passes through the “Muncie” hole in the firewall

Big block heater core – feed pipes come out in the middle of the cover vs the extreme right hand side

Radiator has a 23” core

Tires pressure sticker on the inside of the glove box has the “AH” code in the bowtie and the correct F70x14RL tire for the SS

The duals hangers are held to the frame with what seem to be threaded holes in the rear frame rails – on BOTH sides, indicating an original dual exhaust

Hood has the correct big block snorkel trim vs. the ribbed trim - I included a pic of the underside of the hood.

Hood does NOT have SS springs – there are 28 vs. 26, at least how I counted.  Don’t know if I was counting correctly

Hood did NOT have any insulation on it

Interior has no gauges and car has 4 wheel manual drum brakes – neither necessary for an SS, just wanted to mention it

Car appears to have original paint except for below the lowest body countour, which was retouched – I could not find overspray ANYWHERE around emblems, window trim, lights, wheel wells, etc.  Paint color is consistent under trunk lid, on door jambs, hinges, etc.

The rear light panel is painted black, as it should be for a big block SS

Car has a spoiler – don’t know if it’s original

Wheels appear to be original rally rims with center caps and beauty rings.

Overall, the car is in very nice DRIVER condition.  No major rot, paint is 90% with a very few small rust spots, interior is very good.  Floor is very solid, although the underside looks like it was hit several times with black paint or the rubberized undercoating.

Real?  Clone?  Worth the price?  Not?

Sorry for the long post, just trying to be as complete as possible.

Thanks…

Chris