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Gotta say I agree  - Drive it.

There are a 100 reasons to drive it and only a few minor concerns not to.  For additional peace of mind take a look at your insurance and consider increasing your coverage.  It's probably only a few extra bucks. 

No problem.  Would you like the pics posted in this thread or is there some place else that would be better?

Also, I thought I'd share one more picture.

The car was originally sold in Massachusetts.  Two years later, it was traded in to the same dealer.  The second owner had the car into the 2000s.  I believe the third owner repainted it and had the engine rebuilt.  I'm number 4.

I have a fair bit of documentation from the second owner and know he was an attorney who lived in Illinios.  There are several Cornell University stickers on the car and when I looked up to Cornell, they do in fact have a law school.  My hunch is he bought the car as a young man when he was going to law school at Cornell and, after graduating, moved to Illinois where he kept the car for many decades.  I believe he passed away right around the time he sold the car.  He must have really loved it because it's been well cared for and I don't think it's ever been outside of a garage.  Kinda cool to find out a bit about the previous owner and the car's history. 

I keep the original filed away in a safe place but I made a copy of the original invoice and laminated it for display on cruise nights and such. 
   

Hi all, thought I'd provide a quick update.  As the universal opinion from those in the know (i.e. you guys) as well as my relatively untrained eye and a few others is that the ride height is pretty much correct, I'm going to leave the springs alone.  I needed a few period correct bits so I called and spoke with Bob at Camaro Specialties and a his opinion was in line with everyone else - If the ride height is ok, no need to mess with the springs unless you want to.  So in addition to my misc. little parts I ordered from Bob, I also picked up a set of new shocks.  Once everything is done I'll report back and let you all know how it turned out.

Thanks again for all the help, gentlemen!

David B   

The rears are 245/60-R15 and the fronts are 215/65-R15.. Honestly I hadn't noticed it has 15 inch rims.       That might be a factor, obviously. It didn't seem like a rub though, definitely more of a "thump".  I don't mind the ride height if it's stock. I'd ultimately like to have it be as stock as possible. The 15" rims don't help that though......  Now I'm even more unsure what to do. 

I'm in New Jersey, and a day trip to Jerry MacNeish is doable. I spoke to him on the phone & exchanged a few emails when I was looking. I believe the car is pretty close to original; I'm planning on reaching out to him in the near future to arrange to find out from him just how original it is. Maybe the smart move would be to do the shocks as that's pretty obvious & leave the springs alone until he sees the car & see what he says.

I agree, this site is a fantastic resource. I've already learned quite a bit.  Seems like a great bunch here. Thanks for all the compliments and advice guys!

2 more:

A few pics from the day it arrived:

Thanks for the help guys!  I've noodled around a bit with the search function but I do need to spend more time seeing what others have done.

I am interested in keeping any parts I install accurate and as close a match to stock as possible/reasonable.  I'm willing to shell out the difference for the most accurate springs.  I'll do my homework and come back with what I come up with.  I'll also post a few pics of the car.

Thanks again!

David B 

Hi guys,

I've been lurking and learning for a while now. I had a green '69 back in the day in the late 80's when I was in high school and am now at a point in my life where I was able to finally pick up another first gen Camaro. 

Late spring I picked up a 68 big block that's in great overall condition. It's showing 58k on the clock. I've put some miles on but I'd really like to start fresh with a good service and changing of all fluids for a nice clean maintenance starting point.

My mechanic and I had it up on the lift and came up with  a list of items to be addressed but it's a short one.  In addition to changing the fluids a few fiddley bits need to be addressed.  The shocks, for one, are pretty obviously shot so they'll be replaced. Also, the ride height is pretty low and while I realize the shocks are part of the problem, the car wants to bottom out on even the slightest bump if there are 2 people in the car.

So new springs are what I'm looking for help with. I believe they're probably original and I'll hang onto them but I'd like to put new springs on the car. It's not going to be raced or anything so a stock(ish) replacement is what I'm thinking.  Problem is I'm new to this world again and don't know where to go for good quality and fair prices. It's a great car and I'd like to treat her right. Suggestions for where to go and who to talk to?

Thanks guys!!

David B