Al, I am looking to rebuild a 1967 Camaro. It's trashed, but I really want to rebuild it- Where do I start?

When I was younger, my friends drove Camaro convertibles and played the Beach Boys all the time (on the 8 track player). While rebuilding a trashed muscle car sounds like fun, you have to have your head straight as to your motivation. Is this an investment, hobby, or an old car you want to drive around because it is “cool”? There are lots of old drivable Camaro’s that will never be “low-mileage collector cars in original mint condition”.

I have a cousin who restored a 1967 El Camino, and in money alone spent at least 3 times what it’s resale value is. It’s a show winner, but he is not in it for the money - it gives him pleasure at any cost. He is also not a mechanic, so he pays a premium for the mechanical and finish work.

If you are committed to the project, and want to go “soup to nuts”, I would strip the car and “rotisserie” it, taking the body off the frame and removing rust, welding reinforcement plates in, and giving the car a solid base to work on.

Chevy in a rotisserie. Make sure you have a big place to work, or send it out to a really good body $hop.

If you just want a cool car to drive, skip this and invest more money in a good paint job, nice interior appointments, and “chrome stuff” for the engine. You will save a ton of money, even though it is not a full-blown restoration. You also save a lot of time, as you can drive it without having to dismantle it, order parts, rebuild the engine, etc. etc.

Picking the Camaro is a good choice, (Ford mustangs and Jeep Wranglers are good choices too), because you can get almost any part you need without having to get it custom fabricated. You will also need a place to store spares, especially if you plan to keep the car a long time. Points, distributor caps, etc. You will need to keep them around like a Nascar driving team. If you replace the engine, keep the old one around for hard to find parts. Just sayin’. EBay, Hemmings motor news, and google searches are your friends when parts hunting.

Make sure you document everything, so you can put it back the way it was, especially the car’s manual (get them; both the factory and aftermarket ones; you will need reference-these cars pre-date the internet as we know it). Get a good camera and take lots of pictures, and even some videos.

Find the original hard copy manuals; The may not exist on-line unless you can find it scanned into pdf format.

Once you start the rebuild, remember it will cost more than you budgeted, and take more time than you thought. Follow it through. Locate mechanics, engine guys, body shops, and parts outlets. talk to other owners who restored Camaro’s and get their advice. Get it to a finished and drivable condition so you can start to enjoy it.

Another thing you may consider is sending it out to be re-done; if your ego can handle someone else touching your “baby”, it will come back in finished condition, and you can focus on enjoying it. (as opposed to spending a lot of time fixing it). Even if you don’t send it out, what you will learn from speaking to rebuilders may influence your understanding of the car’s restored value, and key components that may require special attention. They also may be able to get you parts and advice, if you need it.

Within the confines of this answer, I can’t tell you how to do it all, but hopefully you have what you need to start, so you know as many of your options up front, before you are committed to the rebuild.

Best of luck, enjoy your project, and post pictures here on Steemit when you have it together!

My more comprehensive answer is on my blog site: http://chenkin.blogspot.com/2018/04/al-i-am-looking-to-rebuild-1967-camaro.html