I have a delemma on my hands here. First off I own an 85 camaro that the body is in great shape on the outside and swiss cheese underneath. the paint was new when I got it and since then have put new T-Top seals and T top center piece in. The bad is that I fixed the floors but they arent the best patch job in the world. Torque box still needs to be reinforced, both rear wheel wells are bad. 1 has a hole and the other has seam sealer closing a hole / crack thats a foot and ahalf long. Rear frame rails are a little soft but nothing to worry about.

This is where me situation get tough as i have the chance to get a 92 camaro and swap all my stuff over to it if it checks out to be solid.The guy who owns it says it is and no soft spots. I still have to go over it tho for sure. Outside is as clean as mine if not better. Its a 6 cylinder T-top car so it hasnt really been beat on at all so it would be a great base if its clean right???

I know i will have to get a new harness as the 6 cylinder wont work with my 355 carb motor or will it??? I have to by pass the VATS system but im sure a few people here have already done that and can help me get by that.

What it comes down to is that is it worth the time over winter to swap everything over from one car to the other???? I need some input on this as I just want to make sure its worth it.

Thanks everyone. Ray

 

That's a hell of a dilemma. Personally the way I look at it is at least you know what you have where you are now but the rear frame rails would scare me some. It sounds like this your car was in great shape when you got it but now due to someone not doing the best body work and covering it up with new paint sold you on it only to have it rear it's ugly head now but the same could be said for this other one if it is clean chances are it has new paint that is covering up well anything but possibly you could be in this same situation in 2 years again. Also I wouldn't take for granted that just because it's a V6 it hasn't been beat you gotta remember at the price 3rd gens are bringing they can be acquired by teenagers easily. As far as if it could be a good base yes it certainly could be and I don't know if this really makes a difference or not but the 92 bodies were glued together and at least in my experience this eliminates the squeaking, I have drove and ridden in many 3rd gens all of which squeaked however my 92 was the first that I have seen that does not the driver's door is shot so that rattles but otherwise it actually is very quiet inside. I don't have an answer for you but if it were me I would stick with what you have since you know what you have. Good luck.

 

From what I know of the 92 is a 3 owner car and the 3rd owner I am getting it from didnt even put it in his name. He took it as a partial payout for work here did on another vehicle. His trade value for it was 3grand. I am getting it for a fraction of the cost as he wants it gone. I really dont want to swap my car for the 92 but heres a few pics of what I still have to fix on the 85. found this all as we where ripping up the carpet and re-doing the floors

Passenger wheel well


driver wheel well



Torque box

 

I wouldn't touch that car until the title situation is figured out. What the seller is doing is called title jumping and the DMV might give you a lot of hassle. If the previous owner signed the title more than a few weeks ago and you don't have a bill of sale with that person's name on it, they might not issue you a new title.

If you were just buying the car to cut out pieces and fix your current car, you wouldn't need to worry about it as much. But since you want to transfer everything over, that title issue could get you. I'd make him title the car in his name, then sign it over to you. Even if you had him sign something saying he guarantees you'll get a title or will refund you your money, I don't think it would hold up in court since its technically not legal to do.

 

Ditto on what D-reg said.

I am doing something similar an 86 bird that was a bare roller(so I did not have to take it apart) that was from Texas and a 91 base bird. For me there is a lot of small differences in the years. Dash brackets ect..

This has taken me 2 years and i have the car running now. I do have lots of irons in the fire! It is not overly difficult but that depends on your skill level.


I guess what I am trying to say is; if you are going to do it just make sure the new car is rust free or it won't be worth it. It can be easier to put a few patches in than remove and re-install everything and I mean everything. It has been my experience though that have one rust free from the start always lasts longer than one that has been repaired.

I have to many cars so it tough to find time to work on it but, I would not change a thing. Rust free 3rds are hard to find here in MN. HTH

 

The previous owner sined it. They also have a bill of sale and they have a used vehicle pakage as well to prove no liens or whatnot as well. From what i was told up here is that he gives me his original bill of sale as well as a bill of sale from him to me and it should be fine. At least I hope so but I might drop in to the DMV today to just double check that issue as I want to make sure everything is good to go. I dont want to go thru the hassel of tracking him down again after to sort this out

 

The floors have been patched and it was done quick to get it on the road but it looks pretty bad from the bottom and not the way I would want it done. If I had to do it all over again id get floor pans and do it right once. I looked at the 92 last night and the floors look mint but it was 3am so I couldnt get underneath it. I found 1 tiny hol in the driver rar wheel well the size of a quarter at best. Easy fix for sure but i want to see what it looks like underneath first before I go any farther. If I had to do it all over again i would have looked for something more solid to start with and this seems to be a good base to start over with again, MN eh oh yeah I bet it would be hard to find a clean one out there as you have it more harsh in the winter than I do here in the toronto area. Its hard to find any clean 3rd gens anywhere unless you live in texas