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and Happy Holidays, I'm stuck at a fork in the road with my first car which is a 1987 Camaro Sport Coupe V6 2.8L, I want to know if the rust/rot is too much to repair? My plans for the car was to replace the engine and transmission with a rebuilt carbed 350 and transmission. I was gonna fix the visible rust on the body until I saw this underneath. I'm not trying to get her dolled up since the cost of doing so would over exceed the value of the car. So I was thinking about going for the Mad-Max look which is rough but solid.
Had I knew more about cars I would never had purchase this one, but I am the second owner now. What attracted me to the car was the 62,000 miles on the odometer with the first owner, even though the car is a v6 and the body isn't much to look at.
I've done a lot of mechanical work on it for two years so there is money invested into it already. So should I keep it and invest in it or scrap it?
Last edited by Omari149; Nov 27, 2015 at 06:46 PM.
Reason: added a close up of body rust
man . all you have is floor pan issues . at least as far as pics can tell. it aint that hard and well worth doing . i mean ,, how many 3rd gens do you see on the road ??
Thanks to everyone who replied with feedback on the car, I am still attached to it even though my second car is a 79 T/A (1st Dream car). After reading a post from another thread about what do you see in your driveway in 5 years or 10 years, well I hope these two gems will still be there. The repairs and modifications will continue. Thanks again for responding
you have a 100.00 dollar car with a thousand dollar problem. i'd scrap it.
This may sound harsh, but it's not intentional...
This terrible advice and really doesn't have much business here in this thread. These cars are no longer a belly-button car in the rust states and considering it's location, it's not in that bad of condition. The car's value out west really means nothing here.
I would do what you want . At this point in these cars life you will put more into them then most are worth. At the very least I would stop the rusting as best as you can and pass it to someone how want the car.
I would do what you want . At this point in these cars life you will put more into them then most are worth. At the very least I would stop the rusting as best as you can and pass it to someone how want the car.
What you say is right but i remember back in the late 70 we said the same about the 1st gen cars
my take on it is ... if you have the money to have it fixed (about $1000 where i live) fix it ... lets say you put $5000 into it to make it safe and look the way you want it to look and drive ... you then have the car you want and you were able to do it over time yourself, so now you know your car inside and out ... now sure you can go out and just drop $5k on a newer car, but it is still used, and is going to have its own troubles ... if you search craigslist every day, you will at some point run across a crashed ls f-body you can grab for under $2k ... so now you have $3k in a strong running 3rd gen and still have $2k to do the mods you want done ... ask a guy that has had his first gen from the time it was new and ask him if there was a time he thought it was not worth much money ... but he held on to it anyway just because he loved the car and ask him what it is worth now ... almost every muscle/sports car made in the us has went through a time you could get them for just a few bucks, and the third gens will be no different ... but for most of us on here, we didnt get them to make money off of them, we got them because the are just cars we love ... so you have to ask yourself if that is a car you love, or one you dont mind seeing going into the trash ... i for one, will keep my 87 gta till my son can drive in another 11 years, then it will go to him
What you say is right but i remember back in the late 70 we said the same about the 1st gen cars
Very true, I remember the days of buying 1st and 2nd gens for cheap. I don't know if the 3rd Gen and later will ever achieve the same statue as 1st gens.
Coming from someone who has dumped lots of money into cars that shouldn't
have. Do what you feel comfortable with and can live with.
my take on it is ... if you have the money to have it fixed (about $1000 where i live) fix it ... lets say you put $5000 into it to make it safe and look the way you want it to look and drive ... you then have the car you want and you were able to do it over time yourself, so now you know your car inside and out ... now sure you can go out and just drop $5k on a newer car, but it is still used, and is going to have its own troubles ... if you search craigslist every day, you will at some point run across a crashed ls f-body you can grab for under $2k ... so now you have $3k in a strong running 3rd gen and still have $2k to do the mods you want done ... ask a guy that has had his first gen from the time it was new and ask him if there was a time he thought it was not worth much money ... but he held on to it anyway just because he loved the car and ask him what it is worth now ... almost every muscle/sports car made in the us has went through a time you could get them for just a few bucks, and the third gens will be no different ... but for most of us on here, we didnt get them to make money off of them, we got them because the are just cars we love ... so you have to ask yourself if that is a car you love, or one you dont mind seeing going into the trash ... i for one, will keep my 87 gta till my son can drive in another 11 years, then it will go to him
Well I'm glad I decided to keep the car because of how much it means to me. Plus to do the floor boards where I live would cost me $550. Plus $2500 with the upgraded and rebuilt v8 engine and transmission. I was considering getting a near mint 1989 trans am with around 192k miles for $4900. But I realized even though it appeared mint I still would need to put in some work to get it to where I want it to be, such as a carbureted v8 and a few factory features my camaro has that the 89 Trans am doesn't have. So at the end of the day I'm still happy.
As somebody who hates to scrap anything I say sell it for what you can get. Look for a good deal on a rust free V8 car somewhere else and make a road trip to go get it. You'll be money ahead in the long run and down the road X years your original V8 car will surely be worth more. I traveled about 2000 miles to get my MSE T/A.
This may sound harsh, but it's not intentional...
This terrible advice and really doesn't have much business here in this thread. These cars are no longer a belly-button car in the rust states and considering it's location, it's not in that bad of condition. The car's value out west really means nothing here.
there is a problem with that logic - his car is a plain jane 6 cylinder car - not an iroc or 1le, b4c.. - that will cost a fortune to save - 4000.00 for a daily driver quality paint job (on a good body), or 10,000 plus for a very nice job - that alone makes it an un-wise investment in that car. he can search this site or craigslist and find clean third gens for 2500 to 5000.00 in california, with no rust issues, and shipping is only about 1100.00 from here.
Clean it up the best you can... Sell it in Chicago, take the cash and find a CaliforniaArizona/Nevada 350 car and haul it out there... You'll be money/time/effort ahead in the long run...
there is a problem with that logic - his car is a plain jane 6 cylinder car - not an iroc or 1le, b4c.. - that will cost a fortune to save - 4000.00 for a daily driver quality paint job (on a good body), or 10,000 plus for a very nice job - that alone makes it an un-wise investment in that car. he can search this site or craigslist and find clean third gens for 2500 to 5000.00 in california, with no rust issues, and shipping is only about 1100.00 from here.
I know what a good coat of paint costs, but that is irrelevant. Fixing up most any older car is an un-wise investment, doesn't matter if it's just a V6 car.
Rust is a fact of life over here, that's all there is to it. You generally learn to deal with it if you like messing with older stuff. Not everyone is willing to just toss out their old car and go buy another one just because it could use some rust repair. If you are that type, that's great, go buy another car and be done with it.
What you say is right but i remember back in the late 70 we said the same about the 1st gen cars
This is exactly what my dad always tells me. Back then they scrapped clean BB chevelles cuse they needed a new drivetrain. its just disheartening as heck. Save the ol thirdgen
If you were closer Id fix it for you just out of sheer principle. Don't let another 3rd gen go by the wayside. It doesn't even look to be too bad. Pull up yor carpetand you'll see what your really looking at.
