So I am thinking about buying this '91 Camaro RS vert with a V8 for $750. The motor has a knock but I have a 350 tpi waiting for it with an automatic tranny. It also has a small rust hole in the floor on the drivers side also, there is some rust by the driver side wheel well. It has a 83 fiberglass Z-28 hood on it now but he will trade me for a correct Z-28 hood for that year. I am not new to Camaros but, I am new to verts. The top seems to be in decent shape, the weather stripping is in good shape. From what I can see all the parts are in working order on this car, I am just wondering what I should look out for when purchasing a convertible. Here are some pics.

 

id buy that for 750 all day long, even if i didnt have an extra engine to put in it !

 

wow, looks like a decent car and for $750.. I would def get it.. nice find. Keep us updated if you get it. Good luck

 

Thanks guys, I was a little afraid to buy it because some of the horror stories about convertible parts being Very expensive or hard to find but I guess with a base price of $750 I can't go wrong. I'll keep you guys posted on the build up and hopefully you guys will be able to answer anymore questions I may have in the future. Thanks

 

damn 750 for a vert even with a bad motor i would be all over that.good find post up some pics if you get it

 

Well, it is finally at my house. Upon further inspection I noticed that all of the convertible tops weatherstripping is in good shape, the body is in decent shape overall. The only thing I am really worried about is getting the floor pan replaced. Also I noticed that the rear pin holding the back of the top is disconnected I am going to have to take a closer look at that but overall I am very happy with my purchase

 

Here is another pic

 

Not a bad price at all! I just hate seeing any rust cause you just think its everywhere once you see it. Man I'm cringing by all that snow on it, I cant stand to drive mine in the rain let alone SNOW! I know I need to relax~but I'm a California dude!

 

Wow, thats a screaming deal for $750 even with a bad motor and some rust...Good job on picking it up.

 

That is one heck of a deal!

Good luck and keep us posted with progress or any thing we can help guide you with.

 

wow , I cant beleave you got that for $750

 

Thanks guys. I just found a black interior for at a local yard. It came off a hardtop Camaro and the price was right. I also have a friend who is parting out a Camaro and he says he will cut out the floor pans for it. My only question is this were the floor pans different in the verts or will any floor pan work in our cars?

 

Wow awesome....$750 and i'd be all over that and I HATEEEEE convertables.

 

Not a bad price at $750 but I would be EXTREMELY worried about subframe parts that you cannot see by looking at the sides and even laying on the ground looking underneath. I hope you don't have too many issues with it but seeing the wheel rotted out it makes you wonder what the rest of the car looks like. Generally if one side is rotted out the other side isn't too far behind.. Plus these cars have rot issues. Let us know what you find out! Good luck! If it's solid you got one hell of a deal!

 

I will let you guys know what I find in the next couple of weeks. My friend looked underneath and said the rot was not near the subframes but, I really won't find out until I completely rip apart the car.

 

All floor pans are the same...In order to make a convertible ASC took T-Top'd cars and converted them. So, all bodywork is the same for the years the convertibles were made including floorpans.

 

There are rivet bars along the sides of the floor pan that are keeping the car from caving in on itself. They where added just before the top was chopped off a TTop car to make it into a vert. I have never found anyone that replaced a floor pan on an ASC or any vert for that matter...

Your best bet is simply patching the floor rather then replacing it.

 

I see there is some rot in the wheel well. you might be able to use 4th gen wheel wells or mini tub for a fix. after you fix the wells and floor pan, spray truck bedliner on your under body to keep things from eating away at your car....

 

Killer find!! Good rescue! Id throw some blisters in that hood if its plastic. Its nice and light.

 

So I pulled out the interior and this is what I found. Any comments? The frame rails are in good shape some surface rust but not rusted through but the floor is totally shot. Does anyone have a link to a step by step how in TGO?

 

here are some more pics.

 

Man, that sucks about the floor. Looks like a nice car other than that. I feel your pain though when i ripped up my carpet i had a few spots not nearly as bad though.

 

If it were me id cut the whole floor entirely out and start over, And i would only do this because it is a convertable. Even in that shape with a bad motor i don't think u got hosed

 

Or you could part it out or find a rust free rolling southern body and transfer your parts to that car.

 

If I could find a rust free rolling convertible for $600 I would be all over that. But living here in northern WI. I don't think that is an option.

 

Yeah Dusk has a point. Even if you decide to scrap the project, I'm sure you can EASILY make a quick buck off of this car by parting it out so at least you won't be at a financial loss. A lot of those convertible parts go for good money since they're so hard to come by (let me know if you decide to go that route... there are a few parts my car could use!! lol). Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted.

 

I will let you guys know what route I go with. If I part it out, I will start a thread on the for sale section.

 

I was lucky in that my vert had no rust but since I have had for a few years now They are definately worth fixing. They just didn't make that many and your car is great. Once you get the floor fixed and undercoated you will never have to worry about it again. After all you got a nice vert for under a grand. That in itself is a great start and you can make the car just what you want as you go. I wanted one since 1989 and finally found what I wanted about five years and four cars later and it is the only car I drive now. I have two vetts that sit because of my black 92 z vert. I paid a lot more than $700 bucks. With the floor out you could add custom frame connectors to really strenghten the subframe. I went through mine this past summer with all new red sway bar bushings, shocks and struts, trans mount, umi panhard and trailing arms, and red bushing in the trans tail mount. All that stuff really works especially since all of mine was extremely worn out. I can jerk the wheel and slide the car around like a go-cart. I have really enjoyed building my vert as you can tell. I have installed 4 electric fans on mine to cool specific things since I am going to be driving it the rest of my life. What color do you want yours and what motor build do you want for it? I am going to build a 92 prototype motor for mine like the factory almost did for 602 cars for the 25th anniversary. I have a 9 bolt with PBRs and a built 700 I just need to finish the motor and find out the specs for the prototype motor they were going to offer.

 

If I do decide to keep this car I would love to paint it the factory Arctic White and put the blisters on the hood and make it a Z-28 clone with a 5 speed and a rear disc rear end with 3:42 gears. I have a complete TPI 350 waiting to go in it. I know replacing the floors will be tough, but I think I have more fun with the building than the actual end product. I have a beautiful '87 GTA with a custom paint job and rims with a new interior, but now that I have this vert, it is all I can think of right now.

 

Just take your time a see the prize, I love working on cars it is my passion. Take it down to the metal as best as you can and find some points to cut out the rust and leave only what is good (to weld too) go online and look at scrap yards in AZ. I did this for my 67 GTO and the entire trunk floor and floor pan was only $700 shipped via truck. The reason I say AZ is you will get a clean rust free part from there, you may find a good roller but in a winter area you find anothe rust problem. Any thing can be fixed but it does take time and money, good luck

 

Those floor pans can be replaced. Key is putting in braces so the car's structure doesn't shift or anything, and have things not line up right. I'm married to a guy who restores cars for a living, and I've helped him just a little bit.
Good luck!
Bethany

 

Right now the car is on jacks, the tires are off and I am starting to take cardboard to make cutouts for the floors, tracing them on 16ga. steel for the floorboards, then I will get them bead rolled for better stability. I will show more pics in a bit.

 

I have some of the panels cut out and one of them is spot welded in. I will take pics soon but for now I am heading off to bed.

 

Great news I'm glad you are saving it!

 

Once you get it all replaced the hard part is over. Get three cans of 3m rubberized undercoating from autozone and spray the @#$$% out of it and you will not have to ever worry about it again. Many of us are glad you are saving it. The 91-92s are the best examples of our cars and the last two years and the rest of the car looks great. If you could find another body and cut the pieces out of another floor that would help with the curves and bends matching up. Maybe another member has a wrecked car and they could cut some sections that would match yours. There were so few verts they deserve extra effort to be saved IMHO. Looks like your doing a good job so send some pictures I would like to keep up with your build.

 

It is a labor of love, I let mine sit for over 10 years in a dark corner collecting dust before I decided to tear it down. Glad to see another one will live on, keep us posted; I am about 7 months into mine and I am still not done.

 

Abray, I have a few friends that have some junk Camaros lying around but their back seats don't look any better than what I am replacing. (Good Ole Wisconsin Metal) I have decided to go forward with some 20 ga. metal instead. It is sturdy, plus with the small sections being welded together it might make the back seat section stronger than original. It is a long tiring process, with the upper 70degree weather we have been seeing these past 2 weeks it isn't making this project any better.

 

Here are some early pics of the project. I know I have not used a bead roller for the floors but I think with it being 16 ga. material plus all of the welded seams, I don't I have to worry about a flimsy feeling floor board when I am done. plus when it is undercoated and the carpet is put back on I don't think I will notice.

 

Good to see it's coming along!

 

Well sorry to say guys, but I sold her last week to my friend. He has more time and money and tools to fix her up the way she deserves. But the best part is that with the money he gave me plus some of my tax return, I am picking up a 1989 RS vert this weekend. The car is solid RUST FREE!! It just needs a new motor and a new top. The interior is in great shape plus it comes with a 91-92 Z28 hood. I will post pics of the new project on Sunday.

I am wondering if I should close this thread and start a new one or just keep this one open. MODERATOR, chime in on this one.

 

I vote for a new thread!

 

I started a new thread.

 

just a thought but you might want to source an entire floor pan. not sure about your area but a distressed hard tops are still quite plentiful around here. could buy one, sell off some stuff and usually get what you need for near free.

 

damn thats a lot of snow lol