I was hoping someone here recognises the 68 camaro in the following link, and photos below: https://youtu.be/jByfTnQIu-8
My brother had 2 camaros, a 67 road-going RS, and a spaceframe 68 RS drag car - XBY 380F. Sadly my brother passed away a few years ago and he left me these cars. The 67 has been comprehensively mechanically rebuilt during lockdown, and is now roadworthy. I havent looked at the spaceframe car until today as it's been in storage.
I'm looking for any info on the car, if anyone knows it? Info such as who built it, any previous owners etc. Colin ran the car at York and santa pod a few times 2014 - 2017 but being up north in Aberdeen meant he couldn't get down very often.
The engine was seized after sitting a winter with water in the bores which had rusted the block beyond use (it's going to become a coffee table). As it's a 468ci, I've had to source and bore a new block which has now arrived with me. I plan on rebuilding the engine/car, tidying it up and selling it early next year and put the money into restoring the 67 bodywork with all new external panels.
The engine appears to be quite a high spec, but I'll add this once I have the full list of components at hand.
I have a dilemma. As it stands, the roll cage and front chassis wouldn't comply with any current MSA safety standards and I am led to believe that it was a 'run what you brung' car?? I'm considering lifting the body off and replacing the cage and front end completely, but this will be a massive job. Would the car be more desirable as it was built, or if it was made MSA compliant?
Although I'm an MSA competitor, I have never done drag racing and don't know the class structures TBH. My thing for the last 27 years has been hillclimbing, and I know the general car safety rules are similar across all disciplines of motorsport. I have the latest Blue Book at hand, so the specs needed aren't an issue at the moment. I just don't know if it would be worth the effort to get the car into a competitive class. I think it was running mid to high 9s quarters with the big block 468ci and NOS.
Any info, opinions, memories etc welcome. I don't know if Colin used this forum as searches haven't come up with anything
hi donald, sorry to hear about your brother passing. re the car, i'd keep it as is if your plan is to sell it. carrying out the work as you suggest would cost more than any extra that would be added to the resale price. as you know getting race cars built normally costs more than their end value. to a degree the same applies to the engine, a new owner may want a different spec so it may be better to supply the new block along with the old engine so they can make their own choices there too.
good luck with the '67 and make sure to put a build thread in the garage section on here.
neil.
need a job done on your project? i may be able to help.
Hi Neil, thanks for your advice. I would be doing all the work myself so costs would be much lower than having it done for me. The engine build is under way at the moment and this gives me a chance to list the spec of the engine for the new owner, and it is a good base as a starting point. I just prefer to get it running and check the rest of the car out before it goes, back to how Colin had it I guess. I originally planned to rebuild it and take it to the strip, do a couple of passes and then offer it for sale, but I have spent too much on the 67 and also need the space to start on the 67 bodywork. That's the car he bought 40 years ago so it holds all the memories for me from my teen years
What sort of value do you think the 68 has once it's running? I don't even know what he paid for the car or who he bought it from. I've heard 3 different figures from his friends at £10k apart.
I'll start a build thread on the 67 soon. All i've done is rebuild it mechanically, not touched the bodywork yet but I have some photos. The biggest job was removing the very crude ladder bar system that kept shearing the lower arms and built an adjustable 4-link from scratch.
Sorry about your brother, that's a nice looking Camaro. It looked lower in the video, or is it on stands in the photos?
Valuing a modified/race car is difficult at the best of times so unless it has something specific to offer, e.g. built to a class (which it sounds like it isn't) you will have to find that one person who it is right for. Also against you is your location, unfortunately. I'm not up to date on current drag race cage specs so don't know if they differ to MSA ones - they used to be based on US NHRA rules but that may have changed in the past twenty years - so I would speak to shops like Jon Webster, Chris Isaac, Andy Robinson to get an idea of what you would need to do and how much it might cost to meet the requirements (I'm sure there must be shops nearer you but those three come to mind first down here).
If you are committed to the engine build, get it done and installed and as long as the car is safe and driveable just advertise it for what you want. If that is what someone is prepared to spend then it will sell.
I heard from a friend of Colins who remembers the Camaro had decals on it when he bough it 'Blue Movie' or 'Blue Moves'. Does this ring any bells with members? I'm still waiting the V5 to see who the last owner was.
I've made a start on the car now. The front suspension is stripped, shotblasted and repainted in 2-pack satin black. Front frame is painted, brakes re-plumbed, all bolts and fixings have been stripped and re-plated in bright zinc. I was going to add some brace bars to the front end but after some brainstorming I was able to design and make a mid-mount plate that stiffened up the front end by using the engine as a stressed part of the chassis. It was half like this before, i've just done some sensible improvements as I go
I'm debating whether to freshen up the outside and maybe changing the colour but that decision is a month or so away
Likes: 
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply
Bookmarks