Sunday, July 26, 2009

The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro - A Buyers Guide

First of all you need to know what you want to spend on the car; you need this planned out very well, or you'll never get the car you want; another this that you need to realize is that there is no such a thing as a $2,500 dollar first generation Camaro.

If you want a car that is in good condition plan on spending a least $10,000; if you find a car that's in good shape for that price, your a good car finder; usually you can find a good car to restore for this kind of money.

If you not planning on restoring the car you'd better start with no less then $30,000 to start your hunt; 1969 Camaro's start about here for the ones that don't need a restoration; I have seen them sell for $880,000 at auction.

So once again I'll say make sure that you have the money; and a good idea of what your looking for in a 1969 Camaro, the best place to start you hunt is on the internet; you'll have a lot to choose from here; the more you compare, the more you learn.

If your looking at the car as an investment you'd better spend some time learning about the codes on the car such as the vin code; the rpo code; transmission code; the rear end code; and the paint & interior codes.

You can buy books to learn about the codes; if your just buying the car for fun, then the sky is the limit; let's say that your buying it to restore, and drive; rather then for an investment; you can do what you want to the car.

Just make sure that if you modify the car, that you keep the old parts; never throw any of them away; this way if you decide to sell the car you still have the original parts for it; myself I tell people to make their car what they want it to be.

Let's go in to the finding of the car a bit deeper; for the sake of this article let's say that your looking for a 1969 Z/28 Camaro; and you want it to have an original engine, the 1969 Z/28 only came with one engine; and that is a DZ 302.

Let me explain where the "DZ" comes from first; this is the suffix of the rpo code on the engine, or the last letters in the code; the rpo code can be found on the machined pad in front of the passenger side head on a small block Chevrolet.

There will be some other numbers that come before the suffix of the rpo code; these numbers will tell you the year of the engine; the assembly plant that it was built at, and the month it was built; to know it it's a 302 all you need to find is the "DZ".

The only bad thing about a rpo code is that a scammer can

re-stamp it; I will tell you a way around this also; there is a number called a casting number, as far as I know this number cannot be counterfeited.

The casting number is located on the transmission pedestal; where the transmission mounts to the block, right behind the driver side head on the car; you may have to clean it off to see it, they are usually covered with grease.


Any reputable person selling a car won't mind you looking at these things; for the 302 the casting numbers would be one of these; 3932386, 3956618, 3970010; the 3970010 was found on a lot of 350's and 327's also.

If you have located a 1969 Z/28 that has these numbers in these configurations it's most likely a real 1969 Z/28 Camaro; but if it looks like something doesn't belong you might want to get a second opinion from an appraiser.

If an appraiser verifies the car; you can rest assured that it's an authentic 1969 Z/28 camaro; don't ask the person selling the car to recommend an appraiser; find your own and use the one that you find; it's not cheap to use an appraiser, but in the long run it's a good idea.

I will end this article by helping you locate some places on line that have a good reputation to start with; I have personally met these people that run these shops; and I think that you'll find them as reliable as i did.

Key Points In This Article:

Plan you budget

There are no $2,500 dollar camaro's to buy

Learn the numbers; RPO codes, Vin codes, Casting numbers

know what you plan to do with the car; is it a restoration, or a custom car

Don't think cheap, you get what you pay for

Use an appraiser if you need one

Never throw you parts away during a restoration

Don't buy the first car you find

Places to look on
the net:

Posted by Dave at 9:20 AM
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