Careful buying online- Camaro 1979

[justhorns]

I work on classic cars. Recently, a customer brought me a 1979 Camaro that he had purchased on facebook marketplace.. or whatever. Not a z28, but, a base car that was loved, put away to rust, restored, and sat for 3 years, by what the new owner got from the previous. First thing I did was get my paint thickness gauge (a magnet based $20 unit) and found that the car was completely covered in Bondo, or very thick paint..

Owner wanted "rich condition" fixed. He thought problem due to our altitude (5800' here above Denver) but i found the choke locked closed... new Edelbrock, but installed by ??.
I inspected the vehicle. Truly a weird mix of stuff

Nice paint over?
Now, great running 300 hp 350 (my guess)
Rear axle had to fight to get open, but found older gear oil, little wear, but all the yellow ring and pinion setup paint on it. So, the axle had been apart. Gearing? 41/16= 2.56:1 original 1979? Who put this in here???
Truly horrible exhaust welding.. 3" dia with horrible bends and bad welds.
Exhaust cutouts, but one side hanging way down towards the ground?? Lazy
front suspension showing its age, of 44 years. Stock and original and properly worn
Floorpan clean and Zero rust except for one small patch panel under passenger seat
Original interior in good shape
Original colors from factory
New looking engine. Clean, just starting to leak
Brakes were OK, but hoses were cracking, so we decided to replace. All brake parts were frozen, hoses, drums, rear wheel cylinders were stuck in brake plate after bolts removed.
All brake lines were frozen at connectors.. Gee a back east car.
Tires look nice and new, but over 25 years old and cracking on sidewalls.
We are in process of replacing all fluids, new brakes all around (stock). Customer says he will re-do front end
We're using all Amsoil fluids everywhere except coolant, where were switching to Evans waterless coolant. Drain everything three times..
I thing new tires will help the front end sloppiness

Nice thing for me, its just like working on a square.. Either camaro's are trucks, or Squares are sports cars.
This car is the weirdest combination of Original, rusted, worn out, and new I have ever seen. Thank you flipper.

 

[scrap--metal]

You got a '79 Camaro in the shop, and those were the only pictures you posted???

More pictures please...

Did the customer know what they were getting into when they bought it? Or is that why you say "careful buying online"? To be honest, it sounds like most of the old cars I see listed on Craigslist. If EVERYTHING on the car was restored to like new condition, why would the owner be selling it?

 

[justhorns]

I'm sorry. I try to keep any customer cars posted anonymous. This car is distinctive and others would recognize it possibly. So, no more pictures for now. I'm not accusing anybody of anything other than a flipper.
No, the customer had no clue what he was getting into. His bill will approach $3,000. Typical of a used car online purchase. He says he's gonna do the front end and tires/wheels (14" now).
My customer said the car had been sitting for 3 years, so the owner sold it. I think there may be some lying going on there..
Every customer who brings me a car they bought online is surprised at what I find. One guy, with a 66 Nova in severely stupid condition got mad at me after he hit the buy it now button at $20K. After $6000 in repairs (new front end, engine mods and lots more). He got really mad at me and demanded I buy it from him.. I offered $4000, about what a Bondo car was worth.
I have bought 2 cars online, sight unseen and not had any problems like this. But, those were post 1981 vehicles and I used a Car-fax to verify service and registrations. Before 1981, you are blind.

 

[vr1967]

Around here, old vehicles are the new fad. People that never had one, and used to talk about those of us that did, now want them to be cool, hip, or whatever they call it now a days.
They haven’t a clue of what to look for, and most buy sight unseen, but hey, it is shiny in the pictures.

 

[Doppleganger]

I have never bought any special car with the belief it wasn't a polished turd. Usually takes me about 6 months and $10k to have the car they described in the ad.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I have never bought any special car with the belief it wasn't a polished turd. Usually takes me about 6 months and $10k to have the car they described in the ad.

Sounds about right

 

[justhorns]

I always allow $2000, and now $3000 for any used car purchase even ones that are presented honestly. I have $3500 now in my square that I paid $1000 for. But when sellers outrageously lie, leave large blobs of bondo flowing out through holes under the car I get sick for my customers. It’s just sad.
By the way. The above comments are right on the money and appreciated.

The camaro owner wanted me to supercharge it. That’s where these customers go. With 2.56:1 gearing??! What a mess.

 

[GTX63]

I have said it before. 40+ year old cars = a lot of owners, mods, repairs, fabrications (mostly partials) and sitting.
Unless you have first hand knowledge of the vehicle's history, expect the above and you won't be so disappointed.

Most sellers, and to be fair, some are well meaning, take a three sentence knowledge of the history of the car and turn it into 3 minutes of assumptions and embellishments.
Three owner vehicles just means three names have been on the title. Sons, grandkids, the guy at work, flippers, the neighbor who quit making payments don't ever show up.
They didn't overpay for the truck, they got an education thrown in with the deal.

 

[scrap--metal]

The camaro owner wanted me to supercharge it. That’s where these customers go. With 2.56:1 gearing??! What a mess.

PO probably blew up the rear end beating on it and put it back together with a free, or very cheap, open carrier and gear set just to get it road worthy and saleable.

Tell the man he needs a set of 3.42's or 3.73's before any engine modifications or power adders. Go 4.10 if there's ever a chance of getting an overdrive trans in the car.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

2.56 was the very base ratio on a 6/stick '79. A 2.41 was standard on a V8 car with automatic.

 

[Conejo_K10]

Yep sellers lie or bend the truth. When I bought my K10 I noticed it had a sunroof. I specifically asked if there were any leaks and they said no. I bought the truck and during the next storm the inside of the cab was soaked.
There's no implied warranty so you're stuck with it.
And there are no parts available for this sunroof, so I sealed it up as best I could and use a car cover.
I'm considering removing the SR and having a new sheet metal installed.

I also had to replace the power steering and brake systems and every fluid.
As a licensed mechanic I look closely at anything I'm about to buy, but you can't see everything.

 

[Elliot W]

Yep sellers lie or bend the truth. When I bought my K10 I noticed it had a sunroof. I specifically asked if there were any leaks and they said no. I bought the truck and during the next storm the inside of the cab was soaked.
There's no implied warranty so you're stuck with it.
And there are no parts available for this sunroof, so I sealed it up as best I could and use a car cover.
I'm considering removing the SR and having a new sheet metal installed.

I also had to replace the power steering and brake systems and every fluid.
As a licensed mechanic I look closely at anything I'm about to buy, but you can't see everything.

I always find it interesting that sellers will lie about issues, like after you buy the truck you don't know where they live. I'd be terrified to sell any of my vehicles without being fully honest.

As for the sunroof, that show wheeler dealer did a SR removal that looked so good and so easy. Needless to say, that sort of bodywork can't be for amateurs (I assume, as an amateur myself) especially on such a flat place like the roof.

And theres no way you can ever see everything. Every time I've bought a vehicle it always feels like such a fast process with a lot going on at once. Trying to pay attention to what the owner is saying, looking for critical things, getting excited about the car, hoping you aren't about to get robbed, thinking about what the wife will say, sifting through the owners BS, trying to not get judged for what you look at or do any judging to the owners car...the list is endless. Paint and body alone, I don't see everything there until I do the first hand carwash. Sometimes I want to offer the sellers to wash their car before I decide on buying it. And now you can see where my irrational fear of judgement comes from lol.

 

[justhorns]

Oh, and the usual funny. Guy who built the car put the new edelbrock carburetor on the engine and slammed the hood. Air cleaner retaining bolt went into the hood, so to fix it... add a hood scoop!