Base Car Purchase -

The selection of a base car was critical in determining how difficult the project would be.  In short, I wanted a car that:

1.  Had as much original metal as possible, but not the original engine(don't want to ruin an original car).  Original metal just seems to fit better and is typically a heavier gauge of metal
2.  Had little to no rust and as little bondo as possible
3.  Had never been wrecked or had major repairs
3.  Was nearby(California) so my shipping costs wouldn't be too bad

Those were my only requirements.  I didn't care at all about the electrical, interior, engine, drivetrain, or anything else because all that would be replaced.  I just wanted a solid, straight, rust-free body so as to avoid heavy bodywork and labor costs. 

I purchased my base car on eBay in May of 2006 for $17200.  The seller had a decent track record so I trusted his description of the car and he provided plenty of photos.   I actually got the seller to end the auction early with a decent offer.  I sent the guy a cashier's check for the total without ever meeting him or seeing the car(yah, I'm a little overly trusting of people).  Making him an offer to end the auction early turned out to be a great idea because he forgot to end the auction after he received my payment and other people bid the car up to $18200 with a day to go!  It took about a week to get the car down to San Diego from San Francisco.  The photo to the right is an actual photo of the car after it rolled off the transport.  Needless to say, I was very anxious to see the condition of the car that I now owned.  The next morning, I made the following assessment:

1.  All original except the cowl hood
2.  Surface rust in trunk pan, forward parts of floor pans, and some areas of the underside of the roof, but all easily repairable.  A few other minor spots on the doors.  A major spot on the lower portions of both fendors.  Will need metal replaced there.
3.  Some small bondo repairs to various parts of the car, but very minor(ding repairs)
4.  Patch panel installed to left quarter panel with major body work done(although done well)
5.  Rear tail panel needs some work
6.  Front header panel needs replacing

Overall, I was a little disappointed.  It was not as great as I had hoped for, but at the same time, it could have been worse I guess.  There are always surprises when you buy cars like this, so I kinda prepared myself for it. The great news was that the car was very straight, the panel fitment was already good, and most of the body work that had been done was done well.  The interior and mechanical condition of the car was decent, enough so that I was able to sell the following items that I wouldn't need to lower the actual cost of the base car:

Sold Items
350 Chevy Engine and all accessories	550
Flowmaster mufflers and 3" exhaust(ended at axle)	105
8.2" 10-bolt rearend and leaf springs	30
Dash clock	180
Original front Seats	300
original fuel gauge and speedo	60
Holley 600 carburetor	105
Original driveshaft	135
Headers	50
Original Shifter	60
Upper A Arms	25
Shock Plates	40
Steering Column	30
Original Wiring	50
SS Grille	20
SS Headlight Components	20
Original Transmission cooling lines	50
TOTAL	-1810

So the actual cost of my base car ended up being about $15400 if you subtract the parts I sold.  Yes, I could have paid less, but I only need to replace one panel(the header panel), have a lot of other great original parts to work with, and do not need to do much body work. So, all-in-all, not too bad for getting off to a decent rolling start.  Also, it's an original '69 Camaro, not a COPY(Dynacorn) of '69 Camaro that must be titled as a 2008 Camaro.