The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Congrats on your first ride!

When I was 19, I "stole" my second car, a '69 Camaro (long gone now) from a guy for $375.00 because he thought the engine was shot. The car was sitting in a field with the bumper in the back seat and somebody had graphitti'ed the wheels with spray paint.

She was a "champagne" hard top coup with a black vinyl top and black "hockey stick" stripes down the side, she still had the original 350 power plant with a 2 spd powerglyde. The seats were flawless - no rips or tears - she had an olive interior with an "H-bar" shifter sticking out of a center console. Only the dash pad was missing, having been replaced with a chunk of green shag carpet.

The "rod knock" turned out to be a cracked flex plate - I picked one up for $10.00 at a Kansas City bone yard where I also found a pristine dash pad for $15.00. I had a key made for the driver's door and was finally able to open the trunk to see what was rattling around in there. I found all four beauty rings & centers for the original ralley rims that I had cleaned up with laquer thinner right after I bough it. I tweeked the bumper back in shape & put it on, when I changed the flex plate I installed a TH350 (w/ B&M shift kit) I just happened to have laying around and drove the wheels off of it. She'd probably be worth $20K today w/o restoration.