1979 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta 305 V8 Engine Automatic Transmission Power Steering Power Brakes Factory A/C Cruise Control Variable Intermittent Wipers Power Windows Tilt Steering Column Rally Gauges Rear Window Defogger Tinted Glass Bucket Seats Center Console Bucket Seats Rear Spoiler Crager Rims
I bought this car to use for parts because it is clean and had a rebuilt engine with almost no miles on it. After getting it to the shop I realized that it really was too clean to part out so I decided to get it running, what I didn't expect was so many things I needed to the car to make it mechanically sound. So after spending much more money that planned and having 3 months of time spent after hours and weekends, it's available as a safe and dependable driving car. My goal was to get it drivable to sell it to someone that wanted a driving project. It started out life as a loaded Berlinetta, all the options you see above except the spoiler and Crager rims are from the build sheet (what's left of it) above the gas tank. This car has a clean body that had poor prep work done before it was painted 12 or so years ago. It was originally Bright Blue with blue interior but the decided to paint it red, it looks like it was painted a darker blue before that. The interior floor pans have a little bit of surface rust scattered but no rust through of any kind. The trunk floor is the same, no signs it's had any rust through. The panels are pretty straight, it has a few small dings but no big dents of any kind. The drivers door was replaced at some point, I know because it never had the door converted to power window so it will need a motor and regulator. They did other weird things like replace the drivers upper window seal but not the passenger side. It also has a new trunk seal. I bought a new trunk lock which came with two new door locks that will be included. I replaced the gas tank because it looked like they had a rock in the driveway that served as a parking stop and the sending unit was bad. The doors open and close good, no noticeable drop but the drivers door will need the peg for the bump arm to stay open replaced. All the trim looks decent except they beat the rear hood trim up when it was painted. The spoiler was installed by the last owner and the drivers side outer is a little loose. The trunk lid pops up when you turn the key like factory. I replaced the hood hinges with rebuilt ones, the old ones barely moved and were sloppy as you can imagine. The glass is pretty good, passenger door glass is scratched pretty bad and there is a quarter sized star on the lower passenger side of the windshield. All the lights work! I think I covered the body stuff. The interior is mostly there, other than the door panels & sill plates, the rest of the trim is in the trunk. The seats have been recovered, they are dirty because he had them in an open door shed but they should clean up. The headliner was replaced but never finished putting all the trim back in place so it's there but sagging and will need one. The carpet is/was new so it still looks good and hasn't even been trimmed for the sill plates. They lost the seat belt buckle ends for the front seats so you'll need those, retractors into the roof are there as well as rear seat belts. The dash is all there but it has a dash cap on it, the gauges are not fastened correctly but all the gauges work, speedometer and tach as well. So the dash will need a little TLC. The steering column was a mess, it had been partially disassembled to attempt upper bearing replacement but they never finished and parts were missing. I found a rebuilt column, replaced the turn signal switch and all the horn parts for the steering wheel. The horn did work until the horn itself went silent, I plugged in a bulb on a wire and I can make it light every time so it needs new dual-note horns. The under dash wiring was a little messy, they had an aftermarket alarm at one time so I went through and stripped all the leftover stuff and tidied up under there. So far everything works, even the seat belt light. It will need at least a toe adjustment because I centered the steering wheel after installing the new column and it might be off a couple degrees. The engine is a 305, it is a rebuild and numbers on the block pad show it's a 78 engine so not the original. I was told the engine has about 5K miles on it, I've been underneath and it doesn't have any oil anywhere on the block and the brass freeze plugs are still shiny so will say they were truthful on that. The transmission was reported to have 12-15K, it has very little oil on the case and the fluid was as bright pink as the new stuff I put in and no sludge in the pan. I replaced the dipstick seal, the modulator seal and the shifter shaft seal so no leaks. I've driven a few of these 305's and I think they bumped up the cam because it has a little power, not going to win the Indy but it felt better than most. I changed the oil, flushed the cooling system, replaced the water pump, thermostat, valve cover gaskets, plugs, wires, air filter, breather, PCV and all vacuum and vapor hoses. They had the wrong diverter for the air pump that is now correct. I installed a reman caburetor and new distributor because the old one had sloppy shaft and the vacuum advance wasn't working. I painted the valve covers and restored the air cleaner and touched up the intake paint. There is a new starter and reman alternator. This car has the heavy duty cooling so a 3 row radiator. I even had to replace the kick down cable because they routed it wrong and it melted on the exhaust. You will still need the under hood A/C parts and the cruise control setup but all the wiring is intact. It runs EXCELLENT, it has no leaks on the engine or transmission and it definitely would pass our strict emissions test. It needs the exhaust from the cat back, they installed a louder muffler under the car and I have purchased the correct Walker performance muffler (same as Z-28) that mounts behind the differential for dual outlet but you need it installed. I went through the brake system with all new parts instead of reman except rear shoes, new Raybestos master cylinder, new front calipers, new front rotors, new NAPA premium brake pads, new timken wheel bearings and reman premium rear brake shoes. I had the rear drums turned and I flushed the system until the fluid out of every bleeder look like it just came out of the bottle. This car stops like new! It seems like a wrote a book but I wanted a potential buyer to know as much about this car as possible so they could understand that they're not bidding on a $3K project that needs everything. I probably even left out some things but you may have bought a project before and had no idea what the guy was selling you, I see the 3 line ads all the time. I will include the old steering column, carb and distributor/cap/coil. I have a clean title and for those in CA it is on a PNO so no back fees. I also have the tattered build sheet, it's mostly legible. I know you'll probably have questions on something I didn't cover that's important to you so fire away, I'll tell you everything I know and I've gotten to know the car well. There isa Buy-It-Now, your welcome to make an offer I will consider offers. There is no interest in any trades, I've got several clients projects to keep me busy right now. I welcome inspections, the car is in Fresno, CA, at my shop and can be viewed by appointment. The winning bidder will receive clear title. I can smog for a CA buyer. |
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