by John C. Carpenter

Created on: April 27, 2010   Last Updated: April 28, 2010

Over the years I have loved the Chevrolet camaro, it's not quite like any other car ever built, my first muscle cars was a 1969 Z/28 camaro and I loved that car, I hope to help some one else find their perfect muscle car by writing this article.

In this article I will discuss some of the things that you should look at when you go to buy a classic camaro, we'll start off by checking the numbers on the car, and look at body, mechanical, electrical, and every other system that I can think of that will help you ind the right car.

Let's dive in to this head first if your looking to restore the car, you should never fail to decode that numbers on the car, you'll have vin codes, RPO codes, casting numbers, and all of these numbers need to match up just right, unless you don't care about authenticity.

The Numbers To Decode:

The Vin Tag

The RPO Code

The Casting Numbers

Engine Date Codes

Next we'll move on to the body work on the car, you obviously want to get a car that is in the best shape possible for the amount of money that you have to spend, this is where you'll begin to need the patience, this could take a while, you may have to look at a lot of cars.

Body Work:

Well do a general inspection of the outside of the car first, during this inspection you'll bee looking for the tell tail signs of rust, and bad body repair work, these things should not be that difficult to see, you'll be looking for bubbles in the paint, wavy body work, or cracking plastic filler.

Panel Alignment:

Gaps should not be wider then 1/16 – 1/8 inch.

Misaligned panels indicate that the car has been wrecked.

Check the hood to fender alignment.

Check the hood to header panel alignment.

Check the hood to cowl panel alignment.

Check the fender to door gap & alignment.

Check the door to quarter panel gap & alignment.

Check the deck lid rear & side gaps for alignment.

Body Surface:

Check the body of the car for wavy body work.

Check for cracking plastic filler.

Check for bubble in the paint work.

Check for obvious dents.

Check for dull or faded paint.

Check for rust in the wheel wells.

Check for rust around the wheel wells.

Check for rust in the rocker panel.

Check the firewall for rust, if you can see it.

Check the trunk floor for rust.

Check The Bumper Height:

Make sure that the bumpers are not touching the body of the car, or sagging.

Under Hood & Engine:

First you'll want to check the general condition of the engine, and engine compartment, check the condition of the paint,

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