I was in 10th grade and a senior had a 69 Nova that had many small blocks in it. A friend of mine, who was a year older than me, knew the car well and said that some Dukes Of Hazard lovin' guy had bought the car from the original owner and that it was an original 427 car. The DOH guy thought it'd be fun to continually jump the car until the point of putting the pan into the crank. That is how the 427 went out and a long series of small blocks went in. The car ended up with another friend who dirt tracked & enduro raced the car. It was in this configuration that I stopped to look at it and write down the vin number. No, I don't know where that number is after moving 3 times. I could also see it was originally a light blue metallic in color. Didn't know about cowl tags at the time. After sitting in his fathers junk yard for a few years the whole place was crushed out.

At some point this car will just be a rebody. It would be nice to atleast get that car indoors to slow down the rust demons. Someone should offer him a place to keep indoors at no cost, with a written offer of first refusal when it is sold. No one lives forever.

He has an empty garage he can keep it in. I would be darn if I kept another guys car in my garage I will never have a chance to own.. He was offered 30k and turned it down. His grandson also has garage space he can keep it in.

I say F'em and let it rust back into the ground. Can't help stupid.

Hey, so I’m the grandson of the owner for the car in the original pictures. It was bought it barnesville at bobs. 427 4 speed lemans blue, I have the original title, it’s just as sad to me that it’s been sitting. I’m going to try to restore or as one said rebody it. I’m not sure the best route to take yet about moving the car. I really don’t have the means to lift it so I may just take piece by piece. Would love any advice and help anyone could offer. Thanks in advance.

Great first post!!!

Lots of experts on here, to help get it safe, stop the deterioration and you best go get the original engine!!!

Ryan W31

Yeah, this looks like one that’s worth a healthy price. Thanks for sharing the dream... as if I didn’t have enough trouble sleeping already ;-)

There's quite a few guys from this site that live up your way that might be willing to help you out. If not, then send me a PM, I would be happy to drive over and help you some weekend. I enjoy this kind of stuff especially since I have a Lemans Blue COPO sitting in my garage.. Great post, welcome to the site!
Jim

.... PapsMaro,

... Welcome to the site.

... I am sure that there are 4 to 6 guys that would gladly come over to help you dismantle your camaro and show you what parts are still good on the car and help you move it to a dry location to start figuring out a plan for your restoration. This car needs to be saved.
I hope you reach out to those in your area to help you out.
Good luck and keep us in the loop as to the future of the restoration.
... Sincerely ,
John

....

You will need a trailer with a winch or a rollback truck to SLOOOOOWLY pull it out of the ground. If the body is as rusted as the stories indicate, it could pull apart. It's going to be a slow process with lots of digging to eliminate any unnecessary resistance to remove it in one piece.
As for the restoration, a 1 piece repro shell is probably going to be needed. To rebuild it with donor/aftermarket parts, will cost a fortune. It will be great to save it, but it's too far gone to ever consider it a survivor or restoration.

If I were closer, I would be glad to help, as I have the means to get it out of the ground, but I'm 800 miles away...:frown:
These other guys that have offered, should be able to do the same extraction.
I wish you the best with getting this "home" and starting the rebuild.

Got the car moved forward about 50ft away from a dead tree. Surprised the front wheels actually rolled. Going to come back in a few days to put it on a trailer to try to get to my house now that I have a place to put it. Thanks for the positive feedback, feeling a little overwhelmed at the enormity of the project but we’ll take it a step at time. Have original hood, rear end, tranny, and maybe a few other things. If anyone knows of the 427 they think was pulled from the car would love to get in touch with whoever has it.

Great progress!

Photos would be awesome!

Cheers and welcome!
Anthony

X

Great progress. Take a lot of pictures and bag bolts that you can reuse and mark where they came from. Sure helps later. There is an assembly manual you will probably want to get a copy of

Good luck with the resto!! I offered to buy your grandfather a tarp for the car when I went to look at it 20 years ago. He denied stating he liked telling people stories and getting their hopes to buy then shutting them down with not for sale!!

^ wow. :(

Papsmaro, where exactly in SE Ohio are you located? I travel the area on business regularly. Might be able to assist you sometime.

More eastern, Belmont, but I’m going to try to get back this weekend to move it. I’ll update later with pics of everything!

While I’m happy he never sold it, I’m upset it sat in the ground so long. Sometimes old stubborn men will always be that way I guess lol

Will make the resurrection all the more satisfying.

PapsMaro,
Here's some hope for you. While I have a 69 Copo Camaro (the Tin Soldier) I also found my high school car several years ago. To anyone else, nothing special. To me, first car I kissed a girl in and first car I drag raced in. It was in a junkyard and as bad as this one. I sent it to Goodmark (back then) and they replaced all the metal on it. It can be done!

As found
https://i.imgur.com/B9i7AXH.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/WTujauC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/WTujauC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IIq3UO8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Q4NMX8O.jpg

And as a bonus found this:
https://i.imgur.com/04f7tlY.jpg

Now:

https://i.imgur.com/USusM5N.png

So it can be done!

Rich

So is the original engine still around?

Apparently it is very close to where the car sits now. I’ve reached out to white top but haven’t heard back. He knows the history of the car very well so I have faith in what he says but won’t know until we can see the number on it.

Good luck, great to hear this car is finally getting some love. I'm sure some of the guys on here would try to help you out on parts.

I really hope that turns out for you!

Wow, absolutely a blessing to your grandfather that you are taking over his old COPO to bring it back to life after all these years :biggthumpup:

Bet he is just as thrilled as you must be 😎

Anything can be saved with the availability of parts nowadays.

^ wow! Big job!

Got the car moved, it’s really rough but I have a lot to start with. Tried to get ahold of white top to see about tracking the motor down but haven’t heard anything.

Congrats!

Congratulations and best of luck PapsMaro. Can't wait to follow this one and am hoping whitetop helps you get the original engine back.

Awesome! What happened to the rear end? Is it a BE?

I have the rear end. Someone tried to steal it by ripping it out a few years ago so we had to remove it completely.

Great to see this one on it's way to being saved. I Like the 'Blue yummy' sitting on the header panel after a hard days work.

This is Awesome !!!!! ROB

Congrats on your progress!

Got the rear end home, trans, drive shaft, and maybe the bell housing? I’m not sure what it is or if it’s original. I think it is but not positive. How do I confirm that it is the original rear end?

Looks like an M21 Transmission. Check the trans for VIN stamping. On the rear end, look on the passenger side tube on the section that faces the front of the car. There should be a stamp there for both the model (you're looking for BE) and the date of manufacture. Be careful in uncovering the stamp, don't use anything abrasive like sandpaper, it will mar the stamping. Clean it up gently and submit a few photos. Gotta be exciting for you, hell, I'm excited!

[QUOTE=R68GTO;1545372]Looks like an M21 Transmission. Check the trans for VIN stamping. On the rear end, look on the passenger side tube on the section that faces the front of the car. There should be a stamp there for both the model (you're looking for BE) and the date of manufacture. Be careful in uncovering the stamp, don't use anything abrasive like sandpaper, it will mar the stamping. Clean it up gently and submit a few photos. Gotta be exciting for you, hell, I'm excited![/QUOTE

What do you recommend I use to clean it with? Just a brush? Thank you for the knowledge also!! I’m beyond excited!

It looks like it's mostly rust. I would use a wire brush with a rust penetrant to loosen it. Once you have the rust cleaned as well as possible, it may still take light sanding with 400 and water as a lubricant to reveal the stamping. You just don't want to use anything aggressive for sanding.
The stampings for the trans should be on top. It will have a coded assembly date and should have the last 6 numbers of the vin too. They can be almost anywhere, but the top was the most common, usually on the main case, but sometimes on the midplate.

Hard to see