Im looking for a 80's camaro for a project car, wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction of things to look for as far as body rot goes, I dont want to get into body work over my head, this is my first project car and will be my first chevey i was hoping you could point me to the right years. Thanks

 

Well if you can avoid body rot thats best , But it really comes down to how much skill you have to fix the rot ? if you have limited skills stay away from floor pan rot as much as possible ,fenders hoods stuff like that can have new peices bolted into place but if rear quarters, trunk pan, floor pans are bad thats going to take cutting the pans ,quarters etc and welding . good luck

 

thanks for the tip are the cars notorious for having fender rot flow into the trunk floor and or floor pans?

 

Oh yeah truck area and around front and rear windows floor pans those are the big areas of concern

 

With the number of 3rd gens produced, it shouldn't be too hard to find one that is relatively rust free. If you don't want a car that you will need to do tons of body work, you should find one that's in nice shape to begin with. The car will cost more up front, but will save you money in the end. Buying the $500 project car, with no/non-working engine/trans, dirty/missing interior may be enticing, but if you have to spend 4-5 times that just to fix the rust, plus replace anything that is missing/broken, it wasn't that good of a deal, compared to spending a few grand more on a car that would be in much better shape.

 

couldnt say it better myself ^

 

Unless he doesnt have a few grand sitting around and wants a car he can slowly put together . I picked up a 77 bird for 900.00 has low rust but still needs work may take me a year but its a project and i can do alittle at a time instead of buying somthing that already done and spending 3 4 or 5 k right out of pocket . Thats why i have a project and maybe his same reaon also .

 

I see what you are saying, but if he doesn't have the skills to replace floor pans, trunk pans, door skins, etc, and doesn't have the money to do that either, getting a rust bucket won't be something he will get any satisfaction out of. If he can work with someone who has welding skills, and the skills necessary to PROPERLY fix all the body work that will need to be done, that would be a great situation to be in. But if he doesn't have access to someone who can teach him the skills, he should just save up until the funds are available, and the right car comes along. Not trying to start an argument, as just about any car, in any condition is fixable, but based on what the OP said, the OP doesn't want something that will require extensive body work.