Once I pick up the 350 and know that it is as correct as possible I will post the 327 here for sure. I am aware that anything but original is second best but I would like the car to as original as possible in all respects. I managed to speak to the second owner of the car and purchase the original heads and manifold and carburetor, so the only part of the car that is not 100% original is actually the block. I know that that is the biggest item but nevertheless it is as close as one could get. After researching I haven't found many first generation Camaros with the original block. I looked high and low and found two that were absolute frauds, base cars put out as true rs/ss models. So I was happy to find this one and look forward to making it as authentic as I can.
I would never represent that the car is anything but what it is but it is great that you guys are here and know so much. This forum was key to my being cautious after reading posts for many days. I asked the right questions of the owners and caught both up in lies about their cars. Believe it or not, one was a movie studio employee in Hollywood that had an ad on Autabuy for a beautiful 67 rs/ss convertible, fully restored and "all Original". Everything checked out until I was ready to send a deposit and wanted to see the title, cowl tag and vin numbers. AFter much delay he sent me his banking information, explained that the car was rented to the studio to be used in a movie for an unknown period of time but would be ready for pickup as soon as possible. The title that he sent me had a name of a guy in Maine on it (he hadn't bothered to transfer it to a California title because it was too much trouble), and the cowl tag was obviously wrong. Turns out that when I pointed out that the tag was for a 68 base model he immediately faxed me a printed picture of the "actual" tag. Luckily I was suspicious enough to track down the guy from Maine on the internet.
Mike Fiori is his name. He is a classic car dealer in Maine and had completely built the Camaro in question and sold it to a guy in LA. Turns out that Mike built the Tribute car from the ground up as it had no drivetrain and needed a complete overhaul. he decided to do a tribute car as an rs/ss. The guy from LA sent him pictures of a beautiful 64 Ford Falcon convertible and a 63 Chev convertible that he wanted to trade for the Camaro and sent $5,000 to finish the deal. The transportation company verified that they were picking up the two trade cars and Mike put the Camaro on a truck and trailer to head out west.
A week later two nice looking cars arrived on his lot and he thought he did a great deal. When they pushed the cars onto the lot however, they discovered that niether car had an interior, drive train, or anything else. They were both studio cars used for films.
I share this story so others can be aware of what can happen. The fraudsters are becoming smarted and smarter. But what is worse is that I called his bank, Bank of America, and reported detailes including the name he used, account number, and address. I never heard back from the bank. I then called Autabuy and reported the guy and was told that this was the third complaint about this advertiser, yet the ad was still there three weeks later.
It is forums like this one with the expertise of you long term members that can help the purchasers from being taken for a ride. It seems that there is little else being done to protect people.
Glad I found you guys and with your help found a car that is largely original but exactly what I thought I was buying when I picked it up.
