1969 Camaro RS/SS L78 Questions

[prostreetrodz]

Hello,

i found what i believe to be a pretty rare 69 camaro...its been sitting in a garage for the past 33+ years.....its an original L78 69 RS/SS...the cowl tag reads - - for special paint...the car is all black, no stripes with a silver rs grille...big block hood, console gauges, factory tach, backup lights, the antenna is in the rear on the passenger side quarter.....he said the original short block was hurt back in the early 70's but still has the heads which are casting number 3919840 date codes H28 8 and J29 8...the trans he is saying is the original TH400 and it has a yellow tag on it that reads C69x 335 X and CX69 1231 the code on the cowl tag is 12A for production....the original shortblock is gone but it does still have the original 12 bolt rearend in it, factory front disc brakes and big block heater core...the car is an early production non X-code car...it was norwood built...the interior is in beautiful shape..standard black.....any info you can give would be great...car's value, rarity, what casting numbers and date codes to look for to build a numbers matching 396, etc.....thanks....

[firstgenaddict]

In order to give you an accurate value we would need some pics and a better idea of the overall condition of the car.
Has the car ever been painted?
What is the condition of the interior?
What is the axle code?
Has it been in good dry storage or has it been sitting on dirt?

The silver grille is correct for a Black car.. that is a plus in that they are impossible to find and only came in black cars.
The  - - paint code must have indicated stripe delete as black was a std color all year long.

[prostreetrodz]

the car has beautiful interior...i bought a new carpet kit because it was faded....right above the factory tach are two drilled holes where they had a sunpro tach mounted.....seat belts, console, gauges, everthing is factory....two small holes in headliner.....the car has had some repair work on the driver's side quarter, the one door has a skin (done nice) and two NOS fenders...all of this work was done back in the early 70's before the car was parked...hood, valance, roof, etc is still original paint....not bad but could use a repaint....floors, rockers, trunk pan are beautiful....everything is in tact..does not have the engine but does have trans/converor, crossmember, driveshaft, etc.....hood is also in beautiful shape...big block louvered hood..all RS headlights in tact...it was kept in a nice indoor facility....the weatherstripping still looks great...the window trim and drip rail molding looks beautiful.........

[nuch_ss396]

'69 - RS/SS big block cars were not that common.  I had a shot at one years ago, but passed on it.  I still hate myself for that decision.

That THM400 is a rare find - being a CX code.  It is correct for the L/78 in 1969.  Yellow is the correct 69 color for that tag too.  Check the VIN
on the flange area where the trans pan bolts up against.  If the stamped VIN matches the car VIN - you've found the holy grail of THM400 transmissions. 
Make sure you don't loose it....  It took me 7 years to find mine!

An early RS/SS L/78, in black too.  What a great find!  With a 12A build date, the 396 block you're after is a 3955272 dated somewhere between Oct.
and mid Nov. 1968.  A late Sept. 68 block would be possible too.

Post the axle assembly code ( stamped on front side of passenger side axle tube ).

Nuch

[firstgenaddict]

If the original carpet is just faded you will want to dye it back black with some RIT dye... I have done it many times. Just take the carpet out of the car and clean it. Let it dry for a few days and then take it out in the sun and following the instructions mix your dye  and work it into the carpet with a long bristled brush.  Let it dry throughly and then reinstall... NOTHING fits like the original, and even if they have some wear I think in the end you will be happy you kept the orginals.