New Shell Vs Fixing mine

[West,J.71]

I guess what it really comes down to is if you have the cash to shell out for the new body thats your choice. I guess if you have a plain jane camaro it might be worth it to you to replace everything. But whether its made in the USA or china(not really sure) alot of the parts i have found that GM restorations dont make........like the entire trunk pan i just replaced in my 69'. I bought it from NPD,but i dont know if you can buy this part from GM. I have a budget though,plus my car is a 396SS car so i think in my opinion its worth repairing not replacing. I just replaced the trunk pan,inner and outer fenders and new full factory quarters. And i'm still finding sheet metal that needs to be replaced. So i guess it depends on time vs. cash but its all a labor of love for the cars. I'm not going to lie and say that it wont be alot of work because it will be. But anyway thats my 2 cents.

[CamaroMaster]

I bought one of the Dynacorn bodies or more accuratley was financially and physically involved in the process and it depends on the state you live in as far as VIN go. Most state will insist on a state issue vin. Some states will allow to remove and replace back to the existing car for restoration purposes. Most body shops have the ability to get away with more at least in Florida. If you rebody the car with your VIN it will be obvious and one day it will be impounded. There are a lot of ways to get around things but a simple installation of your VIN on a Dynacorn body isn't one of them. The car I finished had a state issued VIN and severly hurt its resale value and the ability to sell it.  I don't have a problem with rebodies because it should be obvious the difference from a 40 year old US MADE body to a 2006 import body so your not fooling anyone and why should the amount of sheet metal you replace have anything to do with your ability to drive the car legally.  There is a show I watch called CCR (chop cut rebuild) I think its on the speed channel and they are currently building a dynacorn body  starting at Dynacorn. There have been two episodes so far. As far as I am concerned is is no different then building a 33 3 window or other street rod. Just my 2 cents

[camaro_ragtop]

What are we looking at here?
do you have better pictures?

Thanks

buy one of these for 1,700...

[hotrod68]

I can tell you this, guys--if you do decide replace the sheetmetal on your car, spend the extra money for the best you can find. No sheetmetal on the market is as good as the original GM, and the cheaper stuff is even worse than the "best" aftermarket. I had to replace the header panel, fenders, doors, tailpan and deck lid on my '68--all of it Goodmark, touted as the best--and NONE of it fit right. I spent $1000 on aftermarket sheetmetal and had to pay a professional bodyman $1000 to fix the damn mess and put it in primer. It's why Waynechipman got $1000 for a NOS fender! The GM stuff isn't available anymore and I had no choice, although I did score a GM cowl panel. If I had it to do over again I'd have patch-paneled my GM stuff and actually saved money. Despite what their advertisement says, Goodmark is made overseas, too, not in the USA. If you have a restoration business locally I'd make friends with them and they can recommend the best stuff currently available. If not, I've found that Year One is a super bunch of guys to do business with, although they're more expensive on the average. Modern Chevrolet in Winston-Salem, NC is also a great source. And you guys have to also remember that the magazines have an agenda when they run an article promoting things--they get kickbacks like any other business and will tell you the great things and leave out the warts, or are ignorant of them. MY 2 cents. Ain't this Camaro restoration thing fun?