Can Someone Give An HONEST Restoration Price??

That fact that it had not been driven for that long does not bode well for the vehicle. Collectors have something called the 30/30 rule. To keep everything in good condition the vehicle and all of it components should be run every thirty day for at least thirty miles. If not you will have problem after problem, seals dry out and stick, bearings run dry, switches corrode, tires oxidize from not ever being hot etc..

"MICHELLE H." wrote

Sure, he want it, but don't give it to him. At least not in running condition.

Impossible to say without seeing it, but it can cost from $5000 to $50,000. Mice eating wires can be a couple of thousand bucks in repairs alone. If the floorboards are rusted, other parts are too, even if you don't see them.

Frankly, this is not the car to give a 17 year old. An amazing number of teenager wreck their first car. Insurance can be a nightmare cost wise on any sporty car, especially for a young male.

Give the kid the car as a project to restore and learn. When he earns enough money to buy a car, let him buy a shitbox that will be in the junkyard in a year. I was a teenager, I had teenaged friends and I raised teenagers. Not a single one was mature enough to have a Camero coupe at 17. You will also do well to make him raise the money for his own car. He will be more inclined to take care of his investment.

Also realize that a vintage ANYTHING is not going to be a safe vehicle for a young driver. Lack of safety devices (air-bags, for example) and often times substandard componets such as brakes make a car that could easily be a serious hazard to a young inexperienced driver.

Again, I'd recommend a late model, good used car for him.

Well, I tend to post before I've read the entire thread, otherwise I seem to forget what I was going to say! Must be old age creeping up on me-perhaps faster than I'd care to admit...

No problem. I have "senior moments". Beats the other alternative. Anyway, I think all our advice was consistent.

Michelle said, "I am wondering if someone could give me some information? Could someone please give me a rough/ballpark figure on how much it would cost to do a complete rebuild/restore of a 1981 Chevy Camaro coupe? I have a 81' Camaro which has been garaged for 13 years, and probably now needs a complete restore/rebuild. The car does NOT run, and has both engine and body problems." **************************

Between the rust, mice and age damage, I would just seek out and buy a similar car and retain the original car you have as a parts car, as that's about all it's good for..

Yea, amazingly consistant replies. I've got an 88 VW cabriolet sitting in the garage that I shold get started on as my next restore. It is in excellent shape, no rust, 45K original miles. Needs a lot of love in the interior (convertibles seem to fair badly WRT seats for example) and needs paint and detailing. For a great condition like this car I figure I'll have about 5 to 10K in it when done if I don't do a new top (was replaced once, but the replacement is starting to shrink...) Most of that cost will be paint and seats which I want to match the originals if possible.

Yeah, lots of 1981 Camaro's available just on Craigslist alone, some for under $5,000 even, that are rust free, running, and driveable.

And this was just an advanced "1 week" search that brought up 49 results!!! A "1 month" search would probably have about 150-200 results!?

"1981 camaro" site:craigslist.org - Google Search

Actually a "1 month" advanced search brought up 69 results for "1981 Camaro". Still, I guess it shows that 81' Camaro's are still out there to be found.

I thought that the 81' was a rare/collector Camaro, because it was the last year of the 2nd generation "big body" style, before they went to the shorter body in 1982??

I worked in body shops for years, and any 81 camaro with the floor boards rusted out is junk. Sorry but there is no other way to tell you. If the floorboards rusted then it is rusted to hell other places too.

And you won't get all the problems you listed fixed for anything like five thousand. That is just a low-ball dreamy guess.

No, 81 is the first year of that body style, whatever they called it, I don't recall.

Unless it is an original Z28 it is just an old Camaro, sorry.

That wasnt a lowball dreamy guess. That was an estimate assuming the thing wasnt rust rotten, a junkyard engine installed, etc, just to get the thing running an on the highway AT BEST. No custom paint job of course.

And you might be able to do it under those conditions but but if it is a rust bucket, all bets are off.

When she told me she lived in the Maine area, that indicates without further inspection that winter road salt has taken its toll on this car.

That $5k would be much better spent on a car in decent running condition.