Black 1968 RS Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport 1967 1969 Super SS Firebird 396 Z28

1968 Chevrolet Camaro Black Rally Sport 4 Speed Very Solid Lower Body Description

This 1968 Camaro may be one of the roughest but yet one of the more interesting Camaro's you have ever seen. It is an RS or Rally Sport car that came originally with a 4 speed manual transmission, probably one of several different 327 V8 engines, bucket seats, console, white accent stripes, AM radio and perhaps a few lesser options.
Supposedly, this car was wrecked back in 1971 with 6 guys inside when they were on a "beer run". Five of the six guys survived while the guy sitting up front on the console perished. Through the years, this gem in the rough was robbed of the radiator, hood, engine, transmission, rear axle assembly, pedal assembly, front seats, steering wheel and many lesser parts.
The hood, engine, radiator, 4 speed transmission, shifter, pedal assembly, bucket seats, steering wheel, door panels and many other parts are not included. All parts I have are shown in these photos except for a few minor items. I do have the pair of original rear seat springs. They are probably restorable but I think one would be better off to buy reproduction spring assemblies. I removed the 2 piece sheet metal covers that covered the wire troughs on each side of the floor pans and they are included.
The original ignition switch is in rough condition but is included. I also have 5 of the 6 body drain plugs that were loose when I bought this car. As I usually do, I saved every nut, bolt, screw, coin, etc. that I found in this car when I cleaned out the inside recently. I even saved an un-opened can of Olympia beer that was under the rear seat cushion. All of the beer leaked out of it somehow through the years. Perhaps that can of beer was a cousin to those that may have contributed to the wreck back in 1971.
This car appears to have been rolled at least once and suffered severe body damage as well as some damage to the front sub-frame where the radiator core support attaches to the front of the left frame member. I believe that sub-frame is also twisted a bit but I believe the body has relatively little twist in it. Amazingly, the driver's door still opens, closes and latches nearly as well as it would have when this car was new. The passenger's door is in poor condition but it also opens, closes and latches. The outer door handle seems to be ineffective so one has to open it with the inner door handle.
The only rust holes in the front floors are around the accelerator pedal on the left side and a 1/2" or so hole where the floor slopes upward on the passenger's side. It appears that someone poked a 1/4" or so hole with a sharp item on the passengers side near the drive shaft tunnel.
The floor under the driver's seat is fine as is the left rear foot well and the floor under the left side of the rear cushion. Thefloor under the passenger's seat is fine as is the right rear foot well and the floor under the right side of the rear cushion with one minor exception. There is a spot about 2" long that is starting to blister on the right side of the right rear foot well so there is a minor rust problem surfacing there.
Since this car most likely sat on the ground for many years, the galvanized coating has turned to surface rust on parts of both rocker panels. I can find no rust blisters or any holes anywhere on either of the rocker panels so that is good. GM cars of this vintage here in Montana never seem to have rusty rocker panels because of the galvanized material used to fabricate the rocker panels.
Both of the front fenders are obviously beyond repairing. It looks like the left front fender was replaced many years ago because it has no holes for the "Rally Sport" emblem like the right front fender has. There is some rust behind the left rear wheel opening but that quarter panel will most likely be replaced anyway. The right rear quarter panel is is such poor condition that I don't recall every even looking for rust problems there.
I can find no rusted out spots in the trunk floor anywhere. As you can see in one of the photos of the right side of the trunk floor, part of the right rear wheel house was pushed inwards about 2 inches. This messed up or sort of folded the outer part of the trunk floor over the right side of the recess at the bottom of the trunk floor.
The driver's door has no rusted out sports anywhere and is in excellent condition except for where something sharp poked a 1-1/2" or so hole near the bottom front of the outer skin. The passenger's door has a lot of damage so I don't think it is worth repairing.
The only glass that is present is the left rear quarter window and it appears to be in good usable condition. The other 3 windows appear to have been in the raised position when this car was wrecked. I installed a rear axle assembly from a 1975 Chevrolet Nova which is supposed to interchange with this Camaro rear axle. It seemed to fit fine on the pair of rear leaf springs. Both of the rear leaf springs appear to have leaves added to them a long time ago. It appears that some fool did some welding on the right rear spring. The main leaf in the right rear spring is broken just ahead of the spring center bolt. Perhaps that main leaf broke years ago and contributed to this car being wrecked.
I also installed 2 most likely non-correct 14" wheels and tires on the front as well as a pair of 15" wheels and tires on the rear. Both of the front brake drums are seized up and I have not yet attempted to free them up. The rear wheels and tires are from a friend's 1978 Oldsomobile Cutlass so they are "NOT" part of this listing. I will be looking for another 2 wheels and tires in the next few weeks. If I do not find any, the new owner can bring 2 wheels and tires to install on the rear axle before they leave with this car.
The only exterior parts that I can find that appear to be in good usable condition include the driver's door, left rear quarter window, left tail light assembly, left backup lamp assembly, valence panel below the rear bumper, special R/S gas cap, right front side marker light assembly and perhaps a piece or two of stainless steel trim. Much of the stainless steel trim was removed before I acquired this gem in the rough.
I used the following website to decode the VIN number below.
http://www.thecamaro.com/Decoding/VIN-Vehicle-Identification-Number-Decoding/1968-Camaro-VIN-Location-and-Decoding.php
The VIN number 124378L311064 decodes as follows:
1 - Chevrolet 2 – Camaro 4 – V8 Engine 37 - Coupe 8 - 1968 L – Los Angeles Assembly Plant 311064 – sequence number
I used the following website to decode the information on the body tag:http://www.thecamaro.com/Decoding/Trim-Tag-Identification-and-Decoding/1968-Camaro-Trim-Tag-Identification-and-Decoding.php
11A = built first week of November 1967 Trim 712 = Standard Black Bucket Seats Paint A-A = Tuxedo Black Upper & Lower
I also used that same site to come up with percentages of cars equipped with the options that are on this car. Total 1968 Camaro Production 235,147 (214,707 coupes + 20,440 convertibles) % Equipped D55 Console 140,530 60 4 Speed Manual Transmission 47,572 20 U63 Radio, AM Push Button 192,805 82 Z21 Style Trim Group 93,235 40 Z22 Rally Sport Package 40,971 17 (1 in 6) L30 327–275hp 4bbl Turbo-Fire V-8 21,686 9 (1 in 11) B93 Door Edge Guards 49,395 21 Z19 Lighting Auxiliary Group ??? 18,099 8
The Rally Sport Package included the Z21 Style Trim Group option plus full width grill with concealed headlights, bright lower body side moldings, RS grille emblem (or SS when options combined), parking/turn signal lights located below front bumper, reverse lights located below bumper in rear.The Exterior Style Trim Group (Coupe) included bright wheel opening moldings, bright roof drip rail moldings, fender pinstriping, bright belt moldings on the tops of the doors and black lower body sill paint accents.
I appreciate older Camaros like this but am not collecting them at this time. I have removed nothing but dirt and crud from inside this "gem in the rough" since I acquired it a few months ago. Thankfully, there were no front or rear carpets in this car so that may be why the floors are so much better than one might normally expect them to be. For a car that has most likely been outside with the interior exposed to the elements for the last 45 years, the interior is still in amazingly good condition. Please remember that we receive only about 12" of total precipitation (including both rain and show) here per year so that is why this car is still as sound as it is. The humidity here in Montana is very low unless it is raining so things dry out very fast after they have been wet. Some parts of this country get more moisture in a month than we do in an entire year.
I applied for and received a new Montana tittle for this car and now have it in my possession. This car is stored outside at the home ranch in north central Montana which is 225 miles north of where I live in Bozeman. I can store it there for free for a year of more if desired. I will not be held responsible if someone steals the VIN or body tags but it is very unlikely that that would happen where it is located.
I have more photos I can email to you if you call me with your regular email address. Please do not expect or ask me to email them to you here through the eBay email system. I can only attach 5 photos per email and the eBay email system drastically reduces the size and quality of photos sent there. I am willing to help get this car transported to the port in Los Angeles if you are from outside of the USA. I have a friend that hauls cars all over the country for $ .60 to $ .70 per mile or so and can get a delivery quote for you if you would like me to.
Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn - phone 406-799-1847 in Bozeman Montana USA