so i got really bored at work today and i was wondering about this. since my favorite car is a 68 camaro but i don't want to sacrifice the performance of my c5, would it be possible to put the camaro body on the corvette frame with all of the suspension and drivetrain of the corvette, all i want is the 68 body with things like the seats and anything i can use from the corvette? would you have to do a lot of chopping since the vette wheelbase is 108 and the camaro's is 104.5? i know this is a really strange question and there's pretty much no probability of this happening, but i would love to know your thoughts on this(i.e. stupid idea, not worth it). heck, maybe i will do it.

 

Well, you picked a great car. I love the '68, too. My first new car was a 327 '68 Camaro.

As I often say, if you have enough money you can do anything. I'd guess something around $500,000 would handle this the way you'd need to do it to use it as a daily driver or not be embarrassed taking it to a car show. The way I'd do it, though, and that I think anygood shop would, would be to forget actually trying to fit a '68 body, andcustom build body panels from fiberglass and so forth to fit the C5 but just look like a '68, bastardize the original interior pieces (seats, etc.) and build a look a like interior, etc. This has been done with customs like C5 '57 Chevy look alikes, etc. and is pretty satsifactory. It requires talent and skills very few shops have, though: maybe a dozen in the country I would trust to pull it off well.

Much better and potentially a great little car -- you could do this for about $50K if you can do the work yourself, probably $150K if you don't --would be to take a '68 in good body shape (no rust) and: a) convert it to a C5 running gear including LS6 engine (might as well use a stroker), trans, and rear end, b) remove the rear axle and convert it to entirely a C5 rear end - custom build a sub-frame, etc., based on just getting one off a front clip C5 in a wrecking yard, c) convert the front brakes, maybe switch a suspension in front but probably not, etc., restore the rest of the car, d) spend some serious time sorting it out and getting all the details right.

There would be some big things (moving the gas tank, etc.) and a ton of small things to take care off (custom torque tube and drive shaft, etc.), but this could end up working very well and would be a great car. I like the idea alot but not enough I'd do it myself (so many projects, so little time) -- still it's something I have utter confidence I could get absolutely right with enough time and if I can do it so can hundreds of good shops anywhere in the country: my point being this is a big project but it does not require Boyd Coddington levels of expertise and talent (the first option might)

I'd bet more than even money that if you scan back issues of Hot Rod, GM High Performance, Super Chevy, etc., someone has already done this . . . at least once.

By the way, if you want to do this, realize you can buy every piece needed to build a 1969 Camaro from scratch from GM and other sources, including a brand new stamping for all the original body pieces. In my mind the '69 isn't quite as pure of line as a '68, but there are all new parts and they all fit well together -- hard to beat that.

 

thanks, but you sort of ruined my hopes with that price tag. i am going to get a 68 camaro, though. it just remains to be seen when i'll have a place to put it and time to work on it. But is it evenpossible to make a classic muscle car perform and handle like that of a modern sports car?

 

hey i actually found something related to this. check out this article: http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...maro_subframe/

they use a lot of c5 suspension parts and a subframe. the only problem is i don't know the difference between a subframe and and a plain old frame(if there is one). could someone please explain this to me. i guess if it came down to it i could always use my vette as a donor car.

i've got another question, too. can you add airbags to a car like a 68 that didn't come with them? i mean the safety airbags, not the suspension ones. i want to know this because i probably can't get my dad's help on a car without the airbags, even though my old truck didn't have airbags and his 68 camaro didn't have airbags either, obviously. but hey, he is in the EMS business so you can't blame him.

anyways, thanks for your help, Lee. I've learned a lot from you and that really helps since i want to make a career of working on cars.

 

I think sub-frame is sort of an abused term that means whatever a manufacturer wants it to, but generally it refers to a partial frame on a unibody (frameless( monocoque) car. Many unibody cars come from the facotyr with a sub-frame: heavy crossmembers meant to hold key suspension parts in place.

there are also aftermarket subframes. For example a popular independent rear suspension for hot rod and project cars is the entire rear suspension out of a E-type Jaguar. Several kit companies make a short frame (about 4 feet long), which you weld to the car body (e.g., '68 Camaro or your 64 Mustang or whatever) and then all the E's rear suspension parts bolt up properly. Same for front suspensions -- there a popular one is out of the little Mustang 2 from years ago -- you can buy kits to mount a front subframe in your hot rod or project car and then mount the independent front suspension and steering, and brakesfrom an old Mustand 2 in your, say, '29 Ford -- the Mustang 2's suspension may not be the best in the world but let's face it, its world's better than a '29s beam axle.

 

i've got sort of a different question now. i think you'd be able to answer it well since you've had a 68 camaro and c5. well anyways, do you think the c5 will eventually be as cool as a 68 and have that muscle car look? and which car did you think was cooler when you first got it?

 

I believe the '68 Camaro is one of the purest, mostelegant body designs done by American automakers in the last 50 years. GM did some really superb body design back then (original Riveria, the Toronado, etc) and the '68 Camaro was one (still not completely recognized) masterpiece: better than the '67 (the '68 did not have the wing windows and that simlified its looks) and better than the '69 with thosecreases runningalong the body side from the tops of the wheel well).

The C5 is an attractive car but nothing special in my mind: I actually prefer the lines of the C4. And among the various C5 models there are none I think are so rare or special that they will be collectors items, etc., twentyor more years from now.

 

Although I like the 68 Camaro, I also used to drool over the 1970 Cuda - dang, that was a nice-looking car!

 

i agree with you dave. i don't really think the c5 has what takes to be a sought after car in the future as much asi like it. honestly, before i got it i hated all late model corvettes, but i just couldn't turn it down when my dad used it as a bribe to quit asking for the camaro. i should of been persistant and stuck with the car i know i would of loved. there is also a 69 camaro in town for sale with the corvette ls1 that i might test drive to see how it performs with a bit of modern technology.

 

LT,

I should also mention that I owned a 68 Corvette for almost 22 years. Believe me, the old sportscars could not handle very well! It was great when I was just cruising, but very scary when I tried to drive aggressively. The C5 with non-runflat tires will run circles around amost any late-sixties sportscar. The 1st gen camaro is valued so highly because it was made for only three years. I saw one on a dealership showroom floor, just before I bought my 01 (in 01) and the price was $35,000. As a toy, yes, but as a DD, I'll take the C5!

Dave