this changes everything

[jims69camaro]

awesome, attention-grabbing headline, right? i thought so too, but i've seen how the mags tend to hype even the smallest detail on a new idea that i've become accustomed to them and even ignore them to some extent.

this changed with the new issue of Hot Rod, however. the story behind the headline is huge. complete firstgen bodies in a crate, available for worldwide shipping. the article isn't available online yet, or i would include a link.

think about that for a minute. no more searching endlessly for a near-rust-free body. no more searching endlessly for NOS rust-free replacement body parts. no more worrying about 35 year-old sheet metal - you just know rust is lurking somewhere under the paint.

they haven't begun shipping yet, but as i understand it there are over 100 orders for a body in a crate already. this is going to change how firstgens are builtup. now, all you need to do is find a car with some semblance of an interior and drivetrain and you're off and running. the potential for this is huge. imagine getting a clean, epoxy-primered '67 mustang (next on the list) or a '70 'cuda. it literally will change how restorations are done.

a small note: the current bodies are convertibles. not that it's a bad thing. but full roof cars are a ways off. and it won't take much to turn them into firebirds, or even prior year cars ('69 is the current body style). the bodies are going to ship without a front clip, as most cars get improvements of some type in the front suspension anyway. i think it will be offered in the future - to receive your body with the front clip intact with the improvements you want to make, kind of like having your order tailored to fit your needs. and the price tag, a modest $12000, is a breakthrough, as well. you cannot find all of the body pieces, including floor pan, NOS or otherwise for that price. there is even talk of a turn-key car being available in the neighborhood of $40000.

further, they are in negotiations with GM for licensing. as of right now, they cannot call the bodies "Camaro" due to the licensing issues. they want to be able to deliver the car to you with a VIN - saves a lot of hassle when you go to title/register/insure.

i feel that this will bring new people into the firstgen world. those that gave up on finding a clean car to work with will have it, those that know what's involved in rust replacement won't have those worries. and being able to just drop in whatever drivetrain you want with little to no hassle will open this up to people who never even thought about owning a firstgen.

this changes everything. indeed.

[ar0ck]

My dad just told me about this. When they offer a 68 Firebird Hard-top let me know 8)

Also, if this continues, the price of real versions of the cars they are making will sky-rocket. And the amount of re-production parts will also increase due to the demand and influx of sales.

Id personally buy one of the rolling chassis that should be available, and put all the appropriate badges of a firebird, and do it up nicely.

[BigAls87Z28]

I dunno....just means more and more and more and more first gens out there. And none will be real. I guess this just means that the market for first gens is so huge, that they had to start production again on them!!

[jims69camaro]

while the stampings are not done by GM or any of their subsidiaries, it's as close to "real" as you can get. they even did metalurgy on the parts and they are within 90% of the content of the original pieces. within 90%...

while this may mean more firstgens on the road (and why is that such a bad thing? ) i doubt anyone other than these guys will have to go "into production" on anything (except GM getting off their asses and start the New Camaro). the other companies will have many more orders to fill: guages, carpet, seats, suspension, motors, transmissions, wheels, tires... the list goes on. so while it may look like just one company is taking the spotlight (and the greenbacks) this will truly mean a resurgence for the industry.

while the hardtops are not yet available, all of the parts do exist to make this a '68 firebird. remember, the front clip, where the distinction of Camaro/Firebird is made, is not shipping with the car - so you'd have to go buy those pieces anyway. and it is very much a rolling chassis - no drivetrain or interior (or suspension, for that matter). i may not have made that point in the original post, but this is what everyone has been waiting for. no more excuses - write that check and get started.

[jims69camaro]

also, i wouldn't be too certain that the prices of the originals will sky-rocket. they could go down. which would be a bummer. i'm not going to speculate one way or the other. personally, if they do go down, i'd hope it's only a dip and something that will rebound after a while.

i never got into my cars with the thought that one day i'd sell them. it's not about money. of course, i'd also be lying if i told you that having prices where they are right now, climbing, is not personally gratifying. it's always nice to know what you are driving is appreciating as opposed to depreciating...

[ar0ck]

Whatever the price, I would get my Black 68 Firebird, and have it mate with a Z28 (i.e some effects) Ram Air 400 Hood, Modern Suspension, Wheels & Tires, and a 6-speed twin turbo'd 427 LS6 putting the power down through a 12-bolt with 3.73's Daily driver of course

[HardcoreZ28]

So wait.....is the body mounted on a subframe already? Or do you have to weld it onto a subframe from a donor car? This sounds like a pretty sweet deal because it's hard to find any first gens that don't have cancer at this point, especially in the rear quarters. A 69 is the next car I'm planning on building so this could be great.

[NJSPEEDER]

i saw that too. it is depressing. now 69 Z28's are gonna be like those crappy little fake cobra's that you see everywhere. a bunch of almost rich JO's patting themselves on the back for putting together a model kit.
not pleased is an understatement. if you want to own a muscle car, save up and work hard, someday your dream car will be yours. if you resort to a model kit then you may as well call yourself an astronaut for building the rocket with triple C motors on it.

later
tim

[jims69camaro]

yes, it's on a subframe already. all of the welds have been made, in the stock locations (just to piss Tim off) and it was put together with the knowledge of how it was originally done (again, just to piss Tim off).

Tim, if someone had purchased an old Cobra, then purchased new sheet metal to replace what was sure to be a nightmare to replace, already on a subframe, then they are JOs? i don't get it.

now, if you are referring to the JOs that have more money than brains and just go out and plunk down cash for parts and start building - then i get it. i don't think that is true hot rodding in any stretch of the imagination. nor did i think that this was how those bodies were going to be used. sure, eventually, i guess it will be used for that - once there are zero camaros left - kind of how there are zero cobras left (now, that is something to get pissed off at).

can i have my astronaut's license now, please?

[NJSPEEDER]

replacing sheet metal on a rear cobra is a bit different than calling factory 5 racing and saying"yeah, and can you make it blue with the white stripes please?", it does fall more to the more money than brains crowd at that point.
currently the number of real muscle cars is falling, we all knew this would happen eventually. someday they will all be restored or hot rodded and hardly ever come up for sale.
to me a kit camaro, like any kit car, is a way to replace the real thing with a copy. if it isn't a real camaro/cobra/t-bucket/any other repro'ed car then it shoudn't be refered to as one.
i guess it would bother me less if i saw a cobra or anything similar and they actually said it was a kit car right off instead of "this is my shelby cobra."
your license is in the mail

later
tim

[ar0ck]

Im pretty good at making models.

I see it as a gift, because I dont want to mess with rust, mis-matched bolts and fabrication. I want to be able to put what I want in perferably something brand new and it will go in and work right out of the box. Unlike working with an older car and having to deal with the usual crap.

[V]

these "replica" camaros were avaible about a year ago already...at 4,995.

[jims69camaro]

see if you can dig up any information about this. i have a hard time believing that something being reported on this recently was available last year. i wouldn't be surprised if it is something altogether different.

i searched high and low and was unable to come up with anything on the web.

[V]

There was a website, i have no clue what it is now anymore, but about a year ago, my old boss heard about the cars, he has 2 69's, ans we checked out the site, they were asking about 5000 for the bodies. today i told him about the article in hot rod and he was pretty sure it was the same company, just with much higher prices now.

[jims69camaro]

ok, i found the info, finally. find out if it was the same company. it would be very disappointing to find this out...

http://www.dynacorn.com/

[ar0ck]

I cant find what I want? What are we looking for?

[jims69camaro]

firebird (?) stuff is listed with the camaro stuff, in the big .pdf

[bencar]

Originally Posted by jims69camaro

awesome, attention-grabbing headline, right? i thought so too, but i've seen how the mags tend to hype even the smallest detail on a new idea that i've become accustomed to them and even ignore them to some extent.

this changed with the new issue of Hot Rod, however. the story behind the headline is huge. complete firstgen bodies in a crate, available for worldwide shipping. the article isn't available online yet, or i would include a link.

think about that for a minute. no more searching endlessly for a near-rust-free body. no more searching endlessly for NOS rust-free replacement body parts. no more worrying about 35 year-old sheet metal - you just know rust is lurking somewhere under the paint.

they haven't begun shipping yet, but as i understand it there are over 100 orders for a body in a crate already. this is going to change how firstgens are builtup. now, all you need to do is find a car with some semblance of an interior and drivetrain and you're off and running. the potential for this is huge. imagine getting a clean, epoxy-primered '67 mustang (next on the list) or a '70 'cuda. it literally will change how restorations are done.

a small note: the current bodies are convertibles. not that it's a bad thing. but full roof cars are a ways off. and it won't take much to turn them into firebirds, or even prior year cars ('69 is the current body style). the bodies are going to ship without a front clip, as most cars get improvements of some type in the front suspension anyway. i think it will be offered in the future - to receive your body with the front clip intact with the improvements you want to make, kind of like having your order tailored to fit your needs. and the price tag, a modest $12000, is a breakthrough, as well. you cannot find all of the body pieces, including floor pan, NOS or otherwise for that price. there is even talk of a turn-key car being available in the neighborhood of $40000.

further, they are in negotiations with GM for licensing. as of right now, they cannot call the bodies "Camaro" due to the licensing issues. they want to be able to deliver the car to you with a VIN - saves a lot of hassle when you go to title/register/insure.

i feel that this will bring new people into the firstgen world. those that gave up on finding a clean car to work with will have it, those that know what's involved in rust replacement won't have those worries. and being able to just drop in whatever drivetrain you want with little to no hassle will open this up to people who never even thought about owning a firstgen.

this changes everything. indeed.

The only catch here, is that with my budget, which is practically nonexistent, I'd need the FREE version

[jims69camaro]

8)

[bencar]

Originally Posted by jims69camaro

8)

Darn! Like I said, I need theFREEversion.