Best Muscle Cars
Should You Buy This 1968 Camaro ProTouring Restomod?
By Dave Ashton
Engine: 6.2L LS3 V8
Holly EFI Digital Fuel Injection Setup
Transmission: Tremec T-56 6 Speed Manual
Miles: 800
Price: $74,900
A restomod(restored and modified) muscle car can be one exciting vehicle to own. Take those fine vintage looks and restore them back to health with some subtle modifications on the in and outside. Then replace all the bits that didn’t work too well on the old with better, modern equivalents, such as the engine, brakes and suspension. Basically, mixing the best of the old with the new.
There are many examples out there of restomods which have been built to a very high standard and guys which are renowned for this type of work, such as the Ring Brothers. But, and there’s always a but, unless you have had a car personally modified by a renowned builder, a restomod can be an unknown quantity. Build one yourself and the costs can easily spiral out of control. Buy one prebuilt and you have to go over it with a microscope to make sure everything works fine and includes everything it says in the package.
Because so much time and expense goes into one of these builds, it’s the usual course of action to buy one prebuilt. Mainly because all the time and expense has already been invested and it’s rare, they can make a profit, especially someone’s done it themselves. So let’s have a look at this gleaming white 1968 Camaro which has had the restomod treatment.
This Camaro is going for $74,900 and as per the ad., has had ‘Over $100,000 into mechanical build and parts alone not counting body shop build costs.’ and also the, ‘insurance replacement cost is well over $150k.’ That’s a huge loss if correct, but also somebody else’s gain.
The exterior has been completely restored in Arctic White, with what they say are ‘Ring Brothers touches’ like door handles, hood hinges and sill plates being changed. This implied the touches being influenced by the Ring Brothers rather than they had any dealings with the build itself.
It has a completely redone interior, US Mags Wheels wrapped in Newer Radials, Wilwood 4-Wheel Disc Brakes, push button alarm and start system and a lowered stance with adjustable coil over suspension up front and classic shocks on the back. Under the hood is a LS3 V8 engine with LS7 aluminum heads, performance roller rocker setup and new injection system going through a Tremec T-56 6 speed manual transmission. All with only 800 miles on the clock.
So, all a bits sound top-notch, plenty of money invested and it’s also being sold by a reputable dealer. In other words, if something goes wrong with the car, there is some comeback. But is it a worthy purchase?
On one hand, it’s a custom Camaro which has had tons of money invested. Far more than the asking price of what you could build yourself. Virtually everything is new and it should provide years of driving pleasure. On the other hand there’s a lot of trust that the car will function as it should, so it will need somebody very knowledgeable to give it a good inspection to make sure everything is correct.
Restomods aren’t for the fainthearted. You really need to know what you are buying into and if everything is correct. If this Camaro checks out in all areas, it can save you a bag of money. If it’s also to your taste, as these type of vehicles are always built to somebody’s specifications, it’s a more cost-effective way of getting a custom build.
Muscle car restomods can be some of the finest vehicle art around with performance to match. They can also be very cost-effective, but also as a custom build need an inspection to make sure problems don’t arise in the future. This means that this Camaro is a worthy buy as long as it ticks a lot of boxes.
If money is no object, then go for it, as this is one tasty looking ride.
The car is currently for sale at canyon state classics.com, Tempe, AZ 85281
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