After spending a week in Monterey for Car Week, I felt like getting back to basics with my Pick of the Day. I have owned a few Camaros over the year with my personal favorite being the all-original 1974 model I bought in 1997 for the princely sum of only $2,500. Yes, that is a car I definitely should have kept, but who knew what people would pay now one of those cars back then. I will say that the facelift of the second generation Camaros makes them great cars for their era, offering performance, great looks, decent handling, and a comfortable passenger compartment. They are also fun to drive, reliable, and both easy and inexpensive to maintain.
My Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro offered on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Ramsey, Minnesota.
The seller describes this car as a 1977 Camaro equipped with a 350ci V8 backed by a 4-speed manual transmission, something that became more rare in the mid to late 1970s. They call it a super fun car to drive and add that this car has only covered 32,841 miles from new.
They state that the body is very solid and straight, and I saw no evidence of rust in the provided photos. They add that the paint has a nice shine to it, but also disclose that you can see some flaws (light paint, small dings) in places. Overall it looks like a really nice example. I personally like the look of these cars, especially the small taillights as well as the bumper and grill treatment. It has a bit of a European flair.
The listing adds that the tires and rims are in good shape. The wheels are aftermarket and the one thing I would do is swap for some Cragar wheels, which I feel look better on these cars.
The interior looks to be original and in truly excellent condition. The seller adds that the wipers, headlamps, and the blower motor all work, however the radio does not. The stock radio is pretty awful anyway and fixing it is not expensive if you want to stay with the stock.
Under the hood looks to be correct and reasonably clean. Overall this looks like a Camaro that has been cared for but also driven. The underside is the same and probably as clean as my 1974 was when I got it.
No it’s not a show car for a big national GM event, but instead a really nice driver that with some pointless dent removal, is a car you would be proud to take to a local show. The asking price of $17,980 is reasonable and at that price this car delivers a lot of value for the dollar.
What I would do is get the car, replace the wheels and radio, slide in an Ozzy CD, and take it for a 150 mile drive. This Camaro is the perfect time machine back to the 70s and 80s.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com