Sunday, December 7, 2014

Just cause you think it's the Cats meow, doesn't mean it's worth a mint....

Saw an ad on the Internet for a 1971 Camaro SS396. It was a 4-speed, and it was immaculate, and fully doumented. However-the seller wanted $75,000 for it!!!  Hello?  It's an LS3 396 / 402 with 8.5:1 compression,a hydraulic cam, an iron manifold with a Quadrajet, and a rating of 300 gross hp, which was lowered to 240 net hp for 1972 for the exact same engine. It's a truck / station wagon engine, Which was used in Millions of Monte Carlos, Impalas, and pickups in that era. It's not an 11:1, solid lifter, rectangular port head, aluminum manifold, / 780 Holley high performance motor like the vaunted L78. Excuse me? I've seen people asking the same or less money for documented LS6 454 Motion cars, or documented 427 Yenko cars!!!  I've seen people asking less for SD-455 / 4-speed Trans-Ams!!!  A rare turd, is still a turd. Honestly I can buy a beater 1970-81 Camaro for 3 grand in any state in the union and for 6 grand more stuff a 454HO in it and have a badass Camaro that runs 12s or 11s with a little shot of nitrous. If I can have an 11 second Camaro for nine grand, why would I pay 75K for one that can't break out of the 15s???  Because it's "Rare?"  It's "rare" for a reason! No one wanted to buy the overpriced, underpowered piece of shit when it was new!!!  For the same or less money they wanted for this ill-handling "truck motored" Camaro, you could get a Z/28 which had a fire-breathing LT1 350 with a solid-lifrer cam,"202" heads, an aluminum manifold and a 780 Holley that would rev to 7 grand and make power all the way there!! You could buy a Pontiac Trans-Am that had a 455HO with RAIV heads and intake, an "068" cam and a "Rock Crusher" for the same money!! You could buy a Charger or Challenger with a 385 hp 440 / Six Pack, or a 425 hp 426 Hemi!!  So, yeah-no one bought this 240 net hp " truck motored"  turd. Just because it's immaculate doesn't make it worth a mint. Is a 403 Olds/ TH350, 2.41 geared '79 T/A that's mint, worth more than a 1978 WS6, 400 Pontiac, 4-speed, 3.42 geared, documented, one of 203 Mecham "Macho T/A's" that needs a little work?  Or a 1973 Formula 455??  It was a nice car-but it wasn't a Yenko or Motion car-and in my mind not worth $75,000. It wasn't anything special-I mean you can buy Shelby Mustangs or Hemi 'Cudas or Boss 302s for 75 k!!  And this guy wants this king's ransom for a garden-variety Camaro?  To each his own. Mastermind

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