1973 Chevrolet Camaro

TYPE LT / RS Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

1S87K3N153489

Gasoline

Here we have a very rare example of one of the most popular cars to ever come out of Detroit. THE SPLIT BUMPER CAMARO! Many have been cloned over the years but this is the REAL DEAL! The previous owner has had this car in dry storage for many years. He finally decided that he was getting too old to do anything with it & I was fortunate enough to purchase the car. Due to the rare options & color combo of this Camaro, I had planned to restore the car for myself but things have changed. Problems with my business partner have forced me to down size my car collection so here it is.... with NO RESERVE! This is a true 1973 Camaro Type LT / RS that has remained untouched for nearly 40 years. I did give the body a good coat of sealer to prevent any further deterioration until restoration could begin. I also added a set of 17" Torque Thrust wheels since I have been using this car as my driver for the last several weeks. But other than that.... this Chevy is totally original & untouched! I still have the original RS Rally wheels & caps. They are included with the car. As many of you know, the Super Sport or SS was dropped for the 73 year model. It was replaced with the Type LT. The Type LT was essentially the same package as the SS of previous years. The LT had several options such as full instrumentation (including factory tach), additional bright work, styled rally wheels & most importantly, additional performance engine & transmission options. The LT package was denoted by the letter S as the second character in the VIN. You will notice that the VIN of this amazing Camaro is in fact an S. On top of being an LT, this 73 was ordered with the Z-22 Rally Sport Package! The RS package gives you several trim options along with the single stick rachetting gear shifter, the Hide-A-Way windshield wipers & the famous Split Front Bumper front end treatment. 1973 was the last year for this option. Federal front impact requirements made it very hard for GM to get the Bumperettes to pass for 73. Chevolet's engineers had to totally redesign the front end of these cars & add many additional support structures. This was only done on the 1973 RS. For this reason, the 1973 RS is nearly impossible to clone (unlike the 70-72 which are commonly cloned & thus less valuable). The pieces necessary to do a correct clone on a 73 simply do not exist. They are not reproduced by GM or any aftermarket companies. That makes attempted clones easy to spot. Most clones will have long rectangle turn signal lenses under the bumperettes on each side valance. This is not correct & is a dead givaway that the car was born with a one piece front bumper & is not a real RS. A real RS has no lenses in the front valance. Instead, the turn signal lenses are found between the headlights & the grille & are completely round. Also very distinctive on an RS is the polyurethane grille surround. This is not found on a non-Rally Sport car. These grille surrounds are reproduced but due to the added structure which is needed for it's installation on a 73, it's nealy impossible to make it fit on a non-RS. So the 73 is the RS to have. It's the last year & the only year that's not cloned. Since the RS package is not denoted by the VIN or on the Body Tag, many many 70-72 cars have been cloned in an effort to try & make them worth more money. It is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a real 70-72 RS & a good 70-72 RS clone. You will not have that problem with this 1973 LT/RS. You can tell by the VIN that it is a real Type LT. You can tell by the presence of all the correct factory original Rally Sport componants that this is a REAL RS. Right down to the R/S specific grille with rubber vertical center bar. This correct grille is something else that is not reproduced & the one in this car is perfect. Chevrolet built right around 96,000 Camaros for the 1973 year model. That sounds like a lot of cars but it is really a very small number. For example, Chevy built just over 1 million 1968 Impalas. Over ten times as many! Out of the 96,000 Camaros built in 1973, only 32,300 were Type LT cars. There were only 11,364 Camaros built in 1973 that were RS split bumper cars. That makes the 73 RS extremely rare. More rare even than a 1967 GT500 Shelby Mustang! The Rally Sport package could be ordered on any Camaro in 73, from a base 6 cylinder car, to a base V8 car, to a Type LT car, all the way to a Z28. You could get the package on anything but with only 11,364 RS's total.... I wonder how many were put on Type LT Camaros like this one? I would bet, not very many at all. This is truly a low production car. And to find one that is untouched, numbers matching, highly optioned & drivable! There can't be more than a handful left anywhere in the world. OPTIONS- As you can see, this 73 is loaded. It is an LT. It is an RS. It has factory power steering which works great. It has factory power disc brakes which work great. It has factory A/C & every single componant is in it's place with the exception of the belt. The compressor spins freely, the clutch feels good & there is even a little charge left in the system. I would guess the a/c would work with the addition of a new belt. Everything on this car works! From the Hide-A-Way wipers, to the blinkers, to the brake lights, to the heater, to the blower motor, to the full factory instrumentation. (clock, fuel gauge, amp meter, temp gauge, speedo, TACH) Even the cigarette lighter & radio still work. All of the interior lights work. The Key In Ignition Buzzer works. Everything! I have not looked for the build sheet yet. Since the car is so original, I figure it will turn up during restoration. A build sheet is really not necessary on this car since everything is still in it's place. You can see what options it came with. There is no guess work with this car. I did decode the VIN & Body tags. Below is what I found. Vin 1S87K3N153489 (1 denotes Chevrolet) (S denotes LT) (87 denotes 2 door coupe) (K denotes L-48 350ci 4bbl V8) (3 denotes 1973) (N denotes Norwood assembly plant) (153489 is the sequence number for the Norwood plant). The Body tag reads- ST73 1FS87 N 092246BDY TR 785 A51 74 H PNT 03D C 40278 1st line= (ST73 denotes 1973) (1FS denotes Chevrolet LT) (N denotes Norwood) (092246 is an in house production number & means very little) 2nd line= (TR is short for trim) (785 denotes black interior with white hounds tooth accented cloth seats) (A51 denotes front bucket seats) (74 denotes dark red paint) (H denotes red vinyl top) (PNT is short for paint) 3rd line= (03 denotes March build date) (D denotes 4th week of the month build date) 4th line= I can find no information on what this letter/number means. Most notable about the Body tag info is the color combo. This car was originally painted Dark Red Metallic. A very rare color which is almost a deep ruby red. Then it was topped with a matching Dark Red vinyl top! I have only seen a few Camaros with a red top & they where all white cars. I have never seen a red on red car, or even heard of one! It would have to be a beautiful Camaro. Then the black interior with cloth black & White hounds tooth buckets! Another very rare find on a 2nd gen camaro. BODY- As I said above, this car is virtually untouched. Every piece of sheet metal on this Camaro is original. What you see is what the car rolled off the line with. There are no replacement panels. There are no patch panels. No areas of heavy filler or prior repair. No evidence of any type of prior collision. All seams & panel gaps are small & uniform. All of the hinges & latches work as they should. There is absolutely no door sag. It is easy to see that this is a Low Mileage, NO HIT body. It does appear to have been resprayed one time, many many years ago but definately not due to an accident. No one has tried to restore this car in the past. Nothing is hiding under someones previous body work & paint. What you see is what is there. There are no surprises with this Camaro. Originally a Central Florida car, this Chevrolet is structurally solid but does need some typical sheet metal repair. Starting with the front working back....this is what I see. The under bumper valance on the driver's side has a rust hole about the size of a golf ball. The passenger side is solid. The front grille/headlight valance is solid. Both front fenders are very striaght & solid with the exception of the lower 3-4 inches behind the front tires. The hood is completely solid & straight. The radiator core support is straight & solid. Both front inner fenders are solid though there is a small amount of rust right under the battery tray. Both front frame rails are rust free & straight. The firewall is solid & uncut. The windshield wiper cowl is solid. Both doors are solid. Both door openings on the body itself are solid but due to some heavy surface corossion, there are a few pin holes. There is pitting in various areas around the car. Both inner & outer rocker panels are solid. Since this was a vinyl top car, there is rust through in the roof skin in several areas ranging from pin holes to fist size. However, amazingly there appears to be no rot around the windshield or back glass! The damage is confined to the flat portions of the roof. Roof skins are available for these cars & if you are going to do a restoration or custom minus the vinyl top, you will need to install a new skin. If you are going to go back with a vinyl top, the rust holes can be fiberglassed & covered over with the new vinyl. The trunk lid is solid & straight. The trunk weather stripping lip is totally solid which is very rare. The trunk pan does have some pitting but is solid & has no holes at all. The rear shock hump is solid. The trunk drop offs are solid. The rear taillight panel is solid which is also very rare for a 2nd generation Camaro. Both outer quarters have heavy surface rust pitting & the passenger side has rust out in the lower protion of the quarter skin. Depending on how far you are wanting to go.... both of these quarters could be patched & saved... or both quarter skins could be replaced at a very reasonable price since the inner quarters & support structures are rust free. Underneath is also very solid for an unrestored Camaro. As I said, both front frame rails are rust free. Both rockers are rust free. And amazingly both rear frame rails are totally rust free & solid! Virtually every 2nd gen Camaro I have ever seen has had rot or patches in the rear frame rails. This one does not! All of the body braces look good. The transmission tunnel looks good. The only issue I see is with the flat part of the floorpans themselves. All four have rust to some degree, from pin holes to large holes. These areas can be patched up or replacement panels can be purchased from countless suppliers & easily installed. Again, this is an overall solid car. Sure it needs some work but keep in mind that you are not going behind someone else trying to correct what they have done. Often times when you buy a classic vehicle, it looks great until the previous work starts showing it's age. Then you end up putting many hours of work into clearing away someone elses shotty repairs, just so you can see all of the work you have to do to get the car back like it should be. With this rare Camaro, you do not have that problem. You can see everything that needs to be done right now. This is a straight forward job & when you finish it.... YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE! INTERIOR- The interior is also complete & 100% original. It looks bad in the pictures but please try to look past the ripped seat fabric. Both the front & back seats are in great shape. The foam supports are all good. The springs & framing are all good. All of the latches & slides work as they should. The only problem with the seats is the ripped original black & white hounds tooth cloth which is easy enough to replace. The headliner is there & even the dome light still works but the liner should be replaced. The door panels are original & very nearly perfect. The rear side panels are in very good condition. The center console is in very good condition. The dash cover does have a little curl around the top edge but is very salvagable. All of the instrument panel trim, ac/heat controls, bezels, accents etc... are in their proper place & in good condition. The original black carpet is present but should be replaced. Overall the interior of this rare Camaro is in a great unrestored state & every piece of it is here. The side glasses are good. The back glass is good. The windshield is cracked but intact. DRIVETRAIN- Everything powering this car is original & matching. Judging by how well this car runs & how tight it drives, I would be willing to bet that the 85,000 miles showing are correct. This LT/RS is equipped with the L-48 350ci 4bbl V8. This was the highest powered engine option you could get in a non Z28 Camaro. The engine runs very well. It's obvious that it's never been into & everything is 100% original right down to the air cleaner housing & exhaust manifolds. (Usually the 1st thing to be changed on a motor) There are a few oil leaks from the 40 year old seals but the internal seem to be very much like new. The engine fires right up from cold & does not tick, smoke, miss, stumble, rattle, knock, NOTHING! You can drive the car all day & it never overheats or gives any other problems at all. The TH350 automatic transmission also appears to be the original. It performs flawlessly. No one has messed with it. No stall convertors. No shift kits. Totally untouched & original, right down to the factory single stick high performance rachetting shifter! The original rear end is nice & tight & very quiet. It has a ratio of 3.08:1 which is perfect for drving on today's roadways. You can cruise at 70 down the freeway without any strain on your engine. MISC- I have been driving this car daily for short distances without issue but it has been in storage for several years. I would suggest doing a complete tune-up & service before taking this Camaro on any long trips. With a good tune-up, I feel this L-48 350 will run as good as it did in 1973. Also, the trim pieces you see missing from the sides of the vehicle ARE included. I have every single piece of trim for this car. The aftermarket tires & wheels you see on the car in the pictures ARE NOT included with this auction. I borrowed them from one of my other cars while I was using this Camaro as my driver. The factory original styled Rally wheels & tires will be put back on the car prior to shipping or pick-up. All four rallies & center caps are in great shape. The tires are all in good condition & do not leak down. This Camaro was even ordered with a matching Rally spare which is also included. TITLE- I do have the FL title from the previous owner. It was issued to him when he bought this Chevrolet way back in 1982! BIDDING- Please only bid what you are prepared to pay for this very rare Camaro. Anyone wishing to inspect the car or have the car inspected is welcome to do so, but inspections must be completed prior to bidding & prior to auction's end. If you have little or no feedback please do not bid without first sending me your contact info through the ASK SELLER A QUESTION link in this listing so that we can speak on the phone prior to you placing your bid. I have encountered a couple of crooks/ scammers here on eBay who have cost me both time & money. This will no longer be tolerated so if you are not a SERIOUS buyer, PLEASE MOVE ON. All members with a genuine interest in this Chevrolet are more than welcome to ask questions. All will be answered promptly. If you look at my feedback comments you will see that all of the REAL buyers have been very happy after dealing with me. Many of the comments are from people who have been very happy with classic cars, street rods, motorcycles & diesel trucks they have bought from me. I have sold to satisfied buyers all over the world! I know you will love this car. SHIPPING- Shipping costs & arrangements are the responsibility of the buyer. However, I have assisted buyers & their shippers in the pickup of several vehicles over the years. I can recommend several shippers who have performed well for buyers in the past but you will have to make your own arrangements with them. I will work with you & your shipper so that they can get this car to you as fast & cost effectively as possible. However, no matter where you live,or how you choose to pay, the point of sell will be here in GEORGIA as that is where I live & where the vehicle is located. As always, you are more than welcome to pick this car up in person. I will be happy to pick you up at the Atlanta Airport or local Amtrac station, free of charge, if you would like to drive this Camaro home or rent a U-Haul truck & trailer to haul it with. * This is a TRUE auction! * NO RESERVE! * Low starting bid! * You set the price! * Bid what you think the car is worth to you! * If you are the high bidder at the end... YOU WIN! This is the kind of Camaro that you hear about but never see. It is a highly optioned, totally original, unrestored, LT/RS that came in what has to be the rarest color combination. The car needs a total restoration to be like new again but this project is not taken apart in a bunch of boxes. Everything is in it's correct, original location & best of all......... you can get in this car, hit the key & drive away. This car is so original that even the door locks, trunk lock & iginition all work as they should using their original keys. The 1969 RS/SS is the car to have from the 1st generation of Camaros. It's the last year of the 1st gens & has all the options that everyone wants. The 1973 LT/RS is the car to have from the 2nd generation of Camaros. This car is the last year for the 2nd gens & also has all the options you could ever want. Remember LT replaced SS for the 1973 year model. LT/RS is the same as RS/SS! You could pay $20,000 - $30,000 or more for a car that someone else has built & hope they did a good job, hope it's not a clone & hope that their work will last. Or you can buy this very rare, very REAL Camaro for a small fraction of the cost. Then build it your way & KNOW your car is the real deal & built right. Thanks for your interest. I hope you win! JD This vehicle is being sold as is, where is with no warranty, expressed written or implied. The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage. Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and to have satisfied himself or herself as to the condition and value and to bid based upon that judgement solely. The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyer's request prior to the close of sale. Seller assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle. Jurisdiction over this sale & any related matters is now & shall forever remain exclusive to Jackson County Georgia.