It used to be that second-gen Camaros, especially ones made after 1973, were a cheap entry point to having a fun hot rod. Not anymore, sadly…a quick peruse through the classifieds will tell two tales: one of restored cars or quality finds that are now worth five digits, and the other of the super-beaters, the cars that are hammered to their wits’ end and are pretty much suitable for either a full restoration by someone with the funds to back it up, a race car shell, or as a parts donor. If the whole mullet/redneck/disco stigma doesn’t bother you, then snapping up a second-gen Camaro of any year is a good score: they can be made to handle, they look fairly decent, they clean up well, have a good amount of restoration parts available, and the one major knock against them, a weak-suck powerplant, is a stupidly easy thing to fix…especially if California goes ahead and shoves the whole smog-law year limit to 1980. Now would be the time to jump on finding a car, before the previously forbidden fruit becomes accessible.

But your bank account is low, you aren’t in the mood to completely restore a car, yet you really, really want a second-gen Camaro. Dude, don’t worry…BangShift is here to help your broke ass out! We’re good like that. Take this 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Type LT. From the start: ignore the mailbox affixed to the hood and calm down about that whole “another person’s project” thing…that’s nothing. Here’s what you’re getting: a 383 stroker Chevy-powered car that will be fun to bomb around in so long as all eight cylinders fire off when they are supposed to, hooked to an automatic. The trim ring around the shifter is gone and the almost prerequisite speaker holes are in the door panels, but if that’s the only knock for the inside, consider yourself lucky…we’ve seen interiors the Centers for Disease Control would burn on site in Camaros costing a few thousand dollars more. The black paint looks workable, a hood isn’t that hard to find or buy and as for the wheels and tires…that’s your discretion, pal.

You’ve got five thousand dollars in your hand. Pick up the car, locate a hood, spend a few bucks shooting it black, and you might end up with enough cash to cover a Z28 stripe kit. It’s a better-than-a-beater Camaro that isn’t selling for stupid money…have fun and throw on a little period-correct flash. You can restore it when Barrett-Jackson is selling them at six figures.

Craigslist Link: 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Type LT