Barn Find 1993 Camaro is Red Hot in More Ways Than One
Tyler Hoover’s fourth gen Camaro is literally off to a fiery start after ten years in a garage, but things look good so far.
The 4th gen Camaro introduced a rounded oddity back in 1993. Almost thirty years later, the design continues to stand out as distinctive. That’s probably why so many of us are still out there with their 4th gens, modding the hell out of them. Additionally, it’s why unmolested examples are such cool finds.
One such find enabled Tyler Hoover of Hoovie’s Garage to talk about what it takes to revive a car that’s been sitting for ten years. In short, a heck of a lot of diagnosing and replacing super old components. Fortunately, the Camaro breathed new life by the end of the video.
Dormant Camaro
Eagle-eyed Hoover fans might have actually spotted this Camaro before it made its official debut. In a post about his problematic Mercedes 500E, Hoover ventured out to a friend’s junkyard to find some spare parts. The Camaro was sitting on a flatbed, looking good as new. Clearly, Hoover was smitten with the car and ultimately decided to purchase it.
And for good reason. The car is an excellent find. “The story goes that original owner got it new as a high school graduation present, drove it for many years. But then parked it in his garage, quit driving it, got busy, and then it wouldn’t start. And there it sat for more than ten years,” says Hoover.
According to the registration sticker, 2010 was the last time that it was registered. Fortunately, the car, despite having 80,000 miles, is in showroom condition, at least cosmetically. “I can’t find a mark or single defect on it. I mean look at these seats! When is that last time you’ve seen an early fourth gen this clean.” says Hoover. The man has a point. It is a seriously good looking car. The original owner definitely kept it garaged for most, if not all of its life.
A Fiery Start
Hoover generally starts his videos at his house before heading over to his mechanic. In this case, he is already there, because the car needed to be towed to the garage. That’s what happens when a car sits for over ten years! The guys take stock of the Camaro and install a new battery. This process is basically just a trial-and-error process to see what works and what doesn’t. Their initial attempt to start the Chevy doesn’t work despite some starter fluid, although the car clearly did want to turn over. They conclude that it must be the fuel keeping the car from starting.
Once they get the car lifted to drain the fuel and install a new fuel pump, the guys look over the bottom of the car. Turns out the car had some modifications like some frame strengthening and beefier brakes. Unfortunately, the fuel tank needs a whole bunch of stuff removed before they can replace the pump. Even worse is the fuel filler neck. It is a single piece unit that hampered their efforts considerably. “Look at all that scraping and rubbing. Just because this won’t flex,” says Hoover. Once everything is sort of put back together, they use some starter fluid again but the car backfired and literally caused two small fires. They’re quickly extinguished, but the guys call it a day.
Back to Life
Without Hoover, the car got revived. Turns out the injectors were gummed up by the bad gas and after a through cleaning the car started right up. That allowed Hoover to take it out for a brief spin and burn some rubber. Then he went back into the shop, where he promptly received a $1,300 bill for everything done to the Camaro so far.
But it’s hardly bad news. “Well $1,300 dollars is a lot of money, but I just got to be in high school again and that felt so good,” says Hoover. The project will require an additional expenditures to be sure, but as of right now it seems like the Camaro is in good shape for a car that’s sat for ten years. Make sure to check out the whole video to see the Camaro burn some fluid and some rubber.