We have seen our fair share of “barn finds” - cars that have been left abandoned for years out of neglect or because the owner was prevented by outside forces to cater for it. This “yeller” 1980 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is not in the worst-ever condition possible, but it was still quite far-fetched to register it for a burnout competition before even purchasing it...
If you ask any Chevrolet Corvette aficionado, if the car was good from the get-go, it’s actually quite hard to keep it down. Even if the yellow (or yeller - as Derek, the host from the Vice Grip Garage YouTube channel, calls it) ‘Vette got covered in lots of grass, bugs, and God knows what else...
According to the story shared by the host itself – one of the most laid-back bearded guys we have come across the world wide web recently – the Stingray was acquired thanks to a tip from a channel fan. It was sitting dormant for years on a vacant lot in Tennesse... and seemed like the perfect fit for a burnout competition.
Yeah, it turns out the new owner decided to go racing with it even before getting it back up to the garage. And it wasn’t even running when the idea came out – which is a statement to both his confidence in tinkering skills, as in his good nature... and penchant for talking to himself for long periods of time!
By the way, this is a little series in development – as there are already three episodes dedicated to the 1980s sports car. All of them are quite lengthy, but we suspect that you’ll get hooked to his chilled nature and way of getting stuff done in no time. Actually, better check out the videos (embedded below) in sequence, because the first one is also the most palatable.
And by that we mean there’s a tasting of the motor oil, rhetorical questions (“Is it in neutral, I guess we’ll find out...”), and a magical process of getting the engine back to life in just a few hours of work. The other two then involve the 84k miles L82 engine, four-speed manual transmission, and the rest of the body getting in working order for that burnout challenge.
Be sure that you’ll have everything – including a window of opportunity (two days) to install a Weiand/Holley 142 blower, Holley carburetor, and other nice perks on the ‘Vette... as well as some supercharger success while other motor parts fail spectacularly...
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News