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Will This Camaro's V8 Start After 27 Years? A Bottle of Starting Fluid Is Involved

Leaving a vehicle to sit for 27 years will leave a mark on it. As we have seen before in other barn finds, a vehicle deteriorates heavily if it spends many years just sitting somewhere. Even if that place is a storage unit, the status of the vehicle will not be significantly better, as an engine will suffer damage when stored improperly.
305-cui V8 motor under the hood of 1988 Camaro IROC-Z 16 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by LegitStreetCars
1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unitYou do not want to see this happening when removing an oil filterYou do not want to see this happening when removing an oil filterYou do not want to see this happening when removing an oil filterYou do not want to see this happening when draining the oil1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit1988 Camaro IROC-Z found in abandoned storage unit
Last week, we wrote about a 1988 Camaro IROC-Z that was left in a storage unit back in 1995 and then bought with the unit a quarter of a century later. Instead of a restoration or some attempt of repair, the vehicle was left under a tarp in a driveway for two years. From that point, its latest owner acquired it. Maybe its owner should have let it go in 1995.

It was clear that the vehicle would have some issues, but the biggest concern was the state of the 305-cid V8. Was the 5.0-liter unit damaged before the vehicle was parked in the storage unit? If so, how bad was the damage in question? The new owner of the vehicle, Alex of LegitStreetCars, set out to find the true condition of the engine.

The first step is something that could have been done on the spot, right before the acquisition – checking the oil level. That, along with a visual inspection of the inner part of the oil cap, might have told a story of the condition of the engine. Oil is the blood of the engine, and without it, or with dirty oil, an engine is on its way out.

Second, if the engine has oil, you must also figure out if it is seized or not, and gently applying force is crucial, as piston rings could irreparably damage the cylinder walls if they have become stuck to the latter after many years of no use.

As a reference, we looked for a 305-cid V8 engine on a few websites, and we managed to find an example that had an unknown condition after being stored for the past decade. The 5.0-liter motor was priced at $699, which is almost half of what the new owner of this Camaro paid for it last week.

With that in mind, you can watch Alex attempt to start the old V8 and see if there is any damage. We already know that the body has seen better days, but a destroyed engine may lead to a different strategy for this project.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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