by There will always be something fascinating about barn find cars. While the patina resulting from years of neglect can sometimes tell a clear story, there comes a point where miscare becomes vehicular torture. This 1984 Chevrolet Corvette has had more than enough over the years, after being carported by its owner for about 25 years. Thanks to YouTuber Stauffer Garage, we have the chance to see this C4 Corvette return to a semblance of Radwood-era glory.
After the C3 Corvette had plodded along for 14 long years during the height of the Malaise era, the C4 generation would arrive in 1984. The sports car used an all-new chassis and came with thoroughly modern styling to match. Under the hood was a 5.7-liter L83 V-8 engine, originally shipped for the 1982 model year. Thanks to the Cross-Fire throttle body injection system, the V-8 was good for 205 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. Not impressive by modern standards, but a real improvement over its predecessor’s 190 hp and 280 lb-ft. While the reason why the car is parked is not shared in the video, this injection system is known to bring owners modern times. This particular Corvette was also equipped with the Doug Nash 4+3 4-speed manual transmission. Other than a set of Ferrari-esque five-spoke wheels, the car appears to be largely covered in grime.
The detailing process on this Corvette begins with a vacuum to remove excess leaves and debris from the fiberglass body. Things clear up pretty quickly under the hood, with the degreaser treatment doing a great job of highlighting the fancy intake runners. From there, the Corvette is treated to the first pass of the pressure washer, which removes some of the grime from the surface. At this point it becomes clear that the paint on this particular car has seen some better days, with plenty of swirls and clear coat issues. Anyway, the car is treated to a combination of foam cannon and clay bar, making it look as presentable as possible.
It’s different inside, where according to Stauffer Garage the smell was quite intense. There is plenty of evidence of rodents living in the car, ranging from feces to complete skeletal remains. Not the sort of thing you want to find in your sports car. Taking the carpets out for a deep cleaning is a good start, but a replacement set could be worth the investment. The rest of the oh so eighties interior cleans up quite a bit, complete with all its switches and hard controls. The first transformation pretty much speaks for itself, and hopefully this car won’t have to wait another 25 years to enjoy it again.
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