Wake Up Call!

What it takes to bring back to life a pair of Q-jets and the Corvettes stored underneath them for decades

 

- Jim Smart

Aren’t barn and garage finds wonderful? A diamond in the rough sitting there lost to another time. The good news is you found them and you have an opportunity to have a lifetime’s experience. In truth, there are a lot of them to be found out there. They were hot rodded, blown up, smashed in accidents and many times just parked; put away for another day and then forgotten.

The downside of a garage find is the deterioration caused by the vehicle sitting around for a long time. Much like we humans … use it or lose it applies to vehicles, too. Most garage finds are in pretty bad shape and haven’t been protected from the elements. We know what these elements are: freezing, thawing, humidity, dust and dirt on the wind and ozone and other the elements in the air that make things age. It all finds its way to a stored automobile, even in an enclosed garage. These gems have been sitting for so long, sometimes for decades, to where it’s challenging to get them running again. Some are beyond salvageable and must be torn apart because, unless they have been stored in a dry environment out of the weather, chances are good they are rusted and seized up internally. Game over.