BARN FIND 1979 Camaro - Will It Run And Drive After Sitting for Years? 

Subscribe for part 2! What do you think on this Camaro?

That Camaro had an excellent owner. No rust and mechanically sound kudos to them for taking care of it. Looking forward to the previous owner seeing their pride and joy rolling back on the road. Dylan, you rock brother!

A little Dylan McCool content to watch during the work hours. Thanks as always Dylan

I had a '78 and I miss it terribly. So glad you are resurrecting this!

I would change out the Heater Core , I would bet it is leaking and that is why the floor on the passenger side is rusted out , plus there is a good chance there is a mouse nest in there and it will make your car smell terrible every time you use the heater . I am glad you will be giving the owner a chance to see his beautiful Camaro on the road again , Cheers

You seem like a really nice guy and i am sure you are sitting by good people. Stage four cancer is a terrible thing to happen to anyone. Just wondering if your friends might consider something like cleaning out the garage to help ease the burden on the family? Hope to see you, Kevin, Luke and Mook get together again up here in Iowa one more time.

Second generation Camaros are my favorite! I am a Chevy guy, but I love the Mopar’s as well. So happy to see this video. Can’t wait for the next one on it! Great job!

Cool ride! I have a '81, it's nice to see these popping up more

I just found your channel recently but have been binging your content since I found it. I gotta say, you seem like a genuinely great person. You are mature well beyond your years and I can't get enough of these videos. I recently lost my Dad, so watching you with your Dad is therapeutic in a way. Can't wait to see how this beautiful beast turns out!

Hey Dylan: Good job restoring the '79 Camaro especially after clearing out the exhaust which got the rig running much smoother... Just goes to show that you just can't kill a Chevy...From the home of PB Blaster Silicone spray... Cleveland, Ohio........

I had a 79 for a few years, bought it from a co-workers brother who ordered it new from the factory with a 350, close ratio 4speed manual, a posi rear end. It was built in the age of 55 mph speed limit, so at 70, it turned like 3,000 rpm! Kinda busy at highway speeds. It was a hardtop, AM/FM 8track stereo that worked! Bought a couple of tapes off Ebay, Van Halen II, and blew people's minds when they saw/heard that! Had plans to do stuff to it, and owned it like 10 years, then life got in the way and actually sold it back to my co-worker! Kinda full circle!

Man, that thing is so 80s, I love it. I guess you have to be born in that era to truly appreciate them. Can't wait to see it cleaned up 🤙🏻

This brings back memories. My first car was a brand new, off the lot, 1979 Camaro Ralley-Sport 4 speed, T-Top, Silver with Black Hood and stripes. :-) :-) Thank you for the content :-)

Dylan God Bless You and the family! In prayers for the gent battling cancer. I pray he has given his life to God. An amazing Camaro for sure! What a blessing it runs so well.

Back in the smog pump days I lived in Oklahoma and no one cared if it was there or not. I drove Fords at that time and always removed the pump. It was easy, a quarter inch plug for water pipe and take the pump and throw it away. A mechanic told me it took seven horse power to run that pump and I drove six cylinder F100 trucks and needed the seven horses.

I just got a 86 Camaro a couple weeks ago. 1 owner car. It has a 305, 4bbl, 10 bolt rear and 700r4 trans..got it running only changing the spark plugs and it’s fun to drive. It does the same one wheel peel but it is what it is…great video by the way looking forward to more so I can get some ideas with my project

I had a 78 Firebird, 305 auto.. primer gray. It was a single family car so it wasn't horribly abused but the grandkid got his hands on it and kinda messed up all the stuff that started to break. It was a fun car, we were all F-body boys in high school, 5 of us all had 70s Camaros or Firebirds.. I remember Jeff had the 3 speed manual, that was cool. It was fun back then. Pulled the AC, the smog pump, lost as much weight as possible. We all ended up with 2bbl 305s, nobody had a z28 or anything, nothing with any power, but they were FUN cars to have in High School!! Everyone liked us! (graduated in 96 so it was a different time back then, cost 18 bucks to fill from empty)

Oh, & BTW, the door handles are still available NOS. If the locks aren’t frozen, you can sometimes grab the back part of the handle & open it.

Great car,brother. My wife and I have a 79 trans am, we love this car, and I always wanted a smokey and the bandit car. I'm looking forward to watching your progress on this 79 camaro.

MAN that is a nice find!! Any time you see a car like this going down the road, you gotta stop and stare

You got sooooome timing man. Literally TOMORROW, I'm getting my girlfriends 78 Camaro running again, which has been sitting in her grandmothers barn since 2016. 🤣🤣freaky man. 😅

Can't wait to see it all cleaned up! I had a 74 Camaro back in my youth! Pretty good car but it must've been made with imported steel because that baby had rust blistering on both sides of the rear fender wells after just one year!! Kept it until 76 and then traded it in!!!

I own a 81 Camaro last of the f type nice cars Camaro has been the name brand in my family since the 67 Camaro they have a soft spot in my heart

Really like this generation of Camaros! Good to see you get her running and driving.

Those popsicle sticks are/were an old school trick to help with heat soak. Typically done with clothes pins though

I just traveled back to my high school days!!!!! A good friend had a 79 Camaro while I drove my 77 Triumph TR7. He beat me in the straights but I took him in the corners. Either way, what a great video sir..

Hay Dylan, watching from the uk 🇬🇧. Love this channel

Love those Camaros. I drive a ‘15 SS as my daily. Brings a smile to my face everyday. Cannot beat a small block Chevy. Fix her, clean her and send her down the road.

Awesome find Dylan! This is going to make one nice Roadsteration. I can't wait to see the clean up on this old girl. Cheers from Winnipeg MB, Canada.

The '78-'81 Camaros are my all time favorite! I've owned a '78 Type LT with the original 5.7 350/TH30 and an '81 Sport Coupe with a swapped in 6.6 400/TH400. I miss those cars so much and hope to own one again someday. For now, I love seeing videos like this bringing them back to life and on the road again!

The shift linkage going up to the column is all the same parts as for a column shift, the shift collar on the column even turns. The floor shifter is basically an add on. It was a pretty ingenious implementation, it saved having to redesign the column lock, neutral safety switch and shift indicator. A common problem on those cars is if the engine to body ground fails, all of the current will flow through the floor shifter cable which eventually causes it to fail at the most inopportune moment. It wasn't unusual to see them with the floor shifter cable broken and still being driven. You could just turn the collar on the steering column to shift the transmission.

love all the vintage rides from 1979....was a time when music and cars were seeming cool even if they weren't.

I fell in love with Camaros when I was a little boy growing up in the ‘70s and this generation was on the road. When the third gen came along in ‘82, my mind was blown. Bought an ‘86 Z28 about ten years ago, and I love it. Always does my heart good to see these old Camaros back on the road! Nice work!

14:29. Ha ha! A Hardcastle & McCormick moment. The 80s came back all of a sudden.

Nice Camaro! I've got an 80 Z28 I've been working on for a long time. Glad you are fixing it up and taking the previous owner out for a ride. The c word is an aweful disease. Look forward to the next episode @

Great project and yes keep the videos coming in it! The choke housing should have a spring inside it and there should be some heat tubes running to it from the intake that help it open as the engine warms up. Loosen the screws holding that black cover and you can adjust the tension on it. I just rebuilt the qjet on a 78 Z28 and that is how it functioned. Set your initial timing to 8-12 degrees. The timing mark may be at the 12:00 position too. It was on the 78 I worked on. About 32-36 degrees all in will be good! Best of luck with the Camaro!

Wow in 1987 I purchased a1979 Camaro at an auction in New Jersey in 1989 we moved to Arizona and drove it down from up state New York never had any problems with that car we sold it in 1995 and seen that car around town for years it was a awesome car

Oh man your stuff keeps getting better! Love it!

I had a 78 z28 and loved that car. Watch those door hinges. They are extremely heavy and very hard on the hinges. Those small blocks that vintage also were prone to bad valve seals

I got a Ford FE engine started after it had sat for 27 years. All I needed to do was put a Starter solenoid, some battery cables and a new battery in it. Oh and put some fresh gas in it. When it first started, the carb was flooding, but a few taps over the float valve fixed that. Still couldnt drive the truck home though. It had no brakes and the clutch was stuck. But I did get it to start and run. Now the truck is a good, reliable old truck.

Great to see you venture out beyond the mopars...

I did some of my driver's ed in a 1980 Camaro provided by a local dealer. I remember driving around the course set up in the school parking lot shifting the TH350 with the floor shifter feeling very sporty.

Build up a collection of GM and Mopar keys (don’t know about Ford). There were only 100 different keys for any given year and the patterns repeated every few years. As the locks wear, the number of combinations drops to about 25 for any given year. Get a few dozen and put them on a big ring and you’ll have decent odds of being able to start any car with a missing key. Case in point: a friend of mine had a 1966 Chrysler Newport, and he lost the keys. I still had the keys to my 85 LeBaron I had in high school (among a few other MOPAR keys). I took them over there and the key to the LeBaron started it up with a little jiggling of the key.

I'm glad you're able to get the doors off. The Dukes of Hazard method of entrance on the driver's side I'm certain is why the seat and door card show so much wear. My dad had a 79 Camaro as a demonstrator with a 350, and that car would scream. Have fun, and please bring her back to her original glory.

Your mentioning worn hinge pins reminded me of an '80 Malibu with the same 1000 lb. doors that I restored about 20 years ago. Only, I had to replace one of the doors and realign the hinges by myself. A garage jack under the door helped but it was still an ordeal.

My absolute dream car. Need more Camaro content

Driveline generally checks out OK, looks like it was never up North in the winter. Body pretty solid, interior POS. Pretty much normal for the age. Hard to believe no A/C! The big, broken muffler looks like an early Mustang. They also used an identical looking muffler, but with two inlets and two outlets, on cars with the 390 FE engines. Over all, this should be a pretty easy spruce up. I'm sure I've seen interior kits, and possibly you could get driver's seat only?? LR tire appeared to have a good size sidewall lump on the inside.

Oh this things going to be nice! Looking forward to pt 2!!!

Dylan in my opinion this car was definitely a really good investment. I am looking forward to next weeks episode where you put in more work on the car. I always look forward to your videos

I had a 1980 Berlinetta. Silver with blue interior. Built a tribute RS/Z28 with spoilers and fender flares. Stuffed 15x7 rally rims up front wrapped in 225/70R15s and 15x8 rally rims wrapped in 255/60R15s under the back. She was a head turner. But the 305ci. was tired after 200k miles. Spun a rod bearing and started to knock. Had every intention to pull the motor and drop in a 350. But the ex sold it to a junkyard for $100.

I feel new series is coming woah woah, my expectations are so high about this car!

That’s a nice find , and it’s my favorite body style for the old whip.

Love that you are fixing this Camaro. Can't wait to see the clean up video. This car will look beautiful when you're done with it.

I got to watch it now I gotta see that man smile😊

I among probably everyone here loves what you do. With that being said, when can we expect you to go 4K?

I'm a huge Camaro lover I've owned 10 of them over the years fun good looking cars thanks for the video

It’s crazy how clean cars are down there and man the purple tint lol sweet find!

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh Dylan I am so glad you are going all the way with this one!!!!!!

this one needs fully restored.

Great find!! That thing is loaded dirt dauber nests. Yikes. Good thing it's winter and they ain't home. Bet that old pellet converter is clogged. The neutral safety switch and back up light switch was still on the column, even with floor shift cars. The rod from column to trans linkage actuates that.

Just a tip for cleaning the windshield, don’t use windex! It’ll damage the UV layer and will basically turn your windshield into magnifying glass for the sun. With the tough grim on it dish soap and water and a little elbow grease will do the trick, and then the proper window cleaner! Otherwise amazing job!

Very funny video of you driving the Camaro with all the dirt and dust flying around !

Hey Dylan, awesome video!! My dad had an 80 Camaro, brings back great memories!!

Seriously where do you guys(you, Kevin, etc) find these barn finds?? I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE and can’t find anything good to save my life!! This is EXACTLY the kind of car (chevy’s, Pontiac’s, Buick, & Oldsmobile) I’ve been looking for!! I would have absolutely loved to have found this car!! Huge Camaro fan especially the 2nd Gens!! Great vid and I can’t wait to see her all finished up!!🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Good ole quad dra bog….I had a 79 berlinetta with the quad dra bog 350. Once it kicked it ran like a screaming dog. Brings back memories

The 79 camaro is my dream car. I just never have the time or money to go find and restore one.

I was 8 when that car was born 😊. If you had one of those in Highschool in the late 80's, you were King!

Sweet video on a ride I grew up with. Wanted one badly when I was in my teens.

Its a shame that guy has cancer.But i am sure he will be thrilled after your finished tweeking this old gem.Sad that he wont be around to use it like he did in the past.I am sure that he will have a smile ear to ear that will be hard to whipe away.God bless you Dylan for doing this.One day this will have a 383 crate engine under the hood.What a keeper of years old GM muscle.Thumbs up !!!!

Can't wait for you to fix that door. That stuff drives me crazy!

Tractor 🚜 update plz if you can. I loved that thing💪💪

My favorite gen camaro I would love a 75-77 one with 5mph bumpers good find on the camaro can never go wrong with an old school chevy small block

What an absolute nugget...so cool to see that vintage of GM vehicle start, run and drive so easily! What is your long-term plan with that thing? Rear-end swap, LS or 383, bigger wheels and modern tires? You can make those cars fast, and into a track weapon pretty easily...nice score, and thanks for sharing it with everyone!

i had a 79 camaro lady pulled out in front of me sad day loved that car .that body looks nice

i've always loved those camaros! small block chevy baby...cant kill em :)

Your so Lucky to find this car. Did you buy it. Or fixing for the owner? It started so easy. And will be a nice car. After some TLC. Thanks for sharing this video Dylan! 💯❤️

Now your talking!!!! Love these!!

Big fan of this car. My first real car was a 79 Firebird, so really love this second gen cars. Can’t wait to see it get a bath.

That's a great car I had a few of them and they are awesome 305 is okay they run good they just don't go very fast but they are reliable and not very good on gas good job keep on keeping on

My first car was 79 Camaro with radial tune suspension in brown = loved it

Love it! I would like to see it with a four barrel carburetor and manifold and some headers and exhaust system. Also a positrac rear end would be bad ass.

The bees in that dobber nest just went on the wildest ride anybody's ever been on.

Also using Dawn liquid dish soap cleans the heck out of a Chevrolet body's and also Dawn is great on interior and carpets !😅😅😅

I must admit your pretty good with the dukes of hazard stuff. I had to do that way more than care to remember

I remember those were EVERYWHERE when I was a kid….rare to see anymore

Having owned/restored multiple 78/79/80 Camaro's the best part of that car is the dash pad. Usually they are all cracked and hanging off. That's an easy restore and conversion to a Z/28. Get the door panel off and you will see the door is an easy fix.

Hey I like that 79' Camaro! (Good thing the dust and etc. Wasn't flies. You sported a great big smile through the test drive. 😂

We missed you Dylan it's on now we're talkin Camaros and mustangs and anyting Mopar

Cool car and great video! Back to the original format, I like it.

Wow, surprisingly runs quite well for having sat for 10 yrs. Look forward to seeing it cleaned up and out cruisin!!! Very cool Dylan!!! Would be awesome of you to take the original owner for a ride! Your simply the best Dylan!!!😊

Nice lady you got there even though I'm partial to classic Mopar. One thing I always find funny is you, Junkyard Diggs and a few others I enjoy watching never seem to take 10 minutes to clean the glass so you can see 😮

I know you are a good dude. I also have a dog named Dixie. That is one truly beautiful machine.

This is the kind of Dylan video I like best

Great find Looking forward to it getting back on the road and all cleaned up

Excited to see the Camaro for sure

I just got one in the exact same situation for 500 dollars, carport kept, sitting since 2013!

My fav style of Camaro, my brother had a 76, fix it, clean it, drive it, looks great

Love the Camaro and loved the burnout. My Nova has the same rally wheels.

If you still have that 79 mustang, that's a cool counterpart to this Camaro.

Beautiful 1979 Chevy Camaro your lucky that my dream car love that body style Camaro