1979 Chevrolet Camaro RS

Description

So you're a guy who collects the most miraculous low-mile Camaros in the world, mostly second-generation cars. Then one day you decide you'd like to drive one of them, so you build yourself this cool 1979 Camaro RS. The car has just 4735 miles on it, but there's a fresh ZZ4 crate motor inside with the original engine carefully pulled and bagged for posterity. If you want a fast and virtually new 1979 Camaro that you can actually drive, well, they don't come much cooler than this.

Chevy kept the Rally Sport name alive and gave it a dramatic color scheme for 1979, combining black and white with multi-colored tape stripes in pure 1970s fashion. This car wears the original factory paint and tape stripes and there's no question that it's a low-mile, original car. Someone put it away early and kept it remarkably well-preserved, so everything fits the way the factory did it and all the imperfections you see are OEM imperfections. There are a few very, very minor signs of shelf wear, but overall this is the freshest '79 Rally Sport we've ever seen. The tape stripes are still thoroughly stuck to the bodywork and the plastic bumpers appear to be defying the years because they look great. A few bright chrome pieces show you what factory chrome looks like and the taillights are, well, like new.

The brilliant red interior is showroom fresh without even signs that someone's been sliding in and out of the driver's seat for more than 35 years. Door panels, carpets, dash pad, and steering wheel are all in excellent condition and everything works like it should. Factory gauges are bright and well-marked, and with the engine transplant it also received a set of Auto Meter dials in a pod under the dash. Other than that, however, it's quite stock, right down to the factory 4-speed and original AM/FM radio, which should look familiar to anyone driving a GM car of the period. It's likely that the rear seat has never been used and the trunk is fitted with original felt mats and factory-issued spare tire that still has the manufacturing ink marks on the tread. Wow!

With the original 305 cubic inch V8 tucked away, a GM ZZ4 crate engine was slipped under the RS's shiny black hood. Making considerably more horsepower than the original powerplant, it transforms this low-mile F-body into a genuine muscle car. The under-hood area is quite nicely detailed, with a dual-snorkel air cleaner that looks OEM to those cool Chevrolet valve covers. The line between original and new equipment is so blurry that it's impossible to find where the modifications end and the preservation starts, and all the features like quick-ratio power steering and front disc brakes made the transition intact. The original 4-speed transmission is easily up to the task of channeling all that added power and a custom exhaust system was built to work with the long-tube headers. The ultra-clean undercarriage is the result of clean living, not a product of restoration, so you'll still have some second thoughts about putting this one on the road, but it runs so well, I guarantee it'll be hard to resist. The suspension was upgraded to Z/28 specifications and those pretty alloy wheels now wear 255/60/15 Goodyear radials that enhance the handling considerably.

With an upgraded powerplant, extensive documentation, and no question as to its low-mile status, this very cool Camaro seems to be calling your name. Call now!