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Shadow of Its Ancestors? 1991 Chevrolet Camaro RS

Since I commenced writing for Barn Finds there have been some interesting vehicles that have come across my desk. This one may prove to be the car that ignites more debate than any other. Right now I can envisage the purists foaming at the mouth, but here goes. Located in Petersburg, Canada and listed here on eBay is this 1991 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport. With a BIN of C$26,000 ($20,000 US) and the option to make an offer, it comes with an original Bill of Sale.

That’s very….red! The body and paint appear to be in amazing shape for a car that is 21 years old. The seller claims that this is the original paintwork as the car has a total of 464 miles on the odometer. One major positive is that the car has spent its life in climate controlled storage. The reality is that if you are going to buy a new car and place it in storage in the hope that it will become a future classic, this is the way to do it. Whether this is a future classic, I’ll let you decide.

Once again, that’s very red! Honestly, I love bright car interiors but I’m really glad that the dash and console are black, because I think that if they were red it would be way too much. Most of the new cars on the market today are grey, grey and grey. I’m not sure that I can handle an interior where I have to wear sunglasses…at night. Seriously, the condition makes the claimed mileage all the more believable. I refuse to label the interior as faultless, but it’s not far off it.

From experience the trunk or cargo area on modern cars is a dead give-away on the mileage of a car. Modern cargo areas usually feature their share of plastic, and this can become quite easily scratched and scuffed with ongoing usage. This one looks really good, so I really do believe the claims by the seller.

Now we reach the crux of the matter. Nestling there is the 191ci V6. This is an absolute let-down when the rest of the car is so well preserved. To me a Camaro is quintessentially a V8. The seller refers to it as “peppy”. That’s one word for it! I guess that there are a few options open to a potential buyer. They could leave it as it is and just drive it. The seller suggests that it may be the ideal candidate for an LS1 transplant. I am going to suggest an alternative: Find a reputable firm to perform a turbo conversion on the existing engine. It may be a viable alternative that has benefits due to improved weight distribution over an LS1.

As I said at the beginning of this article, this is one car that I expect to ignite debate. The Chevrolet purists will undoubtedly think that a Camaro with a V6 to be an affront to everything that they hold dear. For me the price seems expensive for what it is, regardless of mileage. If you bought it what would you do?

Comments

  1. Avatar Ike Onick

    Unless your name is Donna you should not even think about buying this .

    Like 12
    • Avatar Mountainwoodie

      Donna, Donna ………a peppy slushbox…………like military intelligence….

      Like 4
  2. Avatar hugh crawford

    Well if it’s a car that is too nice to drive then the V6 will remove that temptation,

    There is a saying in the art world “if you can’t make it good make it red”

    Like 8
  3. Avatar Superdessucke

    It’s nice but the problem with these is that they were built during the first muscle car boom. So everybody and their brother bought one and salted it away, thinking that in 20 years they’d be able to pay for their kids’ college by making a mint on the next ’69 Z/28 or Boss 302.

    The result is that there’s a ton of low mileage 3rd Gen F-Bodies out there. You can’t throw a rock on eBay without hitting one of these with less than 10,000 miles on it. And unfortunately for this example, many of those are the much more desirable Z28, IROC, Formula, Trans Am, or GTA models with the G92 or 1LE packages and 5.7 liter or 5.0 liter TPIs with 5-speed manual.

    So while it’s a neat find, it’s not going to bring anywhere near this asking price. This price is more like what a low mileage 5.7 liter IROC would sell for. This is probably worth half that.

    Like 10
    • Avatar Ike Onick

      Check your muscle car history and definition. The muscle car boom started in the mid-1960’s with the GTO and escalated from there until 1973 when the Federal Gov , Insurance companies, and oil prices killed the party.

      Like 4
      • Avatar Superdessucke

        I mean the muscle car investment boom. That started around 1985 or so. Prior to that muscle cars were primarily just used cars, and before 1982 or so undesirable used cars because of high gas prices.

        Like 8
      • Avatar Ike Onick

        Good point. Thank you.

        Like 2
  4. Avatar Blyndgesser

    Turbocharging the 3.4 is a recipe for a kaboom. These things eat head gaskets even in stock trim.

    Swap in an LS or an old-school SBC and have fun with it.

    Like 2
  5. Avatar CanuckCarGuy

    In the debate of V6 or V8, I can’t get beyond the red. Reminds me of the old model kits, where every piece was cast in one colour…thank goodness for Testor’s paint.

    Like 11
    • Avatar Ike Onick

      Reminds me of a New Orleans house of ill-repute.

      Like 3
      • Avatar Joe M

        These were fleet company cars, for them.

        Like 2
    • Avatar Frank

      Lofl! Exactly.

      Like 2
  6. Avatar Steve R

    Spending $20,000+ on an uninspiring car thats only justification for a high asking price is it’s undocumented claim of low mileage as a base for a professionally built and installed turbo charger system is not a good allocation of recourses. Finding a nice 3rd generation IROC Camaro with a bad engine would make a much better starting point especially when you factor in its upgraded brakes and suspension.

    This car will never get respect as a performance car, no matter what is done to the V6. Even if modified as the author suggest, the prevailing question will always be, why? And with good reason.

    Steve R

    Like 10
    • Avatar CanuckCarGuy

      True that. If the mileage claim is real, ultimately the car deserves to remain stock and loved by the next owner for what it is…. not what it should or could have been.

      Like 7
      • Avatar Tom Nemec Member

        CanuckCarGuy, thank you. Well said.

        This car is for the person “who always wanted one”. Now is your chance to buy a new 288 mile Camaro that you could not buy 25 or 30 years ago.

        As mentioned, there are a lot of cars like this that were put away and now low mileage. Unfortunate part is not driving them can then create a problem many years later to “start driving it”.

        Cars like this that were put away and are stock original, in my opinion, should be left alone.

        If you want an LS swap, like Steve R mentioned, buy an IROC with a blown motor, restore / resto mod the thing and have a car with better suspension and brakes to handle the HP. Then you will have a car that someone probably understands what and why you did it and might buy it.

        Like 4
  7. Avatar Troy s

    Seems like a lot of money for a Camaro nobody paid much attention to back then, or now for that matter. Tearing it down and doin all the modifications mentioned seems out of place on this very low mileage chicks ride, with the low mileage being it’s only value.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Coventrycat

    First thing I’d do is get a mullet to match. Still looks like 1985 to me.

    Like 1
  9. Avatar Miguel

    To clarify it is 464 KM not miles.

    Also even though the car has a lot of eye appeal, I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that amount for a used 1991 Camaro.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Adam Clarke Staff

      Thanks Miguel. Fancy an Australian missing that one. We only converted to the metric system 45 years ago! I’m concentrating so hard on not dropping my Australian terminology into the articles that sometimes I miss the obvious. Between tyres/tires, boot/trunk, bonnet/hood, petrol/gas and quite a few others I do get confused at times!

      Like 1
    • Avatar Ike Onick

      464 km is 288 miles. It is still a red abomination if it had 2.8 miles on it.

      Like 3
  10. Avatar brian crowe

    I have the same car in white but mine came with a V8. My son has the same car as me but his has the V6.

    Like 4
    • Avatar 80s Time Traveler

      I’m sorry

      Like 3
  11. Avatar brian crowe

    Son’s left, mine on right

    Like 6
  12. Avatar Derald Rine

    I got a low mile 13 ss for about that same amount. I bet that one cannot do 150 mph

    Like 7
  13. Avatar Suttree

    Nice but not worth the effort to upgrade the engine. There’s too many nice Camaros with a V8 to bother with it.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar NEAL STAMPLEY

    Very nice car! But not worth 20 grand.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar Alexander Member

    Check your math. 1991 was 27 years ago. So this car is even more amazing for something close to 30 years old.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Joe M

    Nice car and color combination, unfortunately this is the year when this body style had been around for awhile and was getting tired. This was around the time GM was marketing the “chick” camaros no one bought, ( the stripped down early 90’s pinks, teals, fuchsias, lavenders ) the beginning of the end for the camaro for awhile. I say leave it alone, it is what it is. A lipstick red camaro with a turbo or v8 is still a lipstick red camaro.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar Rock On

    This type of car was sold so that people under 25 years old could drive a sporty car without getting dinged with high insurance premiums of a V8 car. Problem is twenty seven years later, is that you are going to get smoked at each and every traffic light. Most cars built today that are not exclusively designed for high mpg have a lower 0-60 time. You are going to need some really thick skin to drive this car because everyone likes to brag that they blew away a red Camaro.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Miguel

      I doubt anybody driving this car is worried about racing signal light to signal light.

      If this was a 1987 RS model, they might have something, but since every Camaro in 1991 was called an RS, it is nothing rare.

      Like 1
  18. Avatar Lester Murray

    I have 91camaro rs convertible 49 thousand miles.thats been garaged since new an would love to get 20 k for it but probably not happening any time soon.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Wrong Way

    The only comment I can think of is WOW, that’s to much red! LOL

    Like 2
    • Avatar Camaro guy

      Yup 🚘🚘😁 2 much red

      Like 0
  20. Avatar Buick Guy

    My friend had one in high school 1998. His was alsona 91. Gray on Gray 6 cyl. Really a nice looking car, but the v6 was weird. Just didn’t feel right. I had a v6 Z24 do I’m not dumping on V6’s…it just felt out of place. If memory serves me, there was no IROC and no V8 offered in the Camaro that year…anyone?

    Like 0
  21. Avatar David Ulrey

    Why so many red haters? I love the color! Maybe I’m what they used to call a sissy boy? I’ll have to ask my two sons that drive Fox body Mustangs. One with SVO turbo 4 and the other one with a not at all smog legal, built 302 V8 that’s carbed, cammed, aftermarket exhaust and a nice Edelbrock intake and various other goodies. I guess I’ll stick with driving my mildly moded Bronco and be a sissy because I like red. Guess I’ll also tell my son with the built V8 Fox body that he’s a chick too since his car is a similar shade of red. Poor kid…

    Like 0

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