Can This Flooded 30th Anniversary Camaro SS Be Saved?

Conventional wisdom tells you that buying a flood car like this 1997 Chevy Camaro SS 30th Anniversary is a bad idea. After all, there’s good reason why insurance companies total out flood cars and why they get a branded title, ensuring their value is never the same again. But then you watch these guys bring the muscle car back from the dead and it makes you wonder.

California is running out of license plate numbers.

Some will call this vehicle rare, which it is somewhat with 957 made. That’s not like a run of 200 or 100 or 50, which is why when Chevy owners go on about their “rare” Corvette that’s only of only 734 like it, some enthusiasts roll their eyes. Still, that’s at least in part why these guys rescue this ’97 Camaro and get it running again.

The guys who do this run the YouTube channel Horsepower Depot. They buy a lot of flood cars, especially after the hurricanes in the South ruined thousands of vehicles, scouring insurance auction lots for American rides they think are worthy of being rescued.

It’s a nice Camaro with the LT1 and white leather interior. It also is in surprisingly good shape, at least on the surface. However, while the transmission is free of water, the area diff has to be drained. But the engine is fine and once the battery is charged up, the Camaro starts up without complaint.

These guys even take the Chevy for a spin and it seems to be in nice condition, especially since they paid a fraction of what it would normally be worth.

But we still have to wonder after a vehicle sits underwater, will it ever be the same? After all, mold could take hold on the upholstery, seat cushions, even the noise insulation. We also know after sitting underwater, metals at first will look fine, then a while later they will rapidly corrode.

These guys don’t seem to even acknowledge those are things and it really makes us wonder. Are we just dumb for not buying flood cars and restoring them? Or are there solid reasons these vehicles are totaled out and sold for cheap?

Image via Horsepower Depot/YouTube