US men buy abandoned garage for $17,000 and find an unbelievable sports car hiding inside as a surprise
Published on Jun 18, 2026 at 12:37 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jun 18, 2026 at 12:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
When these American men bought an abandoned garage for $17,000, they weren’t expecting to find a sports car hiding inside.
The garage had been sinking into the ground over two decades, leaving the door buried.
When John Dubray and his team got it open, they found a remarkable sports car sitting inside.
But after two decades out of sight, could they get this car to work again?
Buying an abandoned garage came with some challenges
On his YouTube channel, John Dubray and his team showed his viewers the process of getting into the garage.
It wasn’t easy.
This place hadn’t been touched since 2007, so it’d sunken into the ground over the last few decades.
To get inside the door, they had to get some shovels to clear the entrance.
“The owner straight up told us, ‘It’ll probably take you a whole week just to drag it out of there’,” John remarked.
Fortunately, it didn’t take quite that long.
Likening the opening on day two to ‘opening some kind of crypt’, John and his team were finally able to see what was inside.
It’s always a big moment when a long forgotten garage gets opened up – just look what happened to this UK man who opened up a garage after 15 years.
What sports car was sitting inside?
Covered in dust was a Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray.
It featured an Edelbrock engine and a custom, one-piece fiberglass widebody with fixed quad-headlights originally customized in Japan.
The team figured out it was a Targa model based on its removable transparent glass roof panel.
A cracked transmission meant that this car hadn’t even been driven into the garage.
Fortunately, a closer inspection revealed that the engine hadn’t seized.
After cleaning up a burned foam piece in the fuel system, the engine successfully started up.
That’s a good start, but there was still a lot of work left to do.
Could this Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray be brought back to life?
Pushing the car out of the garage, they added Automatic Transmission Fluid through the dipstick tube.
After allowing the fluid to circulate, they found that the transmission successfully engaged.
The car could now drive under its own power.
Now it was time to get the car cleaned up at a car wash.
After 19 years of grime and dirt were taken off, the beautiful paint job beneath came into full view.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good old car wash, is there?
It’s no wonder this ‘next-gen’ car wash in China has gone viral.
A test drive revealed a few issues, like a scraping exhaust and a smoking AC compressor.
Could they make a profit by selling it to a detailing shop?
A profit or a loss? This was the moment of truth for this near-forgotten sports car
The car had cost them $17,000 all in all, so they were asking for $18,000.
It was to be a quick $1,000 profit.
However, the best they could do was $17,500 – which is admittedly still a $500 profit.
“I mean, we could spend a whole year trying to sell it for 25 grand or we take an extra 500 profit right now,” one of John’s team said.
“And for us, it was only 2 days plus a ton of emotions.”
Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
