For more than $20,000, Sam Hard bought a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro with a wrecked front end and no engine. He wanted it because, by his account, this was one of the cars used for the yacht sequence in 2 Fast 2 Furious.
The British mechanic documents the Georgia purchase in an October 16 video on Hard Up Garage. Fellow YouTuber Ed Bolian joins him at Year One, where Hard says he first saw the car in November 2019.
Years of visits followed. On trips to America, he stopped in with English tea bags and cookies, hoping to buy the Camaro. When the call finally came, he booked a flight to the States.
Loose wheels can look like a bent rear axle. With that concern out of the way, Hard arranges a tow to DC Motorworks so he can start sorting through his purchase.
Some Assembly Required
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Fellow YouTuber Tavarish helps inspect the car as Hard pulls loose parts out of the interior. Spare window glass, seat pieces, and door trim are also found. Hard explains that leftover parts from the movie cars had been piled inside.
His enthusiasm survives discoveries that do little to reassure Tavarish. At one point, Hard celebrates finding door latches; later, Tavarish delivers his assessment: “Sam, this is junk.” Hard answers, “This is not junk.”
During the teardown, the crew finds rust holes across the floors. They remove the front subframe and work on the damaged firewall, while Hard plans replacement floor sections and suspension upgrades. He wants the Camaro running and driving again, though he rules out a full rotisserie restoration.
Still in There
During the work, Hard identifies a marking reading “149 cable car.” He says production information supplied by Fast & Furious technical adviser Craig Lieberman identifies number 149 as Brian’s totaled cable car, and that a partial VIN uncovered on the firewall matches that information.
He also points out cable eyelets and cuts in the rear parcel shelf, explaining how they relate to the stunt rigging. His plan is to repair the original body rather than replace it with another shell and transfer its identity.
In Hard Up Garage’s October 17 announcement, Hard explains that the movie Camaros portrayed Yenkos rather than being original Yenko cars. He plans to build this one to Yenko specifications, with accreditation also among his goals.
Tavarish’s Florida workshop hosts the rebuild, with a 15-day work window described in the announcement. The Camaro’s scheduled unveiling is November 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Aces Fuel Injection booth at SEMA in Las Vegas.