Anyone who’s bought an old car knows the feeling when you find what seems like the perfect vintage car, only for reality to hit hard and fast. Well, it happens. And it happens most of the time.

For Mike Finnegan of Finnegan’s Garage, that reality struck just moments after acquiring a 1991 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Despite its pristine condition, both exterior and interior, and low odometer reading, a sudden issue arose. As Finnegan stated, “It broke like three blocks after I bought it.”

The Camaro was a five-speed 305 Tuned Port Injection (TPI) car. Finnegan declared, “It’s brand new bro, smells like High School in here,” For Finnegan, it wasn’t just a personal purchase but a grand prize for the current FSM Garage sweepstakes.

After an initial failed pickup attempt, Finnegan returned to Ross Automotive in Georgia, where the car had supposedly received fuel system repairs. Hopes were high, but a test drive quickly dashed them. “Oh God, all right, it’s not fixed. It’s misfiring badly again…” Finnegan exclaimed as the Z28 sputtered and backfired under part-throttle.

Mike decided not to drive the car back to Valdosta when the backfiring happened.

Returning to the shop, Finnegan and associate Joe dove into diagnostics. Fuel pressure seemed slightly low but held steady during the misfire. Initial attempts to clean the stock injectors offered no solution, leading to the decision to tow the car back to Finnegan’s warehouse.

There, the diagnostic trial continued. Suspecting the part-throttle-only nature of the issue pointed to the oxygen sensor, Finnegan replaced it. Another test drive yielded the same frustrating result.

Irritated, Finnegan considered drastic measures: “If this doesn’t fix it, bro, she’s getting a carburetor.” His final attempt before resorting to such extremes involved replacing the entire distributor assembly, questioning the original ignition module’s condition and noting excessive play in the old distributor’s shaft compared to the new unit.

After installing the new distributor and checking the timing, the moment of truth arrived. “Oh my God, it’s fixed. It’s fixed … !” Finnegan shouted during the test drive. The persistent part-throttle misfire was finally gone.

Reflecting on the multi-day ordeal that involved chasing fuel pressure, injectors, and sensors, only to land on the distributor, Finnegan admitted, “Feels good when you finally fix something.” With the Camaro, dubbed “Dougie Fresh,” running smoothly, he declared, “I no longer feel bad about giving this car away.”

Finnegan gave away this 1991 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 to a lucky FSM Garage fan.

It was a long road from a seemingly perfect purchase to a running, driving giveaway prize, with the culprit hiding in the ignition system, found only after Finnegan explored multiple fuel system theories.

What do you think about the diagnostic process and the final fix being the distributor? If you happen to have any easier way when tackling these kinds of issues, feel free to share it with us.