About 20 years ago, a Corvette sports car enthusiast named Joe was devastated when his wife passed away unexpectedly. At the time, the couple owned a 1990 C4 Corvette, which they enjoyed riding and driving together. When Joe's wife died, he put the rare six-speed, V8 Corvette in a barn — and left it alone.

Recently, a team of mechanics and auto detailers at the YouTube channel WD Detailing learned about the car in the barn — and learned how special the car was to Joe. They stepped in to bring the muscle car back to life as a gift to Joe.

The detailers spent days tackling 20 years' worth of grime, rodent nests, and baked-in dirt. After deep-cleaning the interior, polishing the paint, and flushing out stale gas, mechanic Adam threw in a fresh battery and fired it up. The engine roared back to life on the very first try — even shooting four chicken eggs out of the exhaust pipe left behind by a former animal tenant.

When the mechanics finally revealed the fully restored vehicle to Joe, he heard the familiar engine growl before he even saw the car and was immediately brought to tears. Smiling through the emotion, he spent the afternoon sharing fond memories of his wife, celebrating the return of the closest thing he had left to driving alongside her.