Classic Restorations

I was driving back from Indiana University today after visiting my girlfriend and I noticed an old school Camino driving down the highway. For some strange reason it really got me thinking how much cars have changed. This guy was in what looked like a ’72 El Camino and I was in a ’06 Hyundai Sonata. He was driving pretty slowly and I was bored so I put the pedal to the medal and zoomed my little 3.5 liter V6 beast right past him. It seemed like a scene from a commercial or something but as I drove by I noticed that the driver was in his mid 40’s with a bunch of spare parts in the back. It got to me that he was probably going to restore it. I started to think about how when I was little I used to love restored classics because everything on them and about them was perfect. From the gaps between the body panels to the paint job, you would not see any mistakes or imperfections. My favorite ones were the Chevy Camaro’s and the Ford Shelby GT’s.

But these babies aren’t reconstructed overnight. No, this process takes months, even years, to complete. First of all, the restoration starts with a chassis, a body, rust, and, if you’re lucky, an engine, or a working engine for that matter. Then comes the “where do I begin” question. After that you begin by stripping all the old, rusted parts off and sanding and priming the body for paint. While you wait for the paint to dry you order all your new parts and an engine if you have to and then wait for them to be delivered. When you finally receive all of your parts you install them and test them to make sure everything works and then you start the engine. You may have to tweak some stuff here and there but when you finally finish, polish it up with Armor All, or whatever you prefer on the vehicle, I love Armor All myself, grab your keys, and head out onto the open road. Personally, I have never been in this situation but I, one day, hope to be. I think it would be awesome to restore a classic like the Camaro or the Shelby GT, whatever it is I’m sure it would be really fun as long as I get a car I really like.