Car restoration stories

yeah i know, its in highest power mode, just highest settings, i may lower them.

 

Did you steal my Covet? It's been missing for a week. The East Coast Police Department is frantic right now in finding my Covet worth 45,000 bucks and you posted a very similar photo of 'yours'...

 

This is my new favorite topic, so here is a long one that I created last night.

I get a call from my buddy Greg. He says "Dude, I have a really cool car for you!"

I've gotten a lot of cars from Greg over the years because he works as a tow man. The person who owned this car didn't want it anymore.

This car was a 1980 Honda Prelude. The guy crashed and was going to sell it anyway. This car was going to be my next car.

Greg sent me this picture.

He says, "It's all yours. I'll bring it over now".

Perfect, a new project. The car wasn't in bad condition either. Should be an easy fixup if you ask me. I just take off the broken parts, buy new ones and make it my own.

I get to work, removing all broken parts and panels.


I ordered the fenders on Craigslist and picked them up as soon as I could. They weren't the exact ones I was looking for, but they will do.


I wasn't going in order, but I knew I wanted parts soon. I found a good deal on a hood, but it didn't come with the mirrors. I was going to have to improvise.


I found a bumper, but it was going to look tacky without the rest of the front end. The car looked very strange for a while. This bumper has a chrome strip, which the original car didn't have.


After taking a break from the car, I finally found the front fasacia on a salvage vehicle about twenty miles from my house. I got into my Sunburst and sped over. I put it on first thing when I got home.
The one I found was USDM, so not original to the car. It looked fine however.

This car was really coming together.

I now needed a lower cowl, and of course, an engine. I found a cheap lower cowl that wasn't original to the car, but fit the dimensions. Needless to say, I put it on.
I now only needed an engine, and I still didn't know what to do about the mirrors.


I decided to go back to the guy with the salvage rusted car, and see if I couldn't repair the mirrors and sauder them on. I think it turned out quite okay.


I took a three month break, but then, one day, I found an unspecified spec engine for a 1980s Honda Prelude. I messaged the person on Craigslist and picked it up the next day. I dropped it into the car. Here it is.

The best part, not only was it in great condition, it was JDM original! Those are really hard to find in the states.

This is not where the fun ended. I wanted my car to be cool.

I went over to my local Honda dealership and looked at colors that I could have it painted. I wanted it to be vibrant and bright, as if it was brand new.
I settled on Carnaby Yellow. Here is the final product of the repaint.


I wasn't done however. I wanted new wheels. I put out a search within fifty miles, calling all people with suitable wheels to message me.
That was when I got the best news of this whole bulid. Somebody has like new Wantanbe Wheels for a Honda Prelude. I called them, and paid extra for this amazing find.


This was the end of the build.

This is my favorite topic ever. I will be posted a lot more on here soon!

 

I am now selling my Covet to fund another restoration project, call me at 'Sell your BeamNG cars' to find the good old hatchback. I will have a post up late tomorrow. Thanks.

 

I as one did not steal it, I found it wrecked by the side of the road. Whats your licesnce no I can check if I found yours? If I did you can have it back.

 

07/13/2015 - I found this rusty old 1971 Gavril Barstow in a barn. The car's overall condition was pretty bad, having missing lots of parts, mainly to the front end. The original owner wanted $85K for the car, but I knocked him down to $64K. Needless to say, I knew that I had to restore this car to original factory condition.

-Start of my journey.
07/25/2015 - I found restoration a lot harder than I previously thought, as parts of the car was pretty hard to find around the Garfield Heights area. I spoke with a few out-of-town parts dealer that had a couple Barstow parts in their inventory, so I purchased them $25K apiece. I also found a 423 ci V8 lying around my garage, so I tuned it, prepped it, and installed it into the car.

-Coming along now!
08/02/2015 - I was pretty impressed with the progress, so I went out to a local paint shop and looked at a couple paint schemes for the car. I especially liked the Midnight Blue color scheme and white Shelby-like stripes. I also got some Adler Rallye wheels on the car, and frankly, I'm quite impressed with the car.

-Sweeeeet!

The Barstow was my grandfather's car back in the 1980s, so owning a salvaged Barstow means everything to me. This car is never leaving my hands, and it's going to the grave with me if I pass away.

 

07/13/2015 - I found this rusty old 1971 Gavril Barstow in a barn. The car's overall condition was pretty bad, having missing lots of parts, mainly to the front end. The original owner wanted $85K for the car, but I knocked him down to $64K. Needless to say, I knew that I had to restore this car to original factory condition.
View attachment 81442
-Start of my journey.
07/25/2015 - I found restoration a lot harder than I previously thought, as parts of the car was pretty hard to find around the Garfield Heights area. I spoke with a few out-of-town parts dealer that had a couple Barstow parts in their inventory, so I purchased them $25K apiece. I also found a 423 ci V8 lying around my garage, so I tuned it, prepped it, and installed it into the car.
View attachment 81443 View attachment 81444
-Coming along now!
08/02/2015 - I was pretty impressed with the progress, so I went out to a local paint shop and looked at a couple paint schemes for the car. I especially liked the Midnight Blue color scheme and white Shelby-like stripes. I also got some Adler Rallye wheels on the car, and frankly, I'm quite impressed with the car.
View attachment 81445
-Sweeeeet!

The Barstow was my grandfather's car back in the 1980s, so owning a salvaged Barstow means everything to me. This car is never leaving my hands, and it's going to the grave with me if I pass away.

 

07/13/2015 - I found this rusty old 1971 Gavril Barstow in a barn. The car's overall condition was pretty bad, having missing lots of parts, mainly to the front end. The original owner wanted $85K for the car, but I knocked him down to $64K. Needless to say, I knew that I had to restore this car to original factory condition.
View attachment 81442
-Start of my journey.
07/25/2015 - I found restoration a lot harder than I previously thought, as parts of the car was pretty hard to find around the Garfield Heights area. I spoke with a few out-of-town parts dealer that had a couple Barstow parts in their inventory, so I purchased them $25K apiece. I also found a 423 ci V8 lying around my garage, so I tuned it, prepped it, and installed it into the car.
View attachment 81443 View attachment 81444
-Coming along now!
08/02/2015 - I was pretty impressed with the progress, so I went out to a local paint shop and looked at a couple paint schemes for the car. I especially liked the Midnight Blue color scheme and white Shelby-like stripes. I also got some Adler Rallye wheels on the car, and frankly, I'm quite impressed with the car.
View attachment 81445
-Sweeeeet!

The Barstow was my grandfather's car back in the 1980s, so owning a salvaged Barstow means everything to me. This car is never leaving my hands, and it's going to the grave with me if I pass away.

 

Found an old Barstow at the logging camp, drove down my tow-truck and picked it up, front suspension was ruined and the interior was ripped to shreds,

Here I am driving it home, the front wheels fell right off!


Here it is at the shop, time to get to work!

stripped of all of the broken pieces, the entire front of the car had to be scraped.


Found a new door, a fender, and a set of taillights.


Found a new front fascia, a sporty hood, and a rear bumper at the scrapyard.


Got a deal for a new front suspension and rear wheels on ebay, found a new front bumper to.

A new Interior has ben added, found the seats at the scrapyard and the steering wheel at an auction.

A new coat of paint and lettering, looks amazing!

Time For a test drive




5 Years later, (different person)
found an old Barstow at stone beach, I wonder how it got here...

 

If you look under the hood, there's a serial code that I stamped. It's A572N899D1252W.

 

I found it stamped A2201 its not yours but if this is anyones then call me and ill return it to you.

 

oh THANKS i did not know that!!! Iv player for years and now just know that.

 

I was visiting a friend I knew from school in The Bronx when I saw this across the street of his apartment. A 1970 Gavril Barstow... This particular model features a cast iron 291 cubic inch V8 block with your average 3-speed automatic transmission.



I was horrified how bad of this shape this car was, but I wasn`t exactly surprised either... This thing looks like it went through a few chop shops and probably did, the left exhaust was missing, the front hubcaps were gone, the left inner fender was butchered away and the drum brakes in the rear had failed. She was suffering. I noticed that the body was in good nick, a few door dings and rock dents in the fender wells, other than that, she was healthy.



I found the owner of the Barstow, sadly he was only taking trades, so off went my Project Moonhawk... I pumped air into the tires and called up a good friend and whisked it away to sunny East Coast.



Home now. The first thing I did was replace the shoes in the drum brakes so I could actually use the parking brake...



I grabbed a rear color bumper and a passenger seat for the 'Stow.



I replaced the front end with a mint OEM covered headlight grille. She's looking better.



The first set of my Alder Rallye wheels came in and what an improvement over the steel rims.



And here came the second set...



I did more unseeable things to the Barstow, such as getting a new left inner fender, a sway bar, replaced the rear differential with a 2.99 Limited Slip differential.



Got a new rear Louvers and I replaced the right door mirror.



I got a new Gavril Tork-Flux 4-speed manual gearbox, and a 423 cubic inch V8, along with proper badgings, 'TrackSport.'



Here she is...



Having some fun. You might think I am finished but nope...



Came back from the painters with a fresh coat of midnight blue.



And some white decals. Can you notice the newly scooped hood above?



The finished product, I do not regret selling my 'Coveted' Covet to fund this project.

You may bribe me to sell this if the price is right...

 

Sorry guys, I've been busy, ill do another story soon.

Love the entries by the way, very fun to read

---Hint of next Resto---
A waterlogged damaged sedan

 

07/13/2008 - I bought a '71 Barstow from a person in East Coast, USA, who claims he found the car in a barn on his property. The car was in terrible condition, heavily rusted, missing a ton of parts, etc. The interior also reeked of rotting leather. Because my grandfather drove a Barstow in '73 - '82, it was my duty to transform this rust bucket into a muscle car of its former glory.

-The car when I bought it.

07/15/2008 - Finding parts, especially original undamaged parts, for the Barstow was harder than I thought. After taking a trip down to the local junkyard, I found a radiator support, right fender, and other parts that corresponded to the front of the Barstow. However, that set me back $175, as the junkyard charges you money for each piece found.

-The new front end, sort of...

07/19/2008 - I went to the same junkyard and found me a pair of taillights, trunk lid, and a chrome rear bumper. Unfortunately, the bumper was from a '73 Barstow, so it conformed to the '73 FMVSS regulations, which gave the car a blockish look to the rear end. As long as a bumper was on the car, I'm happy!

- Shiny chrome keeps a man happy!

07/21/2008 - I got to the task of making the interior look original. The rear bench seat and front passenger seat were bare frames when I got the car, so I took them down to a local seamstress and had them match the driver's seat. To be honest, the finished product was a much better interior than I originally anticipated.

- Lookin' near factory!

07/24/2008 - I found a 423 ci V8 lying around the shed, so I took out the old, wimpy 236 ci I6, and dropped the V8 into the engine bay. I also fabricated engine bay brackets using leftover shower curtain rods that I strengthened by plating them with high-strength steel. Working in a tight engine bay will surely keep a man busy for 5 hours.

- The new hardware!

07/27/2008 - I was getting tired of having rusty steelies on the car, so I went ahead and placed Alder Rallye rims into the original radial tires. I also upgraded the old front 2-piston disc brakes to Brembo brakes, which will definitely improve the car's braking distance!

- The new shoes for the Barstow.

07/30/2008 - With the car near complete, I went ahead and drove the car over to a local automotive paint shop and had the Barstow receive Midnight Blue metallic paint with white racing stripes. The finished product is a true '70s muscle car which makes the car a shell of what it once was. Since this car is a symbol of family history, this Barstow is never leaving the grasp of my hands.

- The finished product. What a long way I've came with the classic Barstow!

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to the Barstow restoration, but with a tragic twist. You have been warned.

---

06/05/2013 - I saw another restoration opportunity when I caught wind of a '73 Moonhawk that was involved in a collision with a bus, so off I went to Penguinville. The Moonhawk was badly damaged; the front fascia and bumper was pushed in, the left fender dented in pretty good, the hood was mangled, the left front wheel was locked and at an angle, and more. It saddened me to see a Oil Crisis-era vehicle this damaged, but it was well worth the shot.

-The unholy sight of a wrecked classic.

06/09/2013 - The bus that the Moonhawk hit did more considerable damage to the vehicle. Asides from damaging the body panels, the radiator support and left inner fender was toast. The bus also dealt a blow to the Moonhawk's heart; the I6 engine had a dented oil pan, cracked engine block, the exhaust manifolds were ripped off their base, and the Tork-Flux 4-speed manual transmission had a massive dent in the roof. I don't know how the entirety of the right fender escaped with little damage. I had to rip all the damaged parts off, and send them to the scrapyard, which really saddened me to see original parts rendered unusable.

-The skeletal remains of the front.

06/14/2013 - I called up the local Bruckell factory and ordered a brand new radiator support, hood, left fender, front bumper and front fascia, which they told me would take 2 weeks to complete. In the meantime, I found a 423 ci V8 from a salvaged Moonhawk, complete with a Dyna-Flo 3-speed automatic transmission, which I then put in the engine bay. I ended up having to shave a good portion off the underside of the body to make room for the transmission, which turned out to be pretty good.

-The Moonhawk's new heart.

06/26/2013 - The new radiator support, hood, left fender, front bumper and front fascia came in, and I had to realign the front frame rails and front suspension components since they were out of whack from the collision. After the frame and suspension realignment, I was able to put the fender, front bumper and other front body panels on with ease. Doing so took a good fraction of the burden off my chest.

-The new front. The restored Barstow can be seen in the background.

07/02/2013 - My uncle phoned me and said that he found some Alder Sporter rims in his basement, so I went to his house, put them on the Moonhawk and took it to the same paint shop where I got the Barstow painted up, and I got Caribbean Sunshine Yellow paint onto the Moonhawk, which turned out pretty good in my opinion.

-The finished product.

The Barstow restoration helped me power through this Moonhawk restoration with ease. Let this story be motivation for those facing similar restorations.

 

I have finally moved to my new house. oh you are wondering what happened to the car the pictures will tell the story. basically I have done work to the front and rear suspension also managed to find a new steering wheel and some new gauges.

 

Talking of restoration, I bought some impounded Barstows off the police, three stripped cars.

 

I also bought 2 recently impounded D15s in mint condition. I hate the owner of the Marshal limo in the back of the image I'll post soon.

 

Here is the yard.


spot the limo.