Every car enthusiast dreams of finding a barn. An intact piece of automotive history sitting in a dilapidated barn in an open field archived 30 40 years earlier. The view obscured by a vine-covered doorway. A barely visible hubcap or hood ornament. There are hundreds of signs that there might be something of value behind that fence. It is a story you hear behind every great restoration project. My question is where does it all begin and how does a person progress once that car is found.

I recently came across a 1970 Chevelle SS sitting under a garage. Doing some research, I found out that it had been there intact since 1993. Upon closer inspection, it was protected from the weather, for the most part. Everything seemed to be there: bumpers, emblems, engine and glass. This was a complete car with the letters SS and the numbers 396 printed on the side. Did I just find a $ 100,000 worth of car sitting between the insulation of the house and a pile of firewood? Knowing very little about anything, I needed to check some vital numbers before I was overwhelmed by sweaty palms, weak knees, heart pounding in my chest, dilated pupils, all the signs of desire. First, is it for sale? After going ahead with a sale price, I needed to find out if this car was what it looked like. Wine, check. Engine number stamp, check. Protect plate numbers O, check. Everything fits. This is a true 350 hp SS big block American made muscle car. Sitting across from me was one of the last unregulated power plants to roll off the assembly line of the torque and horsepower era. He had established it was complete, now he needed to find out if it was a $ 100,000 car or a $ 300 junk pile. A close look at the car showed signs of neglect. There were leeks and rust on the surface of each panel. Rust on the rear corner panel, leeks on both doors, and the interior was shot.

Motor had been sitting untouched for 19 years without being taken care of. The rear window had completely rusted, not thanks to the vinyl cover. It was obvious that a full restoration would be required. Rear corner panels $ 400 per side, trunk panel $ 100, roof panel $ 250 and that’s just to replace the rear window. Cow hood, oh what a work of art, but $ 600 broken. Interior completely missing, interior kit $ 2,500. Just to roll it Rims and tires $ 2,000. Rebuild engine $ 5,000 Transmission $ 3,000 rear $ 1,500 Brakes $ 500. Fuel system washed new lines, new tank and new carburetor. Everywhere he looked there was a dollar sign, not one, but thousands of dollar signs. This find in the barn was beginning to look like a money pit. Taking a step back from cleaning up the dirt and cobwebs, I had to do a quick cost analysis.

What I quickly found when I got back to the front of the barn was that I didn’t care. This car still had life and it is my responsibility as a man to bring it back. Flush the engine and radiator, rebuild the carb, connect a fuel line to a jug of milk, add a new battery, and flip that baby over. Blown exhaust gasket, leeks everywhere, but she’s alive. Now the adventure begins one bolt at a time. Stay tuned for the next update to see how this story grows with each new article.