1980 Corvette: Classic Car Restoration

Classic Car Restoration

Beware...Before You Buy a Car

Beware...Before You Buy a Car. About a year ago, I was flipping through Thrifty Nickel paper looking for another restoration project. I found an ad for a "69 Pontiac GTO repaired and prepped for paint. Just needs paint. $5, 000 or best offer." I called the guy and asked what he meant by "repaired and prepped." His response was "it just needed to be repainted and was ready to go."The vehicle was only 20 miles away so I decided to take a ride and check it outfor myself. Me and one of my buddies went over and inspected the vehicle. The description the man gave the impression that this was going to be a great car and wouldn't need much, but when we arrived we quickly found out otherwise.We started with the top side of the car and inspected the hood and underneath. First visible bad sign was the carburetor was missing.

The guy said it was a nice driving car, yet there wasn't even a carburetor. His answer was.."Oh I have it off cleaning it." How do you advertise a nice driving car without a carburetor?As we inspected further we started to notice how he had used spray paint to make it appear that the engine was new, but the reality was it was just a fresh spray paint can job.We pulled up the carpet to find rust pitted holes that he had smeared Bondo over, but it had squeezed through the floor board, which we could see through the other side. He must have used 2 gallons of Bondo on this car. This was just the beginning....I could go on and on, but will stop here. The lesson here is don't believe everything you read. Go and visibly inspect any car you are looking to buy or pay a professional to complete the inspection for you. It may cost some money to have the vehicle inspected, but you will find it to be money well spent because you can easily get ripped off.
PS. Don't get ripped off. Take the time to inspect your vehicle and get GTO Soup's Complete Classic Car Restoration Course to help you refinish your gem quickly and easily with our step-by-step instructions. Go to http://www.gtosoup.com

What should I name a classic car restoration and modification shop?
please help for a project i need a good name so i dont look so stupid

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classic car restoration and getting 2 door into 4 door?
Can/would professional classic car restorers make my 2 door 1964 chevy impala into a 4 door? It's hard to find 4 door '64's these days!

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Good place in phoenix for classic car restoration?
Anyone know of a good place in Phoenix to have a 1972 Chevy pickup done up nice cosmetically? I have the engine work being done but want to have the interior/paint job done. Any suggestions?

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different types of welding?
can someone tell me the difference between mig/tig and any other types of welding as im planning on doing an evening class in this to aid in my classic car restoration project, as garages charge a fortune

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Info on a small version of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air?
I once lived in a small town and there was a car that looked just like a 1957 Chevy Bel Air but MUCH smaller. I now own a classic car restoration shop and have asked many people about this car. I have had one person tell me it is called the "phantom" 57 and it's origin is unknown. This person claims there are only three or four in existence. I recently went back to this small town only to find the car and the owner no longer reside there. Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a car? If so I would be interested in the history of it as well. Thanks in advance to any plausible answers I get. There is "such a thing" as I have seen one with my own eyes. I am not saying GM made it, I am just saying it exists and I want to know what it is, a kit car, a proto-type or what. I searched for Vauxhall classics, nothing there. This car looked EXACTLY like a 57 bel air with the silver inset on the rear fenders and everything. It was just smaller in every aspect, height, width, and length. This may have been a one-off custom. I truly don't know, just thought I would throw the question out there. At the time, I just never asked the owner about it and when I went back to look at the car and talk with the owner both were gone.

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