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Auto Restoration

I didn't use to be a fan of after market customization, wheels in particular, until I started restoring my first car, a 1978 Grand Prix. Other's saw a big boat of a car, popularly called "the pimp-mobile", I saw a classic design. A big long hood packing a V8 engine, chrome bumpers, bucket seats, and T-tops.

As you may know, the appeal of restoring a car is taking an otherwise junker or run of the mill car and transforming it into an eye-popper. I was mostly restoring the car to its former glory, nothing too flashy for me. I frequented you-pull-it junkyards and replaced many of the hard to find parts since it wasn't popularly recognized as a collectors item. These places are gold-mines to the restorer! I replaced the cracked dash with one that was pristine. I also managed to replace many of the trim pieces and internal mouldings. I had the seats reupholstered, and a new head-liner installed. Since my dad had the car repainted a beautifull black cherry with pearl essence metallic flakes, after installing a new detachable face CD player with new speakers that really thumped, I was almost done.

Then I went to a popular department store (it rhymes with "ears") with an auto-department to have new tires put on because I was going to the beach with a buddy of mine. After getting the new tires, we packed up to start our trip, and headed out of town. We got five miles down the road when the car gave a lurch and I saw a shower of sparks in the rear mirror. The idiots didn't tighten the lug-nuts, only one post was stripped, so the other lug nuts had already spun off when the wheel came off. The lugs on the opposite tire were loose as well.

The transmission was shot, the quarter panel was smashed, and my set of four vintage chrome wheels was now one short. I never found that wheel. I still look for it when driving that section of road although this happened over 10 years ago.

They paid me blue book value, which is practically nothing for a non-collectors old car regardless of its condition. Thankfully since I did a lot of the restoration on my own the amount of money (not time) I put into it was a minimum. In hind sight I should have gotten a lawyer to threaten criminal negligence or some such to get the total amount of repairs covered.

Anyhow, all the damage could be fixed. The problem was the missing wheel. Since i couldn't find a replacement for the one, I needed a new set. At the time if you wanted after-market wheels you were pretty much limited to American Racing, or another brand that pretty much looked exactly the same. These are either plane jane painted steel rims, or blinding shiny chrome rims that scream "I'm insecure and need people to look at me". I needed something that said "I've got an eye for vintage style, the classics never fade!"

I never found the wheels i was looking for, and what used to be my dream car became a heartache when I looked at it. I sold it for $500 to a guy who wanted to take up the mantle of restoring it.

Cut to present day. New popularity for taking an average joe's faded dream car and restoring it is putting after market customization into the main stream. Of these show's I enjoy TLC's Overhaulin' the best. Chris Foose and his team have an eye for updating the look of older cars, while maintaining the original styles. You end up saying to yourself "I've seen hundreds of those cars and had no idea they could look that good!"

If I had kept that car, I'm sure I'd be driving it today with a set of Foose Wheels.

Auto Restoration