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Covid put quite a dent in my son’s plans. From canceled early graduation test dates, to shutting down the high school auto program, to no behind the wheel drivers training and no DMV behind the wheel testing, it’s been rough.
However, he persevered. He finally got a test date, although we had to travel to LA. He passed his test, got an extension on his learners permit, enrolled in the automotive technology program at the community college, got a job and has already saved $15,000.
Short version: After trying three different shops and months of waiting for any of them to work on his C3,, we found two shops that can get us started. Comments/suggestions are welcome. We’re looking to do this:
While I was having beer at a little local craft brewery, Three Frogs, I noticed a shop next door, Action Cylider Heads. They had some really nice older cars being worked on. We read some great reviews for them and decided to have them work on my son’s Corvette. We made an appointment for three weeks out in April. Took it in. Weeks went by. I couldn’t even get them to give me quotes on the work that they said we needed. After a month of no call backs, I pulled it out of there.
I met a guy at a car meet that ran a Corvette club. He said they all get work done at Certified Car Clinic. Well regarded, great reviews. Again, waited 3 weeks to get it in. Ironically, the key got stuck in the on position when I dropped it off. Weeks went by, no call, no estimates. Finally got an estimate. Not bad prices for a good shop. Then, no calls/updates, wouldn’t return calls. I walked in to see what was going on, owner said they’d get started on it the next week, no calls, calls not returned. Excuses: They’re busy, got COVID, part delays, excuses, excuses. I understand times are tough and I’d buy into their excuses-but there’s no excuse for making and breaking promises and never even one call in 9 f’ing weeks.
F these guys. I told them that I’m coming in to get the car. Couldn’t drive it out, had to call for a tow. Regular price is $75 for 6 miles but since it’s a classic, $150.
My Acura specialist mechanic that I’ve known for 20 years said that he’d do some of the work for me. He works on other cars too. He said to call a locksmith he knows to fix the key situation. Call him at 9:30a, said he’d be there in an hour and would let me know. 3:30 rolls around. No call. Call him and he says, yeah couldn’t fix it spent three hours pulling apart the steering column. Couldn’t figure out the rod that runs through the steering column and locks the key. A call back would have been nice. The shop actually gave him $60 for his time. Really cool-but F them both.
One of the guys at Certified took pity on me and said since they dropped the ball, he’d fix it Tuesday after the holiday, no charge, to at least save me the tow fee. Not holding my breath. Surprise, he calls and says it’s fixed and running. Brought him a six pack as a small token of appreciation. Jump in, turn key…dead and key sticks. I drank two of the beers waiting for them to charge the brand new battery. Should have taken the rest. I had to pull the wire from the distributor to turn it off and disconnect the brand new dead battery when I got home. I got towing included for the C3 on my insurance so I won’t pay going forward. It’s a shame that I hate these guys because they’re probably the best speed shop in SD county.
Got it towed to my Acura shop. He just did my friends brakes and my brakes too. Great job, quick, good price as always. I didn’t want to bother him but after a month, no call, nothing, I finally called him to get an update. He never even touched it. He told me that a guy that works with him could help me out. He rebuilt the co-owners ‘75 C3 brakes. Called that guy and he said he’d work on the brakes, in his driveway, on Saturdays. Uh, no. He recommended Zoo auto in Ramona. They said they’d work on it. Made an appointment for three weeks out.
Another friend said he’s had great results with Phantastic auto repair. He’s good but just does standard OEM type repairs. Asked him to work on the stuck key and change out the power steering valve and cylinder. He gave me an estimate the next day. I ordered the parts. He’s definitely on it, so far, we’ll see.
There’s a shop behind Phan’s, M&J Restoration, that does restoration paint and body. I talked to him. He said that the two shops I went to are great. He said that Certified Car Clinic is the best in the business. He was not surprised that they were backed up. He was shocked that they just ghosted me.
He said to go to Rodger Daniels brake/alignment/suspension. Spoke to them. They seem great. No appointments until after the first of the year. That’s okay, because parts will probably take that long anyway.
Man , all that sux! You'll never get it finished befor your son turns 30yrs old. These cars are not hard to work on. Basic tools are all you need to get 90% of any task completed.
Guess thats why I do 90% my self,, its easy.
Sounds like you guys have the time to spend,, get some tools and have fun doing it yourself..
Man , all that sux! You'll never get it finished befor your son turns 30yrs old. These cars are not hard to work on. Basic tools are all you need to get 90% of any task completed.
Guess thats why I do 90% my self,, its easy.
Sounds like you guys have the time to spend,, get some tools and have fun doing it yourself..
Nah, we’ll be okay. Plus, are these cars ever really finished?
As for time to spend, he works 6 days a week, 114 hrs last pay period, plus he’s in the Automotive Technology program at the college. He doesn’t have a ton of extra time-but I know what you’re saying. We have and will be working on it together.
We’ve got tools. We could always use more but between us and the neighbors we’ve got the tools covered.
We wanted a good shop to diagnose and prioritize the issues and take care of some stuff. I’ve done very little wrenching and he’s just learning. But I hear ya. We’ll have fun working on it, there’ll be plenty to do ourselves.
GREAT ATTITUDE GUYS. I believe you'll finally find the shop your looking for. And, true, there will always be something to wrench on, in a C3. Looking forward to watching your progress.
A while back, we got the t-top weather stripping installed. It seems like a minor detail to to focus on with so much else to do but it was leaking. We needed to seal the rear window and doors too. I know it’s terrible but a ran a thin bead of silicon around the rear window until we get it done right.
He got the new power steering hoses, fuel line and lower radiator hose installed, plus did an oil and filter change.
We need to re-install the fan shroud but it won’t fit because the radiator mount was modified. Not sure what we’ll do about that yet. Someone said it was a “shrapnel” aluminum fan but it’s not. I know it has a lot of other issues going on. We bought it this way. The guy we bought it from just started working on it and wanted to do a drag build but he had to move to Europe.
This is the estimate of the work that certified sat on for many weeks, no update calls, no call backs, only any got info by going there in person. Then just they just promised us and blew us off.
GREAT ATTITUDE GUYS. I believe you'll finally find the shop your looking for. And, true, there will always be something to wrench on, in a C3. Looking forward to watching your progress.
I thought you were being sarcastic for a sec.
The shop where it is now is on it. He just does OEM type repairs. He got me an estimate the day after I brought it in. I ordered the power steering parts the day after that.
With all of the supply chain delays I was worried about how long it would take. Ecklers got the parts to me last evening, way quicker than I ever thought they could. I got them to the shop this morning. We’ll see how long it takes.
Great to hear you and your son are engaged in rebuilding a vette. Always glad to hear of the younger generation stepping up to take them on it but think it's a small group compared to the way things were but move forward.
Trying to find a shop to do the work, the way you want, at a high level of quality, and at a reasonable cost may be a long shot. A lot depends on what you want the car for, I would recommend against what I call a forum poster car, meaning a lot of mods that you might not really need. If money is not a concern then by all means look for that shop and hopefully you will find it but most of us here turn a wrench on the car for several reasons, one being getting the work done correctly.
I had my son start out on my vettes and when he was 17 gave him a 75 basket case to build, which he did. I taught him how to build custom steering boxes, differentials, arms, suspensions, and 4 speeds. Everything was done except the body and paint which was in nice shape. He now builds his own vette and went in the drag race direction.
If there is no time now put it aside and work on it when you can, the more you do the better you will be without paying $100-$140 hour at a shop that might cause more problems than they fix. A shop may be great with body and paint work while mechanical work is limited to ordering parts and rebuilt units online. I could write a book about this subject based on working on these cars since I was 17. Back then parts were made here in the usa and fit, the quality was the best but the con men were still around back then as today so care was always needed and education with these cars the best "tool" you can have.
Good luck with your build and to your son for working hard for what he wants. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.
Awesome your son that taken an interest in these old cars and I feel your pain on trying to find a repair shop to do basic work. For the most part nobody wants to work on old cars and their bread and butter is production work on newer cars that just require R&R of parts and out the door. Machines do all the troubleshooting these days so there is nothing to figure out or expend too many brain cells on.
As already pointed out these cars are really easy to work on if you have the tools and manuals coupled with the desire to dive in and just plow through it which it sounds like your son is all about that. I was fortunate enough to have grown up in the family business of a Auto Repair shop and from the age of 6 to 18 that's all I knew or did. Wrenching on 60s,70s and 80's vintage cars comes natural to me and later model stuff not so much. I won't even think about touching my daily drivers, that's dealer work.
A friend of mine is retired and a long time gearhead. He has a detached shop at his house and does side work for friends and word of mouth stuff. Every time I go by his place there is something new on his lift he is working on. I bet he is doing all this for peanuts compared to what the hourly wage is at normal repair shops. Hook up with some local car clubs and you might find a similar gearhead doing side work at his house.
Great to hear you and your son are engaged in rebuilding a vette. Always glad to hear of the younger generation stepping up to take them on it but think it's a small group compared to the way things were but move forward.
Trying to find a shop to do the work, the way you want, at a high level of quality, and at a reasonable cost may be a long shot. A lot depends on what you want the car for, I would recommend against what I call a forum poster car, meaning a lot of mods that you might not really need. If money is not a concern then by all means look for that shop and hopefully you will find it but most of us here turn a wrench on the car for several reasons, one being getting the work done correctly.
I had my son start out on my vettes and when he was 17 gave him a 75 basket case to build, which he did. I taught him how to build custom steering boxes, differentials, arms, suspensions, and 4 speeds. Everything was done except the body and paint which was in nice shape. He now builds his own vette and went in the drag race direction.
If there is no time now put it aside and work on it when you can, the more you do the better you will be without paying $100-$140 hour at a shop that might cause more problems than they fix. A shop may be great with body and paint work while mechanical work is limited to ordering parts and rebuilt units online. I could write a book about this subject based on working on these cars since I was 17. Back then parts were made here in the usa and fit, the quality was the best but the con men were still around back then as today so care was always needed and education with these cars the best "tool" you can have.
Good luck with your build and to your son for working hard for what he wants. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.
Thanks for the sage advice and well wishes.
Many are emphasizing the DYI route. We agree. Unfortunately, unlike you I can’t teach him much about wrenching but that’s why he’s enrolled in the local college automotive program.
It’s at a shop now getting some stuff done, like the fixing key stuck in the on position problem and power steering components installed. There’s a ton of stuff for us to do ourselves that we’re looking forward to.
Awesome your son that taken an interest in these old cars and I feel your pain on trying to find a repair shop to do basic work. For the most part nobody wants to work on old cars and their bread and butter is production work on newer cars that just require R&R of parts and out the door. Machines do all the troubleshooting these days so there is nothing to figure out or expend too many brain cells on.
As already pointed out these cars are really easy to work on if you have the tools and manuals coupled with the desire to dive in and just plow through it which it sounds like your son is all about that. I was fortunate enough to have grown up in the family business of a Auto Repair shop and from the age of 6 to 18 that's all I knew or did. Wrenching on 60s,70s and 80's vintage cars comes natural to me and later model stuff not so much. I won't even think about touching my daily drivers, that's dealer work.
A friend of mine is retired and a long time gearhead. He has a detached shop at his house and does side work for friends and word of mouth stuff. Every time I go by his place there is something new on his lift he is working on. I bet he is doing all this for peanuts compared to what the hourly wage is at normal repair shops. Hook up with some local car clubs and you might find a similar gearhead doing side work at his house.
Good luck with the Vette.
Thanks. Again more solid advice. A Corvette car club founder recommended Certified. Many of their members go there but they’re too overwhelmed. Good problem to have.
We have manuals-and along with my neighbors, have tools.
My Acura mechanic suggested just what you’re talking about. He has a guy working side jobs out of his house that rebuilt the brakes on his co owner’s ‘75 and swears by him.
My Acura mechanic suggested just what you’re talking about. He has a guy working side jobs out of his house that rebuilt the brakes on his co owner’s ‘75 and swears by him.
💯%,,,, Well, there ya go, perfect guy to have around. If we lived closer, you could hang with me under my shade tree,,,
Peter Phan @ Phantastic auto got the repairs that we agreed to done. Again, he only does OEM work. I was worried about supply chain problems with parts but they came very quickly from Ecklers.
Not only did he repair the key stuck in the on position issue for free, he also installed the PS cylinder and valve for $250. His estimate was $550 parts, $400 labor. Allowing us to order the parts ourselves and bring them in to him saved us $200 for parts and $150 less in labor. A total of $600 instead of $950.
This is embarrassing but we were thinking about going with a Borgeson box and didn’t understand, until it was too late, that it replaces the valve and cylinder. Ironic that we waited and waited for repairs at 3 other shops with nothing being done but then when I called in hopes that he hadn’t installed them yet, he already did it. Oh, well. I hope we won’t miss it too much. Then again, since those parts fail pretty quickly, he can get the Borgeson box when they do
Phan thinks would should save a ton of $ by simply replacing the bushings on the stock control arms etc. and replacing the brakes with OEM parts.
The problem is that my son wants to decrease the huge gap between the tire and fender. Which means coilovers, which requires tubular control arms, aftermarket brakes… 10k in parts for the Ridetech front and rear with compatible Wilwood brakes + labor.
Glad you got good service....
It looks as your son's car has that special option many find only after starting to work on it,, its usually on the drivers side,, that large hole in the floor,,thats the spot you get to pour huge amounts of cash, and watch it fly away in the rear view mirror,, gone and never recovered. I think its the most fun option.
Glad you got good service....
It looks as your son's car has that special option many find only after starting to work on it,, its usually on the drivers side,, that large hole in the floor,,thats the spot you get to pour huge amounts of cash, and watch it fly away in the rear view mirror,, gone and never recovered. I think its the most fun option.
Oh yes, it definitely has that option. He says that’s why he’s working hard and saving money. He knows that mods can bring down the value and you’ll never get the money back out of it if you sell it. It’s not a chrome bumper model and the tail section is modified so it no longer has the (to him) ugly ‘74 sloping split tail section, so additional mods won’t ruin it any further.
He says he doesn’t care about not being able to get the money back out of it, because he’d never sell it. Especially when he’s put so much into it and selling it would mean a big loss. You never know, it might be worth more one day, many, many years down the road?
You don't NEED to use coil-overs to lower the car, you can lop a coil or so off the front springs, and put longer bolts in the rear. But coil overs are better. Viking double adjustable front coil overs are half the price of QA1s. I have a pair of QA1s as well as a pair of Vikings, and the quality on both seems excellent. Granted, I have not installed them yet. Honestly, the longer bolts in the rear has serious limitations, especially if you want to use 15" wheels. But you DON'T need to spend 10K to get the car down in the weeds looking good, spend $1500 on the Van Steel offset rear arms/coil overs, and $650 on the Viking front semi-coil overs, and you will have a fully adjustable ride height suspension. All American made, I might add.
11-01-2021, 11:31 PM
My son’s first car. ‘74 Resto-mod build thread
💯%,,,, Well, there ya go, perfect guy to have around. If we lived closer, you could hang with me under my shade tree,,,
gone and never recovered.
