Reputable Restoration Companies
 

Seriously considering farming out the GTO for a full restoration.

Just can't seem to make the progress alone that I had hoped for and "friends' can't seem to be bothered, even after helping them with their projects.

Not looking for a concourse resto, but would like a nice final product and not taking 5 years. I'd like to drive it while I'm still kicking.

Must be reputable company and reasonable to work with. Would prefer east coast (I'm in NC). Willing to pay for good work. Any personal recommendations or advice??

Go to some local cruises and start asking around.

Well I’m in PA and the guy I had hang new quarters and any body work and paint on my 69 Bird is the ONLY guy I’d let touch my car. He is very meticulous and I’d trust him with my life! My restoration is 20 years old now, and the car still wins top awards at shows. Anyone here who has seen it knows the quality of the body and paint work done on this car.


I’ve recommended this shop to many many GTO and GTO Judge owners, and everyone of them were more then happy with his work. He will do whatever level of resto you want, from daily driver to points judged concourse resto.


On my car he did body and paint. Only. We stripped the car ahead of time, and we re assembled it, completely, but he will do that we saved a few bucks doing it that way, plus I wanted to be hands on with the resto. Here’s a few of my car after a 20 year resto.

Contact 400 4sp on the forum here. Good reputation, legit business and in your neighborhood relatively speaking. http://www.barrsrestoration.com/home.html I would have had him paint mine had he been closer to me.

I had a very good experience with https://www.bremsethbodyshop.com/ and would recommend them, but they're in SE Minnesota... probably a little too far away for you.

I would start with a local auto paint store, they may know a decent shop, checking with guys a shows is good also, but that may be awhile before the next one in your area. Also I would broaden my horizon a bit, it may be worth a couple of hours of travel for the right shop. When you find the right place I would try to outline everything as detailed as possible regarding deadlines, expectations and a payment schedule. Good Luck.

These guys are in North Carolina, Alive Again Restorations

I've been following these guys on Facebook doing a 72 GTO. They seem very detailed in their work. Worth at least a phone call. Never mind the donkey walking around their shop, that's Cecil.

pm sent

Be careful. I've got a pretty crazy horror story. At the end of the day things turned out ok for me, but they did not for a number of other customers of the resto shop I used.

He would be my recommendation as well. Great guy, you will be very happy with his work. Check out his website and look at the 68 Firebird he did.

First person I thought of when he mentioned NC.

If you go to one of the known restoration shops you will pay big bucks. You could do what I did. If your car is good enough to drive, attend local car shows. Look around and talk to the owners of good looking cars. When I did that I would get the following answers: 1. I did it myself. 2. shop or body man A. Body man B. In my case body man A kept coming up on a lot of the good cars. I got on his waiting list and the following winter my car had a restoration. I did the light mechanical work and the electrical. He did the body and paint. We pulled the engine and a third mechanic rebuilt the engine. My guys are close to Columbus, Ohio if you want more information.

Classic Pontiac Rescue Honea Path SC

Do the interior, engine, tires & rims.

Get 1 body panel done at a time with "Single-stage" paint ( no clear coat). Then wet-sand the next year.

Barnes Classic Restorations in Piedmont SC. Lee Barnes is the owner (864)414-2929. Lee and his guys do extremely nice work and he is a Pontiac guy.

IMO opinion, the first thing that you MUST do is determine the level of restoration that you want and how much money you will budget. Will you be having the car points judged or driving it 10,000 miles per year? Big difference.

I'm in the midst of a DIY low budget build that is short of a "restoration". I'm paying people to do the parts that I can't. My goal is to build a nice, reliable and safe driver. A car that I'm not afraid to drive and not worry about it being correct etc.

Whats your goal?

Def the first thing to think about. Good Advice.

Beautiful '69....Maybe share who did the work?

People often talk about being afraid to use their cars after they've been restored, which is something I don't buy....I had my off topic daily driver cosmetically restored a few years back; the paint was done to a concours level, but it's still my daily driver. After all, people go out and buy brand new cars and then use them every day, and they're usually worth a lot more. My car has picked up a few minor chips here and there but it still looks great, you just have to be moderately careful about how you use it and where you park.

I have this same philosophy regarding collector cars. Most people treat them like glass ( and I understand why) however the average f150 on the road as daily transportation most likely cost more!!