Every boy that was ever into cars grows up with a dream car… mine was a 1968-72 Chevy Nova. I always planned to eventually find my own car, but what I didn’t plan was doing it under such an insane set of circumstances.
I don’t think any new father of two young kids, that’s just started a new business, expects to be building his dream car all at the same time. Did I mention that I have never done this before AND we are filming the entire process all at the same time? Well that’s exactly what happened.
I had previously spent the last decade working on renovation videos and due to that I was able to renovate several houses by myself. I figured I’d research every task that needs to be done, film the whole process to help others achieve their own dreams. There are plenty of experts out there showing how its done but I found a lack of everyday Joe’s showing that ‘everyday folk’ can do it as well.
I’m already a videographer by trade, why not? So we did it and after 1.5 years working on the car and 800 hours put into the car we’ve amassed a library of helpful videos for others like us. But the story is not over, but rather just getting started… this is our story.
Chapter 1: The Search
So it was settled, with a one year old at home and another on the way we were going to do it.. we were going to find a neglected Chevy Nova and bring it back to life. Just less than a year of starting a new business of becoming a full-time youtuber documenting people’s classic cars and preserving their stories on video. It was never a plan to do it a this point in life but you can shift the blame over to Mike Hall of Rust Valley Restorers: a popular Canadian restoration program. Mike lost a family member and said something along the lines of “Any day can be the last and it’s too late. There’s no time like now”. Haunted by those words I threw out the idea of restoring a car at 40 years old and decided now is the time.
We soon began our hunt and we documented the vast majority; highlighting all the interesting developments. What we didn’t expect is for it to take 13 months and see over 60 cars until we found the right one. I was extremely picky with what I was looking for: a 68-72 Nova that’s as close to original as possible. But more important a car with a story…
Whether the car was left in a field and forgotten, or a farmer never got around to it in a barn, I wanted a story. As much support as we got looking for this car we got an equal amount of doubt that this could ever be found. But patience paid off and suddenly it became apparent that we found the right one.
We would film 6 episodes just searching for the right car.
Chapter 2: the recovery
After months of searching and countless disappointments I received a simple message from a man named Gerry: “I bought a Nova off a farmer 4 years ago, he had two of them sitting in a barn. I can ask him if he still has the other one. I’m in New Brunswick.”. My thoughts: ” New Brunswick that’s about 8 hours from where I am, kind of far…. Wait a second a barn find – are you freaking kidding me?”.
Up until then I had seen over 60 cars (most online but many in person too) and all of these cars were either too far gone rotting for decades in fields, or half restored by people who had given up or ran out of money. But this was a BARN FIND. I said yes, got a picture and a couple months later we were on the road. The car was “perfect” in my eyes, it had everything I wanted… heck it even had the pedals for a manual which none of the other ones I saw had. We got the car home and it was time to find out just what we had got ourselves into.
Chapter 3: The car is a MESS: what have I got myself into?
So there it sat, no roof, dashboard crumbling, quarter panels rotted to hell and more rust than metal. I had already spent a few months working on the floor, getting rid of the rust and every time we would start something new more surprises would come up.
So what happened? I thought we found the perfect car? Well despite being parked inside water penetrated the car and the trim and interior hid all the sins that mother nature had committed on this car. So what we were left with was a car that was structurally sound, but decaying in many areas. “How am I going to do this? I’ve never done anything like this before?!”
Voices of doubt and fear would haunt me for months. But it was too late to stop now, I set a goal, I told the world and I can’t give up. I decided to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep going. For the next year and a half we would tackle every single job one task at a time. Hours of research at night and even more hours in the garage during the day.
I would remain seemingly “forever sleepy” and forever covered in rust, grease and mouse poop. But the job kept moving, my confidence grew and eventually I started to see the progress and my fears went away. “I can do this, I won’t give up… and I’ll help others get past their fears as well”.
For the next year and a half we would produce nearly 20 videos. From roof replacement, to welding floors, from rebuilding the dash to hand sanding the majority of the car.
Playlist of the entire re-build
Chapter 4: This is where we are at
We have just hit the 50% Mark….the main shell of the car is mostly rust free, all that is left is to strip it and start the bodywork. We are still working on the doors, hood, trunk and fenders. But the worst is past and now we are at the stage of fitting new parts on the car.
Our story got around and we started to work with several companies. This was a lifesaver because it has enabled us to keep going. Doing such an insane project full-time is not only time consuming but extremely expensive. Even more so now that the project has grown so much I decided this car is getting the full treatment of modern technology. It just makes sense if we are doing this we should do it right. It came with no motor, no transmission, no parts… everything that was on it was so old and rotted barely anything could be used. With all that said there is still much work to be done.
We are working on it every week and slowly gathering parts. It’s going to be a long process to acquire everything we need and to finish all that needs to be done, but we are committed. It’s likely the project may come to a halt at some point due to the cost of parts but thus far we have managed to keep going. It is my dream to one day step inside, turn the key and watch my wife’s face light up. With echos of the kids screaming “Burnout Dada, Burnout!” I’ll know at the point it was all worth it.
My Car Heaven’s thoughts
We have published Max’s story of his car restoration project, with his full approval. The work He has done is absolutely incredible, and we are keen to see how the 2nd part of his restoration project progresses. And we hope to deliver this update to you here on My Car Heaven.
We thank Max for him providing his story and the links to the various videos he has created.
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