- Can't wait to hold the steering wheel and actually - Use a gas pedal.

It's nice to be behind the wheel finally.

And not just in the showroom but being end of the road.

- I bought this car back in 1983.

I was 19 years old and have been working towards this day.

From that point on, every car has a story - Like the best thing ever.

For some they end up here.

These are just some of the stories about those who collect and restore vehicles giving them a renewed lease on life so that their stories can be told Right here on RadicalRestoration - Closed captioning is provided by Senior Discovery Tours online@seniordiscoverytours.ca.

Funding for radical restoration is provided by - Rakabot sources sustainable materials to create boot racks that organize footwear while allowing drippings to go in the bowl.

Models designed for home work or recreational settings are available online@rababot.com Birds Underwater - In Crystal River, Florida supports Radical Restoration, offering guided excursions with Florida manatees, kayak rentals, scuba diving certifications and boat tours are also available since 1993 and online@birdsunderwater.com.

- In this episode, we feature a 1957 Bell Air as we get it ready for the MotorRama car show at the International Center where we also visit with a few car owners at the show.

Then the 57 Bell Air is picked up by its owner and taken for a spin.

- Well welcome.

This is the 57 Bell Air that's going down to the International Motorama Show at Airport Road Thursday morning.

So we thought I'd give you a little peek at the car before it gets into the display.

So to start on the underside, it's a fully custom chassis with all C four Corvette suspension.

So you've got independent rear end all custom bogs frame.

You can see the exhaust has run up through the frame rails to keep it tight and we'll take you up towards the front.

This is, this is something new electronic e-brake kit.

So we just sort of got that in there and up front you can see all the big Corvette spindles a arms.

So this thing rides like a new car.

You can kind of see a little bit here where it's an LS three, which is the 525 horse version.

We'll get some more detailed shots when this comes back down.

You can see the guys even made little heat shields to keep it away from the lines and stuff like that.

It's all the fiddly stuff on these that that keeps them so many hours in them.

So this has got a, a Trimac T 56, which is a six speed.

So it's really well built car, like it's got all the best stuff in it, big brakes, custom rims, tons of hours.

Went into this car.

We've got some pictures of what we started with was typical of what we get, you know, rotted out old Hidden Secrets from 20 years ago.

So it's come out really nice.

The owner's quite happy with it.

He's actually gonna miss the show, which is a shame.

He's, he's away on vacation, but we we're supposed to get him lots of pictures.

So what we'll do is we'll drop the car down, you can have a look at the top side of it and then you can see the boys over there are just working out the details on the display booth.

So we've got the corner signs, they're just cutting the carpet.

And then we've got other signage with all the details about the car.

So we'll get you this thing down and have a look now.

Little peek under the hood.

So this is the LS three, which is big thing nowadays.

Most guys are going with these swaps, you know, they're push the button and go as opposed to dealing with carburetors, et cetera.

But you can see a lot of the little details.

The hood hinges are all billet bracings, all billet in here.

Good.

This gray radiator from some guys down in Buffalo Wizard Cooling, really nice stuff.

The combination of the trim on this car, some of it's reproduction stuff and some of it is original that's been polished up 'cause certain pieces are very hard to find.

We'll bring you around on this side.

There we go.

So you can see inside all the interiors done covers.

It's got electric power windows, electric vent windows.

It's got everything, you name it.

So all the aftermarket gauges, even in the back seat, it's got the four buckets.

John has had the car for 50 years, so he's waited a very long time to finally get everything done.

And we affectionately call him gadget man because he ha he, he likes every gadget possible.

So, and you know, there's only so much room in these doors and stuff.

So we've got, there's a lot of trickery into getting everything in the doors here and even under the dash, you know, with all the modules and the AC system and all that stuff.

We were running outta room.

There's not a lot of, not a lot of room left under there, but we like, I like the classic stuff like the, so many people call 'em dag Mars or bullets, but the, the front cones on those are pretty slick.

And what's neat about it, it's got just enough of the gold accents on it.

It's got 'em on the side, it's got 'em on the grill, the front of the hood, it's got the Chevrolet.

And then on of course on the trunk lid you've got the V on the back with the third brake light, the, they call them tri fives, which is 55, 56, 57 are the most popular ears for the bell air.

And this one's a hard top.

It doesn't have a, a post in the door.

The other models were considered post CARSs.

So this is the more desirable one, the hard top.

Some guys like this fend rear on the 57 'cause the other ones were more rounded, but there's a real following for these cars.

So he's, he's got a nice one.

You know, there was a, there was a lot of of work to get it to look this good 'cause there was a metal work in the floors, the trunk, the sides.

I'll shoot you some pictures of it, you'll see what I'm talking about.

We've been at this a while.

This is a few years built this one.

So, you know, normally post, or sorry, pre pre covid, it used to be about, you know, I'll call it 14 to 16 months to do a build and now it's like two years plus.

There's still issues getting parts and stuff now.

So you know, we have about 30 cars on the go on average.

So it's this continual battle trying to get parts for all of them.

And some of them we've had to, you know, sort of figure other solutions out and you know, put our own kits together for stuff for air conditioning and things like that.

So we are working our way through the backlog but it's, it's still a battle.

Still a battle.

Oh they've got this down 'cause they're working on that.

So the panel's gotta go back in before the show.

And then even on here we've got, this is all LED, it's got LED headlights in it as well.

It's just goes on and on and on.

And of course the good old, you know, there's your gas filler 57 bell air stuff.

So we think it'll do pretty good.

This is a custom color and it's, it's based on Elkhart Lake Blue and Rhythm and Blues are Corvette colors.

So we've added more metallics and pearl to it and stuff.

So under the light it's gonna be pretty sharp.

Hopefully we can get you down to the show to do some filming too.

You can see it under the lights.

Did you wanna have a look at the display here and see what they're doing?

So they're just working out the carpet locations and then all the trim, so it'll fit underneath the, the trim.

We've got the corner pieces made with the 57 bell air stitched in.

We've got poster signs for each corner so it has the description of the car and, and all the stuff.

So we'll be loading her up later tomorrow and heading down first thing Thursday morning because the car's never been shown before.

It's going to be in the front hall, which is the first time shown.

And then it'll also be in a competition, which is the, the 10 best cars in the show.

So it'll be in that award category as well.

And there's, I think, I think Lincoln Electric Awards, Wayfair I think is doing awards as well.

So it's kind of an interesting setup.

It's, it's really nice to get 'em in the first time, show 'em before they, you know, get out on the road and you end up with stone chips and road rash and stuff on 'em.

So this'll be nice to feature the car.

It's gonna be busy down there.

- My name is George DeSilva and I play around at home in my garage and basically this is the truck I just built.

It's a 1962 Chevy half tonne We started with the, basically buying the cab and then we built the frame from there up and put the truck back together.

The, this has got the new style motor in it.

A lot of the systems were locked up on it.

So basically the worst part was actually unlocking everything.

But now it's, everything's working fine.

So we're good.

The solar panels basically run all my accessories, the 12 volt accessories, that way I don't have to use any of the main battery power.

So this just charges free.

It's just sitting on the truck.

Anyway.

So that's basically it.

The two years basically.

Yeah.

To get it all going.

Was it worth it?

Oh yeah, yeah.

It's very, it's, it's neat.

It's different.

It's going the new way is pretty much going that way.

I'm still a gas guy, but the - Electric's kind of neat.

My name is Drew Whittick and this is our 1964 Porsche 356 Coupe.

Well we're Volkswagen people.

We started off with beetles and stuff like that and it just, it's, it's very similar to a Volkswagen, a lot of the same parts and stuff.

So it just kind of, it's the natural progression and yeah, it turned out really well.

It took about four to five years.

We did it in our garage at our house and at the time my dad was still working his proper job, so he was just doing this part-time.

But after he quit that he was able to focus on this full-time and yeah, I got done four to five years.

I drove it once before it was restored and once after it was finished.

But we just sold it a week ago.

So this is, this is the last time it's gonna be shown in Canada.

It's going down to the states.

- Nice.

Really nice being recognized.

A little bit strange being at a hot rod show, the concourse style build.

But yeah, everybody here has been absolutely fantastic.

My parents always come to support me at these things, but it was a father son weekend with my boys, so yeah.

We're here doing what we do - It's Doug Thompson.

I bought this car back in 1983.

I was 19 years old and have been working towards this day from that point on.

Why did you have to buy this car?

'cause I saw a movie when I was 10 years old that had this car racing another car.

And I thought that was the best thing ever.

And after that I had to buy a car.

So I'm 59 now.

Took me 40 years.

Did a lot of the, did the construction work on it and bought, I, that was before being married.

I had two kids, got married, got a house.

So it sat in a barn for 15 years.

Me cursing that, I couldn't work on it, but I figured it was better to pay the mortgage than work on the car.

Pardon?

Oh, that'd be cool.

Oh, congratulations Sergeant.

Thank you.

Well, did you expect that to happen?

No.

To get best?

No, I didn't expect that to happen.

That's awesome.

Well, what do you think?

It's awesome.

Did you ever think it would get to this point where it - No, it was supposed to be ready for our wedding 36 years ago.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

Oops.

- He won some awards.

That's awesome.

Toss 10 for the first showing.

That's awesome.

Yeah, - It's done - To take one.

We're just getting ready to start packing everything up.

It's been a busy weekend, apparently.

Lots and lots of people.

Lots and lots of really nice cars here.

It's been a, it's been a, a hectic last week trying to get everything together to get it here.

Glad we brought it.

Would've been nice to walk away with a little, a little something more, but fortunately not this time.

Well I had my hand in, in some of the, the metal work, the body work and the paint.

I'm gonna see when we're, we're hundreds and hundreds of hours trying to put these cars together.

This one had an extreme amount of detail.

Lots of electronics, lots of middle accessories.

It's probably not a bit as much technology in it as a brand new Corvette does today.

Lots of little gadgets and gizmos and, and lots of comforts.

Modern comforts next year.

Yeah, maybe we can talk the owner into putting a little bit more into it.

See how much more we can stuff into it.

We'll bring it back.

But we're definitely gonna have a couple more next year.

We're going in, we, we've got some really nice builds on there already.

Yeah.

Sick - Coming down the home stretch.

Yeah, John's on his way to pick it up.

So it's a nice car.

It's got way too much high tech features in it for my liking, but it's not my car.

So yeah, we built, we built a nice car, but it's got a lot of bells and whistle take out for a drive.

The customer's gonna drive it for the first time.

- So this is gonna be your first time taking it out.

- First time.

- What do you think?

- I think it's great.

I can't, can't wait to hold the steering wheel and actually use a gas pedal.

Is this a reception area?

Yeah.

How you doing?

Hey Bill.

Hey everyone.

Everyone's, everyone's taping.

I guess I better go pay the bill.

Yeah, Bill's gonna show me how it works, how to use the clutch.

- Okay, let's go.

So we're saying is - Rolling good take - This June will be four years.

I brought it in June of 2019.

So it's been a long, long waiting game.

It's nice to be behind the wheel finally.

And not just in the showroom, but being on the road.

- Is it everything that you had envisioned?

- Oh and more.

I've forgotten how big this car was.

Like these are big tanks, but it's certainly nice to have Corvette suspension and the big Corvette just brakes.

Well I, I don't know if I told you, but they called me Mr. Gadget in the shop because I was always adding some little gizmo or safety feature or security feature or an option from 57 that no one really knew anything about.

But I had to have.

So this isn't interior that is off the shelf from a company called TMI in California.

They produce some for whatever car it just plunks in.

Got many different styles, colors that you can choose from.

Gary will say it doesn't really just plunk in.

There was some customization or re fabrication in a couple spots.

Just like any aftermarket part, they just don't fit a hundred percent.

So the hardest part I think of making choices, building this car was what color, what size rims or what style of rims and the interior.

'cause everything else is just sort of a given.

Depends on how far your bank account will allow to go.

But this is a very nice retirement project for me.

So as you get older, I used to do all the work myself in the car.

As you get older, you just put the checkbook on the top of the toolbox and call it quits.

Okay, there she goes.

- Closed captioning is provided by senior discovery tours online@seniordiscoverytours.ca.

Funding for radical restoration is provided by - Rakabot sources sustainable materials to create boot racks that organize footwear while allowing drippings to go in the bowl.

Models designed for home work or recreational settings are available online@rababot.com.

Birds underwater in Crystal - River, Florida supports radical restoration, offering guided excursions with Florida manatees, kayak rentals, scuba diving certifications and boat tours are also available since 1993 and online@birdsunderwater.com.

- Thank you for joining us.

My name's Gary Nichols.

Until next time, may all your rides be radical.