In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains exists “Rust Valley” – a junkyard made up of acres upon acres of old and abandoned cars as far as the eye can see. There lives a unique car restoration community and the subject of HISTORY®’s new Canadian-original Rust Valley Restorers (8×60). Premiering Thursday, December 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the series focuses on one restoration shop in the “Rust Valley” that stands apart from the rest. Shop owner Mike Hall and his colourful crew are experts at transforming rusted wrecks into collectible cars. His team passionately works to return cars to their former glory – sometime for trade, sometimes for sale, and not always at a profit.
In advance of the premiere, Mike Hall offers a behind-the-scenes look at the industry.
Where do you source materials to restore the cars?
I first search through my own field of 400 cars. From there I barter and trade with other residents of Rust Valley and scour swap meets around the Valley.
There are also online forums and social media groups where people post parts they’ve got for sale, and send out pleas to others to help find rare parts. I’m regularly in touch with other car fanatics across North America, and will buy a car on the other side of the continent sight unseen if it’s got the parts I need!
I also buy new and used parts from online stores where you can get original factory parts from decades ago and newly-made reproductions of classic parts (known as ‘re-pops’). California and the U.S. desert are great sources for parts since the air is dry and they’re preserved there.
What are the top three most popular cars to be restored?
In general, the most popular cars being restored are the Ford Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Plymouth Road Runner.
What is the average cost of restoring a car?
Depending on the client, the sky’s the limit, and some high-end customers will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars restoring a car. But my goal is to restore cars that the average person can afford to buy, so the cars I typically work on average around $50,000 each.
Roughly how long it takes to restore a car?
The length of time depends on the condition the car is in, what the client would like done, and what problems arise along the way. On average, it can take 700-1000 hours. With two people working on a car at once, that means it could take three months from start to finish.
How many cars does your shop restores each year?
I opened my new shop last spring and plan to do 12-15 cars a year.
How many people are on your crew?
My shop has a core team of 7-10 people. Beyond that, I use the other shops in Rust Valley as an assembly line of sorts – turning to other shops and suppliers to help get the job done.
You go Avery, congratulations on your show!!