2001 Restoration
May 2nd, 2021, 10:15 PM
#1
2001 Restoration
Greetings all,
I'm in Houston TX and have a 2001 Express LT that's in overall great shape - low mileage, zero dents, clean, well cared for. Looking for recommendations of shops that specialize in restoration and performance. There are a few things I would like fixed up and upgraded - not even super custom, and have had no success even getting shops to call me back, much less look at the van and give me a quote. No vendors in TX in the vendor directory here. I figure I'm just asking the wrong kind of place. Any referrals?
For example, it has 15" aluminum wheels, which look undersized on the van, and I'd like to get 17". I'd like to change the front grill and headlights for the composite version, but when I took it to a body shop that advertises it specializes in upgrades and custom work, it turned out to be a collision shop and they were not at all interested in work they couldn't quote straight out of their database. I took it to a custom trim shop for wheels, stereo, and seats, and couldn't even get them to call me with a quote. It needs a tiny amount of body work amounting to tightening some trim and touching up a very few chips, and some repair to the fog lights mounting. The van sat for a long time, and developed more than average engine problems for its mileage, so I'd like to have the engine either overhauled or replaced. It needs degradable parts in the engine compartment replaced, front suspension renewed, and the AC system overhauled. Since I don't know what may be currently available in front suspension, I want to at least consult with a performance shop. I'd like to get leather front seats and sell off all the cloth seats as a set. I've emailed and filled out contact forms to a few other places and have had no replies. I'm polite and make it clear budget is not an issue, and the van is not difficult to work on or in bad shape requiring lots of problem-solving, or dirty or unpleasant to work in. Hence I figure I'm just not asking the right kind of place.
I'm in Houston TX and have a 2001 Express LT that's in overall great shape - low mileage, zero dents, clean, well cared for. Looking for recommendations of shops that specialize in restoration and performance. There are a few things I would like fixed up and upgraded - not even super custom, and have had no success even getting shops to call me back, much less look at the van and give me a quote. No vendors in TX in the vendor directory here. I figure I'm just asking the wrong kind of place. Any referrals?
For example, it has 15" aluminum wheels, which look undersized on the van, and I'd like to get 17". I'd like to change the front grill and headlights for the composite version, but when I took it to a body shop that advertises it specializes in upgrades and custom work, it turned out to be a collision shop and they were not at all interested in work they couldn't quote straight out of their database. I took it to a custom trim shop for wheels, stereo, and seats, and couldn't even get them to call me with a quote. It needs a tiny amount of body work amounting to tightening some trim and touching up a very few chips, and some repair to the fog lights mounting. The van sat for a long time, and developed more than average engine problems for its mileage, so I'd like to have the engine either overhauled or replaced. It needs degradable parts in the engine compartment replaced, front suspension renewed, and the AC system overhauled. Since I don't know what may be currently available in front suspension, I want to at least consult with a performance shop. I'd like to get leather front seats and sell off all the cloth seats as a set. I've emailed and filled out contact forms to a few other places and have had no replies. I'm polite and make it clear budget is not an issue, and the van is not difficult to work on or in bad shape requiring lots of problem-solving, or dirty or unpleasant to work in. Hence I figure I'm just not asking the right kind of place.
Last edited by eggsbenedict; May 5th, 2021 at 12:26 PM. Reason: adding details
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