Frame-off restoration means taking a car apart completely to fix and clean everything, both the body and the frame. It's a detailed way to make an old car look and work like new.
The Chevrolet 210 is a car model from 1956, part of a popular family of cars known for being dependable. It was often used for everyday transportation.
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a classic car that many people think of when they imagine the 1950s in America. The 1956 model is especially well-known for looking great and being fun to drive, making it a favorite among car lovers and collectors.
Restomod is when you take an old car and fix it up, but also add new parts to make it work better and be safer. It's like mixing the old style with new technology.
Sway bars are parts of a car's suspension that help keep it stable while turning. They connect the wheels on opposite sides of the car to reduce how much the car leans during turns.
Disc brakes are a kind of brake system that uses a flat disc to help slow down or stop the car. They work better than older types of brakes, especially when the car is going fast.
RPO is a code that car makers use to keep track of different features and options that can be added to a car. It's like a special label that tells you what extras are included with the vehicle.
Deferred maintenance is when you put off fixing things on your car because it's too expensive or you don't have time. This can cause bigger problems later on.
MagnaFlow exhausts are aftermarket parts that can make your car sound louder and more powerful. They help the engine breathe better, which can improve performance.
The gas filler cap is the part that covers the hole where you put gas into the car. Some cars have it in clever places, like behind the tail light, to make them look nicer.
Car
Chevrolet Tri-Five
The Chevrolet Tri-Five is a nickname for a group of classic cars made by Chevrolet in the mid-1950s. They are well-loved for their unique designs and are often restored and collected today.
The 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass is a car from the 1980s that many families used. It had a comfortable ride and sometimes had seats that faced backwards, which was fun for kids.
A 'project car' is a car that someone is working on to fix it up or change it. It usually needs a lot of work and can be a fun challenge for car lovers.
A 'garage queen' is a car that is kept in really good shape and isn't driven much. People usually keep these cars safe in a garage so they don't get damaged.
The Buick Skylark is a car that was made for many years, and the 1976 version is known for being comfortable and easy to drive. It's a classic car that people like because it combines a nice look with a smooth ride.
The Chevrolet C10 is an old pickup truck that many people love because it's tough and can be used for different purposes. The 1965 model is especially popular, and lots of people enjoy fixing them up or just driving them around because they remind them of simpler times.
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I'll drive you in my dreams, I'll drive you in my dreams, drive you in my dreams.
Welcome to another episode of the Classic Car Corner podcast. I'm your co-host Jason
Panner along with Eric Benzel and we welcome Mr. Jeremy Van Wert who is going to tell us his story
of his 1956 Bel Airs frame off restoration. Jeremy, thanks so much for reaching out to us.
It's always great to hear stories like yours that you're going to tell us and we know there's a lot
of sentimental value to this car so we welcome you to the podcast tonight.
I love what you guys are doing. Thanks so much for having me.
Of course buddy, it's a privilege and you're calling or we're calling you in California just
for our viewers so they know you're in the Lake Tahoe area and so again it's a privilege to have
you here tonight and so what I'd like to do is start with this is what are your childhood memories
of this car here Jeremy? Oh my goodness it actually goes before my childhood
and I suppose I'll start with it was a dark and stormy night. My mother was in high school
in Auburn California and at the point at which she was graduating she needed a car
that she could commute to the local junior college in and so grandma and grandpa and grandpa was a
Ford mechanic. They purchased for her a 1956 and it wasn't a Bel Air it was a four door 210 series
sedan. And this was something that was meant to just simply be reliable and safe transportation
at the time for for Linda to go to school. Okay so grandpa looked under the hood and he felt that
there needed to be a little bit of work and he pulled the engine out of the car that was that
already been you know it was a used car. Inline six-cylinder Jeremy am I thinking correct? No it was
it was the eight. It was an eight. Okay probably 283 if I had a cake. That is exactly what it was.
Yeah all right sorry about and it's funny that your grandfather was a Ford you said a Ford
tech is that right? Is that what you said? Yeah he's a Ford mechanic. I love it. All right so you
got this old school Ford tech looking at this Chevy 283. Okay go ahead I'm loving this go keep
going sorry to interrupt. Oh yeah and then grandpa he's another story he he owned a 1940 Lincoln
Zephyr that we still own by the way. Okay all right and so he pulls the engine out and he looks at
all over and he gets everything in top working order puts it back in and then puts Corvette
valve covers on it just as a little extra for for for things and the car became reliable
transportation for my mother to go back and forth to school. Okay. And life advances and of course
my mother my mother's a very sentimental person and it meant a great deal that that
her father gave her this car and my mother and father were high school sweethearts and
not long after high school they got married and the of course the two door car is one that is
it's beautiful it's sleek. It has its limitations in being able to have a family in it but this car
didn't have those limitations. Okay. The four doors had a lot of room inside and so when my parents
got married this was the car that took them on their honeymoon. Okay. They went out to the coast
and to Monterey and they they honeymooned in this car until they ran out of money and when
used to last their money to get back home. Okay. And as they started their lives together in the
late 1960s and the early 1970s my older sister was born in the early 1970s and this car remained
kind of a perfect car for them that was paid for. It was something that that my father was able to
work. My father worked for NASA. He was a finance guy for NASA and he was never really a wrench
himself but the car was simple enough that he could get under there and he could work on it
himself. He could do the brakes. He could do the oil changes. He could replace a generator
because it was simple and so because of that this remained still the perfect car and so
several years later my parents have me in 1977 and by this point of course this car is
looking like one of the older cars on the road but this car brought both my sister and I home
from the hospital. Okay. Of course this is where my own story begins with this car because this car
was always in the driveway and it's in the back of all of our
I'm sorry. Have you been able to hear me? Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Much better. Much better.
Yep. There you go. Sorry. My Bluetooth went off. Okay. There you go. Yeah. Okay. We were wondering
what there was a little bit of a tone change but go ahead. Yes. We've been able to hear you.
Keep going. All right. Sounds good. Yep. So in the late 1970s and early 80s all of the home movies
the super eight things and all of that had this green and white Chevy 210 sitting in the background
all the pictures and everything as I was a toddler being rolled around in front of the house and
so forth. It was always that car and when my father would work on the car I would stand next to him
and he would have me hand him the different wrenches that he needed and I would as a toddler
and a little kid I would hold on to the bumper of the car next to the car. Well my dad would work
on it on Saturdays and this is just the car that I remember us getting around in when I was little
and as my father ended up doing better and better in his life we were able to upgrade to
some newer cars but my mother loved this car so much that she just never could bear to part with
because it was something that her father gave her so it became the spare car. All right. Whatever
one of the other cars would break down we this was the car that would take us around town or if
my dad had to go to the hardware store and bring home a bunch of stuff this car was perfect you
could pile anything in it and bring it home and it was a car that only got things replaced on it
when they broke and so over years and years it was just a car that started looking a little bit
more rough a little bit more rough it was starting to patina a little bit and and my father would
just do what it needed to make sure that it started and and ran and in my teenage years
this was the car that I drove very early on when when I was learning to drive as a car that my
sister drove first out when we were learning to drive and of course a car like this a young driver
has to be really aware of how long it takes to stop something like this. There you go. Ways a little
bit. All right. Yeah. Got to pump those brakes man you can't take corners too fast because lanes
oh yeah all this this sort of thing and as as both my sister and I launched out of the house
this became a car that was driven by my father to church once a week on Sundays which was only
three miles away and so it just got driven less and less and less and my my parents had it in the
driveway and would put a new coat of paint on it every six years just to keep the neighbors from
being upset with us and and it kind of sat there and rust began to develop in the in the uh the um
the lower floor pans and and these sorts of things began to happen and it and it stopped being
something that was reliable enough to even take to church and so there is where it really just began
to sit and the chrome uh pitted and it was just kind of there now another piece of this that I have
left out is perhaps one of the most important things here which is that when I launched out of
house there were some difficulties between my mother and I and we are are both what I would call
similar people in that we are are both quite strong willed individuals and both of us felt
quite confidently that the other one had wronged them and these these things happen in in a lifetime
um and I was one that was willing to really prove a point and so I didn't talk to my own mother for
20 years uh just to prove the point that I felt that I was right and as as you know in in a life
as you get older those things stop being as important for you to to to feel that you're in
the winning end of of something and I started mellowing out and started slowly having a relationship
with my mother again and it was something that was a slow thought but it but it was it was going
somewhere good and I was having a conversation with my father about that I was in the market for a
classic car and I was looking at stewed bakers and 1940s fords and something that I could just
tool around town in and have fun and he said well what if what if you and I restored the Chevy
and I said well I don't think that mom would want this I don't I don't I don't know how
she would feel about me owning this car I don't I don't know what she would feel about what I
would want to do with it because my mother is an incredibly traditional woman when it comes to cars
she wanted this thing bolt for bolt Detroit she wanted it restored restored to that era
and that was never my vision for a car that I drove I wanted something that had more
rest oh my characteristics and and so my my father ever the diplomat he talked my mother
into allowing for me to take the car and to to restore this car now I knew darn well that my
mother had very strong feelings about she had said several times if I ever let go of that car I never
want to see it again I don't want to see what somebody does to it because it was something
that was a great source of pride for her and you know here I am in this position of making
some changes now the changes that I wanted to make they were not radical things but they were
radical to her these were things like you know sway bars dropping the suspension and putting
kragers on just because I live very cool sexy as hell come on mom I'm with you on that
and you know dropping that suspension making it a nice little kind of closer to the ground
stance because I'm taking mountain roads up here and I need disc brakes in front because
deer are not good at making great choices yep that's right but that car hitting a deer I don't
think you'd have a problem you just keep on going and you might get some of that
get the fur off of it the deer is going to look back at you going come on I thought you were
so we get this car going into the restoration phase and they begin taking every single last
part of this car off and my mother stops by the garage and she's actually quite emotionally
affected by seeing this car in a million pieces it's really really hard for her because it she'd
never seen it that way she was kind of scared of what would happen to it that's a tough thing for
anybody to see if you ever take your car and to have something done that involves going behind the
dashboard if you go in and look at it if they let you come in and say you want to if they see the
you want to see what it looks like right now yeah right be careful because you're going to look in
there and you're going to have a what there is a hole right there wasn't a hole
there's supposed to be stuff there it's all gone it's like it all goes back but yeah that's it's
a shocking thing when it's completely taken apart it can be I yeah I made the mistake of
having a car that required the front end to come out to work on the front end of a car
the basket case it's a I don't want to bother you with that it's it's it I'm emotional
about it because I was stupid enough to buy it but yeah you're seeing a car completely taken
apart in ways that you're like that's not normal yeah that'll affect you it will
well there was a silver lining to this because and you know that that car has those bullets
on the front bumper the two round points on the front bumper well when the front bumper was
taken off and they set it down there were a few things that fell out of those front bullets and
one of them was my baby binky that I must have put in there when I was standing there and helping
my father fix the car when I was a toddler there you go yep oh my goodness that's awesome and those
things are called dagmars by the way just fyi the bullets dagmars well thank you you're well
yep I was gonna say I didn't know we'd do classic bankies that's really I would have gone with Gerber
but all right dagmar all right well you can imagine that these mechanics they they come out to my
mother who's already emotional and then handle my baby binky after 45 years and of course my mother
was just standing there in a bucket of tears oh wow just you know this this time capsule that was in
the car that she'd never would have known about now these decisions that I made power steering
disc brakes these different things replacing the engine with a blueprint 350 okay these were
these were major things sure taking out the power book power glide transmission and putting in a
700 r4 these were things that I had to sit down and have a conversation with my mother about and
let her know why I was doing this and and also inside myself work on making a car that was
beautiful and with and kept with it the spirit of what that car is supposed to be they didn't make
bucket seats back then those cars had bench seats and the bench seats were beautiful and the bench
seats stayed now and the bench seats were part of the suspension in other words they were real
cushiony so so it would help compensate for some of the the the harshness of the
suspension because you'd have springs in these seats and so you're right yeah no no no go ahead
this is good stuff yeah and and what one of my things that I wanted even though some of the
purists would kind of giggle at me is shoulder belts in the front and lap belts in the back
and those were obviously not things that were originally in that car but I wanted them it's
it's nice to stay safe when you're driving these things so yes I applaud that yes and of course
with the power steering you have to take a 17 inch steering wheel down to a 14 which I bought
one of those beautiful replica steering wheels for these and and it just looks so nice in there
because it really does keep the spirit of what that car is supposed to be and look like and so
this whole time my mother is what I would call uncomfortable with where it's going I changed
the color on it slightly and gave it a brighter green than the kind of forest green that was on it
and towards the end the form of this car began to really be obvious what it was going to be and
it was just stunning even in the garage still on blocks without the wheels on it and when I was able
to drive it to go and let my mom ride in it and see it for the first time my mother stood there for
what I believe was probably close to an hour and a half just quietly walking around the car
and looking at every single little piece on it quite emotional putting her finger on the
the separation of the different panels to see how the separation measured up to the way that it
used to be and going going through it with a find and pointing out things to me that I actually
hadn't known about the car and she was she was pointing these things out because she knew it so
well and getting inside of it for the first time and and of course it sounds different because a
very different engine in in there but watching her come to love the car in this form which is
different than she would have ever done it herself got you but seeing how beautiful was
used to have a rubber floor because this is the 210 was a working man's car it really was yeah
didn't have all the chrome aesthetics and that kind of stuff that's sorry yep yeah and and now
it has carpet and that just better for the the sound inside of it and uh to to have this car
drive be reliable be something that at this point turns heads it's watching the way that she every
time I bring it over she'll tell me when I haven't cleaned it properly she'll point out yeah she'll
point out things that that I probably ought to get checked out but she she just absolutely adores
the car and one of her favorite things is when I take it to a car show she'll sit behind the car
because she likes to listen to what people say about the car gotcha yep and she just quietly
listens to what they have to say the little remarks and stuff like that and I have the the
little poster boards with pictures of the car through the years of of my mother holding me
and introducing me for the first time to my sister as a as a newborn baby standing right next to the
something so there's a lot of sentimental value to this car and I think it's so cool that you've
been able to bring this car you know back maybe not a rpo which is reproduction product order
or whatever it calls from the Chevrolet side of things but to be able to customize it to the point
where you're creating dialogue and sparking interest in that your mom has really taken
kindness to it from what she remembered but I mean you've only enhanced the value of this thing
and knowing the history it's a great thing to do and I applaud that so congratulations
well thank you very much and I'll let you know that you're restoring a car as you know is no
inexpensive thing and the way that I justified it is I just kind of divided the final cost by the
number of years that my family has owned this car and a number came out that was really the
reasonable cost per year of deferred maintenance on this car and it's the it's the only way to
justify you know this particular car which is not not the high end of this varietal it's it's
beautiful now but these cars were really made for families sure they weren't made for crews and
boulevards these these four doors were made so that you could get grandma and grandpa on the back
seat and that you could you know do grocery runs and it is it is really quite brilliant because
the two door it's it's harder to take your friends places because the climate overseeds but we don't
have this problem it's so easy to just pick people up to jump at the back seat and it's just nothing
and there's no blind spots in this car and but no I mean what a really fun thing to do and especially
as mentioned the background that you just gave us now to this day I'm sure your mom I mean I'm sure
she's probably driven it I mean what are the characteristics of her driving it as far as you
oh hey this is this is great Jeremy or oh hey I kind of like it the way it was or has she commented
on any of that I have offered several times for her to drive it and she has declined got you okay
and I have I have a feeling that she's just uncomfortable because of how much she knows
that we put into this but she loves riding in it and whenever I'm going to go take her somewhere
I always bring this car yeah but she you know she she does say that the the car is a bit loud
yeah yeah you got somewhat uh magnet flow exhaust on it with uh
that's exactly what I have and I wanted I wanted an exhaust on this car that could give you the
of course the definite sound of that really throaty v8 but also be a car that you could
have a conversation absolutely 100% well and and you'd say it wasn't when it came out it wasn't
working man's car but you know I mean you can look around and and I don't think you have a lot of
56 four-door 210s hanging around anymore that are are are not parts cars I think most of me
see out there two-door and to have the example that you I mean the it's it's the family's car so
treating the family's car to a not a facelift but just a refresh a complete refresh on there
I mean I granted I mean I'm sure the folks miss the if you take a left hand turn it's like you're
in the scrambler ride where everybody's shifting down the bench seat to the door you know make
sure you have that door locked don't hit the door handle we're taking a right hand turn
like your slides down the pitch but um well I can I can tell you this much that the car handles
different than it was ever designed to handle with the suspension that I've got on it and my
my mother grew up in the area where I live and she got a phone call one day and she chewed my
ear because one of her friends saw saw me in this car fly past them on a mountain road
quite quickly and my mother immediately calls me and says do you know what Dan told me he saw you
today there you go right and I just said mom you you got to drive this thing
yeah what are you thinking of the the rear end with the new tail lights
yeah you only got a short glimpse of them yeah what are you thinking about it it looked pretty
cool huh speaking of tail lights let's think about this for a second I want to say that the
gas filler cap is hidden behind the driver's side tail light am I right or wrong that is correct
so yeah okay yeah these things um you know it's part of the tri-five the 55, 56, 57 which is the
second generation of these things and they're just absolutely iconic in America you know automotive
design and mannerisms that make them such a sought after vehicle after so many years
and um but yeah no this is this is this is really a very cool story so
I know you you rest them on it you put a 350 a 700 r4 transmission in it different suspension
lowered it you said you put some craggers magnet magnet flow exhaust um what what's the actual
color of the car um as far as you said it's a lighter green metallic probably if I had to take
a guess yes it's it's it's that two-tone okay yeah with a green that I helped develop myself
oh nice okay the painter it's it's a very bright and colorful uh oh very uh very brilliant green
and the white that I put on the the roof and the rear is actually a 2017 Nissan SUV white okay and I
I got that because that is going to be a very easy color for me to get and get get a hold of if I
need to do touch up on this and that and uh it it looks really beautiful it's kind of a little bit
of an eggshell white that goes really nicely with the with the green I got you there you go
well that's really cool yeah it's nice to have that uh just in case something somebody nicks it or
something you got you got the perfect match for it no it works out good for sure
now with with with with it being a four door do you ever wish it was a two door
it sounds like the four door works perfect no I I never I never wish for that although you know
you have these purists that will come by at a car show and when they they don't know you're
standing right there they they make kind of like snarky remarks about it's got too many doors
and right well I I I don't those things aren't important to me what's what's really important
to me is the practicality of a car like this that it's reliable that it's fun and that it touches
people I whenever I drive it people walk up to me and they tell me a story about a car that they
had when they were a kid that was very much like it and that to me is what's important about a car
like this is that it it really brings out people's nostalgia people's memory of maybe a time in their
life that was a little bit more happy because you can see as they start telling that story they start
kind of looking towards the horizon and they're living in their childhood and telling you a very
important story about what it was like for them to ride in a car with their dad oh yeah and those
are really important things of course of course and remind oh and Jeremy I know um I'm assuming
your dad's still around is that correct see yeah they're both around yeah and um what about your
grandfather um no no grandfather grandfather's gone okay gotcha okay uh and and he was with
Ford for a number of years I still think that's kind of funny that um he would he would pick out a
bell air for your mom uh all right two ten I'm sorry uh but um but yeah that's that's just neat you
know it's fun stuff now are you a member of the American Tri-Five Association just out of curiosity
no I I'm not okay yep um I don't you know and I don't have one of these cars to become a member
either but I do know it's pretty prevalent and we'll see these cars up and down the
65 corridor here in Louisville Kentucky once a year probably head towards Bowling Green where the
Corvettes are made and I mean just some of these representations are just absolutely stunning and
it sounds like I know you shared some pictures of your car with me prior to this podcast and you
know we'd love to post some of them on our on our site when once this podcast goes live but uh I you
know here's the thing I mean I have a an 84 Ozenbill wagon and you know it's what a $4,500 car all day
long but the memories of having the kids in the rear mounted rear facing seat that faces backwards
and all the people you've had going under on the expressway and all the thumbs up
it's you can't really put a price on these type of things and so I applaud the fact that you've
taken this family heirloom and you've you've customized it and it's still part of the family
and I think that's great and I hope that you guys will obviously continue with this car for years to
come and um uh you know just you know obviously I'm sure it's garage kept at this point right
it absolutely is and the the stark difference between the condition of this car when we started
this project and you could look through the floorboards to the to the road below and that we
weren't even confident enough to drive this to the restoration place we were afraid that it would
catch on fire okay and and so we had it tailored to the garage and now this car is just absolutely
stunning and it's it's it's something that will turn ahead everywhere you go and the the thing
that I wasn't quite ready for is that now I drive one of those cars that the hotels and the wine
tasting place they want you to park right in front oh yeah of course sure yeah you know and so like
you're parking next to you know a Lamborghini and some kind of high-end bends and then you know here's
this little four-door family car that just looks nice and cherry and they want you but they want you
up front yeah that's right well you know a sad hustle of mine is um I'll get called for wedding
getaway cars or photo shoots for senior proms and so put your name out there it is a fun thing to
share your joy and it just continues to add sentimental value as you do that so keep that
kind of stuff in mind for sure I've had a few brides contact me about perhaps driving them away
from their wedding and I would absolutely do that so oh yeah no doubt now have you taken out
to any like cars and coffee or car shows in the area I have Auburn has a quite extensive cruise
night and I take it out there and that's where my mother really likes to sit behind it and and
listen to people I went to a tri-five show that happened in San Jose and drove it all the way
down there and boy that was a fun drive just you know a couple hours in it and I do they
shows do make for quite a long day but you do meet some really good people oh yeah no doubt
has it taken home any little trophies little plaques no I haven't entered it into shows that
do that but I actually I want to it's fun we've taken some adjacent to some local area things
and usually it's you know they're raising money for charity and so you put the entry fee goes to
something and then you get a little gift bag like here's a a shammy a little a little picture a
little photo card like a postcard that you could put on the dashboard says hey my car was entered at
this event but it like I said it's so fun because you get to talk to people and then you get kids
that look at it and they see it in movies and they see one in real life and it's just more
conversations and they start saying oh you know you're great like you're saying your grandfather
had one of these or your uncle had one of these and your dad refused to ever ride in it with him
because his he drove crazy in the thing because he had so much power to the thing he made a
dragster out of it but this one looks great and it's just it's just a conversation starter
uh nine ways to something I kind of know the analogy but
now do you now does your family have the original bill of sale for this thing
I know you bought it used but yes okay got you okay that's really cool to have
yeah so yeah so so yeah that's that's part of it um and then um let's see here what other questions
we have there's there's a lot here still I think is there anything else you want to do to it uh
because now that you've we've had so many folks that have done uh restoration restoration they've
done modifications rest of mods to their cars and then once they're done with it like this is great
this is perfect you know what else I've been thinking about does does that is there any itches
that need to be scratched or scratches that need to be itched I'm busy dialing in that sound system
and there there's uh I'm putting in a larger subwoofer down there because the one that's in
there I can't hear over the engine but the the one thing that was happening and you you work these
things out in the first year of driving these things around is that when I was driving down the
freeway and California freeways are absolutely terrible our tax dollars are spent quite well
and when I was going down the road I was bottoming out oh because the the suspension was was hitting
the frame and and so I put airbags in the back an air airbag system that I can pump up and it has
made all of the difference it changes the stance a little bit but just little things like that that
you go I didn't know that I needed that but I need that and so I've got a little budget each year
for doing the things that are it's going to need as as the years go on yeah tweaks little tweaks
here and there yeah dialing it in because it sounds like you have it's a completely comfortable
road car so you'll take it on some some road trip now that you have a reliable fuel system in it
engine suspension you know you're not worried about the inability to stop
does that smell in here exactly is it does that smell does that smell like birdies
those those old cars they're they're very different and so I come in from driving this
thing all day long and my wife says oh my god you smell like gas and fumes would you please go
take a shower I'm like this is what a man is supposed to smell right yep yep yep as a man's car
that's right
I hit a deer I hosed it off and I drove on it was I brought it home I brought home dinner
cue the cue the Tim Allen
so so how long how often do you and your mom now get together and and I think you said you
pick her up in this thing are you guys uh is this weekly now that you guys are able to get
together and go for cruising you know just having fun with it what what's the itinerary with the
thing yeah we get together a couple of times a month and we I just spent a week down where they
live and things are things are quite good now and that's wonderful I I get together with her
whenever the the weather is good and you go for a cruise and my sister lives in Boise she's never
seen the car in person restored and she's coming down for Christmas and so I'm gonna pick her up
at the at the airport in this car nice nice that's that's a better turnout I was I was thinking when
Jason asked that I was like you know my mom and I we have a great relationship now I don't talk to
my sister but they moved away and if she'll ever come into town again no right so that sounds great
I'm sure that you know when I was I wrote down here as you were telling the story here it's like
you're you're mending the fenders and mending relationships at the same time yeah and I guess
it's one of those you don't you don't know what's gonna happen until it happens but such a pleasant
outcome outcome of that yeah that's fantastic that's amazing well you know there there was
from her side a tremendous amount of trust that she had to exercise in knowing that I was making
the decisions about this and I recognized not only the trust that there that there was but that
there was an amount of respect that I was exercising in making sure that I wasn't just
tearing this thing up and making it into something that it is completely never was
and so that that effort that I took in the respect for what the car represents to my mother
while also making it something that is practical easy to drive right fun to write in the perfect
blend of those two things that in itself did a great deal of healing in that relationship and
you know it's interesting how things like this can indirectly create the kind of healing that
that people need well that's wonderful man I mean really having that bridge that common bridge that
says you know what I respect you and I'm gonna show you yeah because it's it's one thing to say it
but I'm taking something that that means a lot to you in the situation that we were in
and here here's what the final product is and it's it's respectful of of the tradition the spirit
and what it meant to you to the family and and and it goes a long way and two great outcomes
two great outcomes you got the relationship repaired there and you made a really cool car
it absolutely did and my mother is involved with the car community and my grandfather is
Lincoln Zephyr is on display at the California automobile museum in Sacramento and so we wrote
down there in the Chevy one time because she goes to the monthly meetings and so that all the
guys down there could come out and take a look at what had happened with the Chevy
and and you know look under the hood and and check it out and it received quite a warm reception
there well and that's got to give some pride too for her that not only was this my car that I was
proud of and that's my son's car and look look at how cool my car is exactly I thought it was cool
before now look at it is that awesome it's it's it's great to drive and as you're as you're going
down the road you can see that people are reacting to it uh and it got the old horn working again
and it's get at that period sounding horn uh and I I did one aesthetic mod to it which was that I put
extra lights behind the grill and so you can look at it you can see those lights if you're
looking at it straight on but I put those lights there because you know those the lights to the
front were always garbage in those cars and having the extra spotlights behind the grill
I live in a very dark area and you you get real surprised at night by things running out of the
brush but you get those extra two lights to the front it makes all the difference and for me it's
a safety thing of course yeah there you go and and it looks cool and it looks cool and it looks cool
it looks awesome no doubt no doubt for sure well Jeremy I want to ask you a question that I've
mentioned about uh at the big before we hit record on here and I'm gonna we're gonna we're gonna take
it real serious here yeah okay when you took your driver's license test this is the gotcha
question Jeremy if you keep calling it a gotcha it's just a question that's it I'm not gonna ask
it this first podcast I'm not gonna I'm kidding when you took your driver's test what car did you
there you go wow 76 skylark wow and did where airplanes doing touch and goes off the roof as
you were going around doing that they yeah these were um yeah these were that was the car that my
parents had upgraded into I got you and and and and about that time that was what the car that was
available to me and so that that's the car and it was even at the time in the 1990s it was it was
one of the older cars on the road I want to say that was the car that looked like or the same uh
as the Chevy Nova of that year uh yes a very common for the bad guys in T on tv to be driving
that car the either the Nova or the the Buick Skylark right yep and then uh Pontiac had a
version of that I want to see it was the Ventura um or let's see um yeah I just I remember I vaguely
remember those those because they weren't the biggest vehicles you know they weren't that big
yeah I was sitting there thinking you're thinking of the Electra I I almost as a first car had the
75 Buick Electra yeah which I think what was it the Cadillac what was the only longer car than it
ever made yeah well they call it the 225 because it was 225 inches and uh that's that's a long car
I drove that thing and after I had my driver's license and I parked it in a a new supermarket
parking lot it took up two and uh ish spots because they were all the parking lines were made for
mid-sized compact modern cars I come up with this yeah tractor trailer if a car
I go to turn into a spot you're spinning the steering wheel for about five minutes to get
they'll get it to go lock to lock and it was it was fun but no the Skylark that yeah that's right
I was thinking of a giant car but looking looking up just right now I'm like well that's not too
bad at all it's the Oldsville Omega so you had the Ventura the Nova the Omega and I don't think
Cadillac had a smaller car they had a Seville that would have been somewhat in that wheelbase
if I remember correctly but those are the ones that I remember in that that time frame so well
it's our first 76 Skylar yeah that's exactly right so there you go Jeremy exactly well my my father
was really he felt it was very important that if I was going to be a driver that the very first car
that I needed to learn on was a stick I needed to learn that before I was spoiled by an automatic
transmission and so he had kept his 1965 Chevy C10 oh yeah and I started driving that when I was
13 and he was teaching me how to do the the stick and how to start when the truck is headed uphill
and it wants to roll backwards and these kinds of things and his rule was one clutch per kid
because he knew we were going to burn it out did you say 65 C10 is that what you said yep
was that a three on the tree I was gonna say three on the tree it had to have been
no it was it was on the floor it was four on the floor okay many of those were three on the trees
back then but yeah my I learned to drive a stick shift with with a rabbit so very forgiving
so yeah older older cars I mean all you're gonna do is stall it
yeah I I remember a couple of times almost going through the windshield because
you let go you pop that clutch a little hard and that's the direction you're going
well Jeremy it has been a great pleasure having you on this evening and we certainly
wish you much continued happiness with your mom and your 56 Chevy and you know you know
Eric and I and John we all plan to continue doing this for years to come because it's such fun
engagement fun conversations and we would love to have you back on you know his memories continue
with this car so please keep us on speed dial because you're always welcome so please know that
and yeah so and remember you can find us on our facebook page at the classic car corner
and thanks for listening and happy motoring from our from your friends here at the classic car
corner podcast
I'll drive you in my dreams drive you in my dreams
About this episode
Jeremy Van Wert shares the heartfelt journey of restoring his family's 1956 Chevy Bel Air, a car rich with sentimental value. Originally purchased by his mother for her college commute, the car became a cherished family heirloom, transporting generations home from the hospital and on family trips. After years of neglect, Jeremy and his father embarked on a frame-off restoration, balancing modern upgrades with respect for the car's history. The emotional reunion between Jeremy and his mother, as she sees the transformed vehicle, highlights the deep connections cars can forge within families.
We are excited to have Jeremy VanWert join us from California to share the story of his frame up restoration of the families 1956 Chevy. The restoration story is as amazing as the history of the car. Such a wonderful story about how one car mended relationships and brought a family back together. A fun and powerful story that you will enjoy.
