The YouTube channel 79th Productions is a refreshing approach to ultra-budget car restorations. It seems that people agree with me here; some of the channel’s videos have huge view counts. While we can all dream about dropping fat stacks on a crashed supercar and slowly nursing it back to health, or restoring a vintage race car back to its original glory, it’s a bit out of reach for a lot of people. But $1,500 to $2,000 for an entire project? That’s a bit more attainable.
I really dig that the host starts with cheap cars with prices so seemingly low, that their former owners were probably just sick of seeing them sitting around. They’re also platforms that are very, very well covered by enthusiasts and the aftermarket. An Integra, Civic, Miata, Prelude — all great cars that ensure costs will be low throughout the whole process.
He then buys some cheap performance and visual upgrades for cheap — wheels, suspension, intake, exhaust — and adds them to the equation. What’s the fun in restoring a DB Integra back to stock?
Finally, the paint and bodywork is where it all comes together. I mean, it always comes together there. But it’s cool to see how he’s able to source really cheap paint (pro-tip: Summit sale paint rules), call in a favor from a buddy with a booth and a gun, and get an outstanding result. Before he does the bodywork, however, seeing the process of carefully sanding, cleaning, priming, and painting under the hood is good to see; taking your time with prep pays off.
His videos are motivation for anyone with a little money saved up, some space, time, tools, and determination to get to work on their own restoration project.
Check out the Integra video in particular:
