Really, Who Or What Can Ya Trust Anymore... 

Reminds me of when I bought my GTO when I was a kid in the Army. Got a great deal on it, and pretty quickly found out why.

I honestly think one of the biggest shames of this is that all those cars get holed up with the rich collectors and never see the light of day. Whether they are nice or slapped together, anything can be saved with time and money and its such a shame that these collectors have jacked the prices up for regular car guys and never enjoy the cars.

This series hurts. Feels like one of my ill fated projects that only deep pockets and an understanding wife will fix.

When you explained what you do at the studio it made me think about that kid Austin. You put a smile on that young kids face. The hobby needs more of that.

In a world of bullshit, Tony is a ray of truth. Thanks for the honesty Uncle Tony, please don’t ever change!

The only thing I have paid someone else to do to my car is mount and balance my tires. I've had the engine out, made my own quarter panel patches, made my own exhaust from scraps. I trust no one when it comes to my vehicle. Plus I'm cheap and broke. So if I can't do it, it probably won't get done.

If I didn't do it, I question it. That's always covered my rear.

working on old cars is like a box of chocolates...(you never know what your going to get) Great series by the way !!

Jay Leno said to one of his mechanics."Is it my imagination or do we have to rebuilt every restored thing I buy". the mechanic said its not imagination its the way it goes way to often.

"These cars get stored away & sets there until this guy drops dead" truer words never spoken lol

No one outside of yourself. The car sales business is dirty in general. Someone who wants the money out of other people's pockets and is willing to do anything to get it, watch out. Some of those folks need to be used as an M-1 Abrams traction assist device.

Andy has the attitude of a super warrior (because he is one). He calls all "problems" he runs up against as challenges and uses his brains and resources to overcome them. Bringing emotion into would only cloud the path to getting past the challenge. That attitude is a requirement to be in special forces and it serves him well on this endeavor.

Done this in farm equipment my whole life. Whenever I don't tear something down and analyze everything it bites me in the butt.

My thoughts exactly on the classic car market.

If you get a kid named Arnie coming through with an old red fury you should probably just turn that one away

They Run Best right before they Blow up!🤣

The best running hemi he ever had. The cynic in me says he could say that because it was the only one ever in his collection. It's not a lie, it's just very very weasel.

It's truly sad being such a great car, thankfully Andy and you are gonna take the time to make it right.

The UTG inspection channel would be a hit. Doing an inspection for people for video content versus them paying you to do an inspection on the car. We get to see uncle Tony pull back the curtain on these pigs with lipstick on them. Would be highly educational

This is exactly why I only buy known piles of crap to build. That way I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. Much respect to the owner for not giving up on this car and seeing it through. People need to see these wonderful cars in the wild. People like Uncle Tony, Chris Birdsong, Derrick at VGG, and some others are so invaluable to the community because they show us what to look for, and how to not get scammed.

Love this hemi build and Andy is taking this well. Keep the hemi videos coming 🏁👍

My previous restoration I paid someone for body work. He got half the money up front, did half the work poorly and quit. Found another guy to finish body work and paint it. When I came to pick it up he wanted more money to let me have it because he realized he bid it too low. Turns out he messed up the paint as well. The only thing I was not screwed on was the machine shop that put in my cam bearings and rebuild my heads.

This is great info for us who are not that savvy on restoring or even buying old muscle cars. Really enjoy your channel; thanks

Gotta be honest, after you noticed several fasteners being finger tight when it was still a tune-up project, I knew there was gonna be issues lurking.

We all know that 426 hemi parts are rare and expensive.....my hope is that the GTX owner can find his parts and get the hemi back between the fenders......great.channel ....love the honesty

There's a fine line between ignorance and deception. It can sometimes be hard to tell which one is in play here..

Just the way the top end looked, I would've pulled it just to be sure. Thank God you guys did, it would've been sad had it not happened and it broke

That’s super cool of you uncle tony having people bring their cars to you and you share your experience and help these guys with their cars for free. You’re a legend

I remember when I was a kid sweeping the floors at my friends shop after working at the local Gulf station, Ray Barton's car was there one day and I helped build the stainless headers. Then Bucky Hess' car was there a couple weeks later because my friend happened to be a genius. I rode my bike up there a couple of weeks after holding the primaries into place while he tacked them before taking them over to the other shop for finish welding on Hess' 'Cuda and I hand him the magazine I just bought with that same car on the cover pulling a wheelie. He flips to the story and laughs excitedly, "They said the headers are from Burns' in California! That's where I get my stainless and it will probably bust some lids if their competition thinks he sent his car out there and then back to PA for the exhaust". I knew I was standing next to a legend and still do burnouts for him in random traffic when I see him. Everybody else is usually either confused or impressed.

Tony you are the man! Learn so much from you!

A local old Chrysler shop here the owner and I were talking about a absolutely beautiful hemi cuda a guy bought from mecum turns out it was a 318 car with a butchered k member and small brakes no chassis upgrades ended up being 20,000$ on top of what he already paid to make it right

I was on the fence when I went to buy my 63 f100. Someone slammed a 460 with an fmx in it, got rid of the badges and mirrors to give it that damn boyd coddington look. Anyway, I decided to pull the trigger on it because the thing had ran, whoever did the swap put miles on it since and you could tell. It had some engine grime, the suspension had grease on it, I pulled the dipstick and the oil looked like it needed changed (i hate seeing perfectly clean oil when I look at a car). Even though it needed some work, I had a good feeling because it wasn’t too pretty if that makes sense. The thing was just honest.

having been burned more times than I care to remember I can relate to this

like I said last time. this is what some used car dealers do. they take a lot of junk parts(sweep up the shop), slap it together and sell it quick.

Tony, this one of the most insightful videos you have done so far - excellent. You are really taking UTG to the next level!

It’s really difficult to make good money properly restoring cars to sell for a profit. There’s just to much time and parts involved since you have to basically take it all apart and rebuild it. So, they usually get shined up with either a good paint job or some sort of nice looking drivetrain. Especially some of the resto-mod stuff where they can throw a bunch of parts at something and hope for a profit.

Come on Tony as soon as you saw the loose EVERYTHING! that was a red flag right there

Love the video, feel for Andy. I guess if we were into this "hobby" to even break even we probably wouldn't do it. I work on cars because I love to learn and it is truly therapeutic.

Love what you are doing with the channel, and that you clarified that your shop is really just a studio, and you are not a garage up for hire! Very rare to find people like you that can help others in this hobby/sport. Thanks to you & UncleCathy!

Been around Mopar all my life of 51 yrs....doing my first gen 2 Hemi now!....and I am taking everything with a grain of salt, and I am really cautious about most every move im making. Its like learning to walk for the first time. Hoping to learn a few things here

Fixing everything right on this car and documenting it on UTG will make it worth a whole lot more.

Truly a fine video and a public service, particularly for us Mopar nuts. THANK YOU!

I will be near Nashville the first week of June. I hope y'all will be around I am planning on stopping by and saying hi

Daily drivers, a girl I went to school with in 2nd/3rd grade around 70/71 would get picked up by her father in a green Superbird. Last saw the car in the mid 80's in their driveway all full of bondo, western NY winters and salt killed it.

One of my favorite vid's Tony. I can relate. The only guaranteed not to be hacked project is a virgin car, which is very difficult to find.

When I bought my 1975 Dart Coupe, I had my mechanic drive it to his house. Somehow the valves bent on the trip. So much for a slant 6 always running. Anyway, I went to look for another engine to buy. This guy offered me a complete engine that he said he rebuilt but had been sitting on the ground for a year outside. When I commented that it might have internal damage from the elements, he got all huffy and threw us out of the yard. I feel I dodged a bullet that day. I ended up rebuilding my engine which cost me around $500 for everything US, so it came out much better.

This is why I love UTG, he tells it like it is so you don’t get screwed. I am of the the same time line as UTG, the older these cars get no one knows about them , he does! I still remember these cars when they were about ten years old but we were kids selling to each other. Now it’s adults screwing the folks that don’t remember them like we did but only through legend. Thanks UTG for setting things straight. Love these cars, you are doing a great job.

You’re right about those restro mods I’ve seen very few on the road

Uncle Tony, I cant find UTG wooden rocking chairs anywhere in the merch store.. I need one for my Valiant resto. Oh, and a UTG gas squirt bottle as well please

The foxbody market is ripe for this right now. Coupe and Cobra prices are through the roof and I keep seeing a lot of “40k” mile cars with new driver seat bottoms and a fresh steering wheel.

I am grateful for your channel. You seem like a true honest honorable man. I am learning a ton from you. Thanks for politely cutting through the crap and leaving out the hype. If I was your neighbor I'd sweet up just to hang out. Or is working on your heating and cooling!

Only people i trust: My parents, grandparents, Two Blood Uncles and my Uncle Tony. Keep up the amazing content. You have given me knowledge I use daily. Mopar encyclopedia Uncle Tony's Garage

Great advice, UT. Knowing when you buy one, that you WILL be putting money into it is a thing that most don't realize. Complete different engine for sure on this unit.

My engine was running great before I took it apart. Idled smooth, but I had crazy smoke coming out when I accelerated in the turns or hit high RPMs. I knew that I had bad valve guides at the very least. When I started to take it apart, the timing chain was so loose I could almost get it to skip a tooth by hand. Not all issues come to light right away unless you know what to look for. It may very well have been the best Hemi he ever owned...but to someone who knows cars and engines really well, they see stuff right away and those things would have never been spotted or noticed by the previous owner. Great videos Tony! The first video of yours that I saw was the TAG JOB video! (Resale Red)

This video is so underrated. Tony this guy is an imposter. You said it without saying it, she’s a lemon.

I worked for 2 years at a hotrod/performance shop, and the amount of cars that came in, butchered, hacked and turd polished was mind boggling. That, and people that think slapping a blower, nitrous, cam swaps or turbos on car doesn't require tuning, dyno time, or even a baseline diagnostic to make sure the engine is healthy in thr first place, drove me out of the business. Plus, the number of people that know what they are doing with old engines is decreasing faster as time marches on.

This is a super common occurrence in the classic car world. I've seen people go to great lengths to scam others. I bought a 68 Charger and discovered the entire trunk floor had been made of chicken wire, popsicle sticks and bondo. I bought a 70 Challenger T/A that someone had air hammered off the casting number on the block and had taken the time to fake a number made out of JB weld. Wasn't even a 340 block but a 318. That one I at least had legal recourse on because it was sold as numbers matching and it obviously wasn't. It was a scam they were hoping would disappear into some guys garage. Now I only buy shells and I put them they way I want them.

Thanks for what you do! I wish I had a Mopar to work on with you and I'm glad to hear he didn't get hosed.

Appreciate this guy... Honest, intelligent, knowledgeable, funny, and interesting. I get motivated to work on my 65 Olds Jetstar convertible. Keep up the good work.

I am very much enjoying all the content since you got this space- hard to believe you are only at 185k but young channel and I am sure you will hit 1mil in no time.

i wonder if someone took the "good" hemi out and dropped the boat anchor in right before selling.

Great video . Motor assembled in 2003 ...Taken apart in 2021 . There is a lot of years unaccounted for. Goodness knows who may have had their paws on that motor. Nice to hear that you aren't trashing the machine shop or previous owner / seller.

Very true Tony!! Sad but very true. I’ve seen it quite a bit over the years.

I have learned more about hemi;s than I ever thought I needed here

Safer now these days to leave them hibernating in garages , barns etc. There's alot of non insured drivers running around and they will run into you and leave you with the heartache and left to fight with insurance companies.

Damn, you have some legit. insight Uncle Tony, and always present it in an honest and respectful way!

Good for you for not saying the name of the shop on the paperwork. Because there is no proof. Most people would, and that's a problem these days. This is a honest guy. Awsome channel.

I don't see any major problems , only solutions . I got lost at 9:45 as I thought it was a shop with customers . Keep up the good work !

I bought a 66 mustang fastback in 1986 that supposedly had paperwork for the complete overhaul of the engine and trans. I only drove it a month before I cut it up for parts(total rust bucket). Started to disassemble the engine and not one new part inside of it. But I had a nice sheet of paper from an engine shop. It wasn’t a junk engine by no means and it ran good, but in the end I had a used engine with a new paint job !!

If you buy a 426 Hemi, buy it apart for inspection, and make sure you bring an expert like Tony to inspect it.

Keep up the good work uncle tony, you are doing good, especially since moving.

Thanks Tony. That all needed to be said.

Thanks UT for the Miata announcement- More Slant Six Miata Project Please!🤗

From my own experience back when I started wrenching and building my 68 Charger in the late '80s, I had a hell of a time finding an engine builder who could machine and assemble a passable 440. I went through two guys / shops before I finally found a small one-man shop run by an old drag racer. He built me a great motor, and he was as good as gold. I sent a lot of business his way. He always had a full shop of motors to be done. In my opinion, when it comes to motors, there's way more guys out there who will be glad to take your money, and return crap work, than guys who will deliver the goods.

I wish I was closer to yall. I'd bring my del sol down for you guys to document the rest of the build and some of things that are already done. Im outside of Chicago and 8 hrs is to far for me travel.

What a mess, but can’t wait to see it finished/running! It’s going to be a beauty!

I once had a 1970 Lemans Sport convertible with a 400 Pontiac engine that had been "rebuilt" at some point before I got the car. The engine was really lazy, so we pulled it apart to freshen it up and found (oil soaked) paper towels stuffed under 4 of the pistons. I assume the person who put the engine together forgot them there, but I have no idea why they would have been there.

had a 67 GTX 440 car, auto when I was 16, same color, wish i still had it, have a challenger 392 now and I love it, the GTX had drum brakes and didnt stop very good

Absolutely, everyone has to work on their own car, but it definitely helps having a person like tony with that extra bit of knowledge giving you tips that just might save your ass, or your cars. I emailed just to get some info on things kinda Waiting to hear back, but most was answered,

I live north of knoxville. I drive a restomod I had built for me. It’s a 1960 f100 with a 4BT Cummins. I love it. AC heat modern suspension. Get 28 mpg. I’ve had it for 4 years never had a problem with it.

Some of my very auto savy friends ended up buying a very famous restomod car, you and everybody else has seen it. It was utter and total garbage when he tried to actually drive it down the road. You are so wise Uncle !

I trust everybody, until, I'm doing business with them, then, there is nothing they can say that will make me believe them

Pulled the spark plugs on a 53 Chrysler Windsor I bought Sunday. No rust came out nice. Got the original air filter off, carb looked good. Soaked down the cylinders on the straight 6. Hope to start it soonish.

Too many like this. Like the 73 Charger I'm working on. Owner just wanted just wanted the front end rebuilt and do seat covers. Now after Floorboards, frames rails firewall repair, Electrical, redo trans, swap rearend, rocker arms in the wrong spots, loose bolts, broken flexplate, etc, etc. The ower was like, ehh its an old car and I picked the wrong one.

Thanks for the video. My 1st car was '69 Beaumont in '79 the owner was a middle age teacher a relative of my sister-in-law, he sold it as a great car and me as a 18 kid believed him. What a piece of junk. I learnt that idiots don't know their idiots so buyers beware

"Chain of custody" - that is a GREAT phrase. I will use it.

A sayings I always here when buying a used car , it was new when I bought it and I've rebuilt almost everything on it! Except anything you question

This has been an interesting project ! I enjoy "forensic" automotive action. And there are certainly some good lessons. I am not a Mopar man, though I find them interesting. Your Mopar experience is put to good use here. I was a bit alarmed when you commented, I recall, "they're all like this" (!). Good to hear this was a real bad one. I feel better to know the car owner is not running up a shop tab !

Tony,you are 100% right. Been saying the same thing after attending my first big auction and many trips to Carlisle. Lots of shady sneaky people out there.

Good points on the paperwork and the lack of knowledge on the engine possibly being touched after the work was done in 03. Most stuff isn’t driven at this level...

I new that was a great idea...go for the wall advertisement too.

I’m with you UT! My 318 had a dodgy done to it by a machine shop in my area. That cost me. Engine out twice. New camshaft twice. Not happy. However now it’s running great. But you’re right,not all are equal!

What are your thoughts on auction classic cars? I cant help but think there are a lot of puzzle piece, slap and go hot rods out there.

Love those cars,I'm going to have to get me a rocking chair for my shop 😜

Uncle Tony, the reality that you can't trust anything you haven't done yourself, its the entire reason I got into mechanics. All the engines in my "fleet" have been built by me (plus machine work from the only shop I've found I can trust) that way I know it was done right.

I always buy expecting a worst case scenario. I pay accordingly. Usually no surprises that way.

Had the exact same thing happen with my valiant. Guy provided paperwork from a machine shop, i break into the engine and discover the engine has never been opened up.

Wow. I did not expect that many problems. I believe Andy is in it for the long haul.

In retrospect, I guess he should be counting himself lucky that at least he got all the pieces of a 426 Hemi, and them some.

I appreciate u Uncle Tony 👍