Fixing Up Grandpa's Wheels

It's proof you can never outguess teenage trends. Those big, boxy coupes and sedans from the early 70's are all the rage with kids on the east and west coast. And it's becoming popular in

Friday, May 12th 2006, 10:13 am

By: News On 6

It's proof you can never outguess teenage trends. Those big, boxy coupes and sedans from the early 70's are all the rage with kids on the east and west coast. And it's becoming popular in Oklahoma too.

News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg has more on the reverse shift.

It's called pimpin' or donkin' and no, most of us didn't know what that meant either. But basically, it means restoring, specifically old American cars generally from around 1970.
â€œThis is a '69 Buick Electra. Just an old man kinda Grandpa car." Believe it or not, 20-year-old Ian Huber is just the 2nd owner of this car.

He got it from an older gentleman who lived in University Tower. And you can bet car-makers are scratching their heads trying to figure out how it could appeal to both of them. "One thing, they're fairly easy to work on. Modern cars, it's computerized. You've gotta have computers to work on the engines. It's a lot harder to do mechanical upgrades and just modify."

"I kind of wanted to bring it back and keep it around, I didn't want it to die out." 22-year-old Stephen Walker is in the process of donkin' a â€˜83 Buick Regal. â€œNew interior, re-paint a little, new rims, that's about it. Maybe a small-block chevy instead of the V6."

Don't forget the 8 batteries and the hydraulics. Steve Berg: "How much does all of this stuff cost?â€ Stephen Walker: "Around $4,000, because when you do this, the car has to be taken completely apart." Ian Huber: "I've done power door locks on it." Granted there have been a few changes since grandpa drove it, but the appeal crosses generations. For Huber, it's been a bonding experience with his dad who's in the restoration business.

"Just 'cause the dads remember them and what fun they had in them and the kids look at 'em and think, hey that's pretty cool, let's do it."