# Repair/Restoration Shop Chicago South Suburbs



## sweet70gto (Sep 29, 2011)

Hello All,

Can I get some suggestions for a reasonably priced shop in the Chicago south-side / south suburban area for my 70 GTO? Even somebody reputable that works out of his garage would be good. I need electrical, mechanical and some body work. 

Thanks!

Eric


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Why not jump in and do it yourself?

When someone says "reasonably priced" they often mean "inexpensive". The reality of things is that any time you're paying someone else to work on your car, the care they take with it and the quality of the work they do is most of the time going to be directly related to the cost. It's like the saying:

"Fast", "Right", or "Cheap" ---- pick any two.

No one is going to care as much about your car as you do, or put as much care into working on it as you will, unless you pay them REALLY well.

The skills can be learned. Heck, if I can do it anyone can  As long as you've got a garage or a facility to work on it.

What all does it need?

Bear


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## sweet70gto (Sep 29, 2011)

Hey Bear, 
Mainly the electrical wiring is what I'm trying to do, Previous owner had ripped/replaced wiring and it was incorrectly "installed" so I had decided to get factory original reproduction wiring harnesses from LectricLimited. It's the routing of the wires and properly grounding (along with replacing tail-light sockets and the entire dash) that is daunting. I figure a missed ground or mis-wire will fry the harness and I'll be back at square one with possibly more than the wiring burnt.

Thanks,
Eric


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Hey Eric,

It's not as scary as all that. Just take your time and go slow. If you don't have a factory service manual, get one (they're out there, and online references are available on sites like wildaboutcars.com if you register as a member). Don't remove anything until you have the new harnesses and can lay them up next to what's already there. You'll find that they tend to make sense and the connectors have a natural tendency to "land" close to where they're supposed to go. Bad grounds usually just tend to make things not work - they don't fry things. Usually ground problems show up with lights. Headlights have a separate ground wire that connects to the core support. Parking lights and tail lights/brake lights/signal lights ground through their housings to the body and from there, through the various ground straps, interior lights ground through the metal dash structure.

And if you get stuck on something, we're here. 

Bear


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## sweet70gto (Sep 29, 2011)

Hey Bear, 
Since on the subject of wiring, when replacing the rear tail-light socket assemblies, is the only way to access them from under the bumper? Would taking off the entire bumper be more pain than its worth?

Thanks,
Eric


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

I've never done it on a '70 so I can't say for sure. It's probably _easier_ to do with the bumper off, and removing it shouldn't be a big deal (it wasn't on my 69 - just 6 bolts). This job is another one where having access to the factory manual would be very helpful.

Bear


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## sweet70gto (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks Again Bear, 
Yeah, I had a factory manual that was almost unreadable. I just purchased the High Resolution manual off Ebay, Hopefully it will be more helpful. 

Cheers!

Eric


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## scrapmaster (Oct 27, 2008)

Hey Sweet, I run a shop out of my house in Plainfield. If you are in Chi Town you know where I am at. Feel free to PM me or give me a call. Maybe I can help you over the phone with some things

Dennis

PM sent


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## scrapmaster (Oct 27, 2008)

I am not to far from him Bear. Maybe 30 miles. I can give him a push in the right direction maybe.


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