Fred Lamar and his grandson Cam Dedman are best buddies. They love spending time together, traveling and talking about their love for classic cars.
“My grandpa is like my best friend,” Dedman told KTVU. “He does everything with me. We’d go drag racing, watching racing all the time. That’s how he got me into cars when I was young.”
So, Cam knew how happy his grandfather would be if he restored his 1957 Chevy Bel Air which Fred bought when he was 28-years-old.
“I have been doing a full frame off restoration of this car as a big surprise for Papa/my grandpa (Fred Lamar). The car has been setting in his garage since 1976,” Cam wrote on Facebook.
And the restoration was no easy task. Cam took countless hours and even sold his own car just to pay for the parts.
“He’s my best friend and truly deserves it. This was so hard to complete let alone do it without him knowing,” he explained. “I saved up for years to do this, even sold my personal car to help fund parts for the car. It all is worth it though for my Grandpa!”
And Cam’s surprise paid off, big time.
His grandfather was thrilled and in tears when he laid his eyes on that car. They blindfolded Fred to make it a big surprise. He nearly fell backward when he pulled that blindfold off. It was a birthday present that he’ll never forget. He just started to cry with his hand on his face and hugged his grandson. Everyone else was in tears too!
“I’d never think I’d see that car,” Fred said. “I love it.”
Cam restored the whole frame as well as the interior and under body. He also built a custom exhaust, rewired the car with new wiring, put in a stereo, added vintage AC, new breaks, and new suspension among lots of other upgrades.
Cam posted pictures and videos of the restored car on Facebook and the post ended up going viral.
“I did this from the bottom of my heart for my grandpa Never expected so much positive feedback from so many others!” Cam wrote. “Thank you everyone, I truly am grateful for the support and kindness received!”
Cam says he hopes to pursue his dream of opening a car restoration shop. You can watch a video of Cam’s big reveal in the video below.
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