Meet Kevin Harrington | Classic car builder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kevin Harrington and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kevin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I always wanted to work for myself and make the correct decisions on what ever job I was working on. The thing that pushed me to finally take the leap was a combination of 3 things. The first was the support of my wife, the second was listening to videos of Gary Vaynerchuk, and the last was the shop I was working at was going to stop doing restoration work on classic cars.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Harrington Classic Car Restorations LLC we restore old cars and trucks to factory or better than factory. It all depends on what the client is looking for with their vehicle. we strive to do the best classic vehicles in North Carolina. we do not do “driver cars” we do more show car quality work and do our best to get the cars and trucks in that condition.

In the shops I have worked in in the past we would work on award winning vehicles and most of them would become magazine cars. Many of the the cars have won top honors and best in show.

It is always a challenge to keep that quality up and make the last car better than the last.

Once the shop opened 3 years ago, it was very scary. Covid hit just as i opened and thought i wouldn’t get any work at all. but I think people had so much time on their hands the wanted the vehicle done. so that is when the shop really took off.

Also because I use Instagram so much, people saw my work from now and when I worked at Pettys garage doing the restoration work for them. which is why I moved to North Carolina..

the biggest lesson I have learned is to never lower your standards to make someone’s budget, Make sure they understand the cost before the job comes in. No need to sacrifice quality for budgets. It will come back and you’ll have to fix it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well first they would have to come and visit Harrington Classic Car Restorations and then Pettys Garage in Level Cross, NC. They need to see the NC Zoo, Hanging Rock Mountain and The Box Car ( which is a arcade and bar).

Great Places to eat are Natty Greens, Tripps, Print Works is ritzy although the food is amazing. We also do pizza from Sir Pizza and Red Lobster is great as well.

If you like wine then Childeress winery is a great place to go,

A great place to go with kids is the Lazy 5 Ranch. they have animals walking around as you drive through the paths and the kids can feed them from the car.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, my father. He is the one who has taught me work ethic, to always work hard and make sure the client gets what they asked for and then some.

Next would be Mike Labrecque at Labrecque Autocraft in East Windsor , Ct he fine tuned my craft.

Then there would Be Gary Vee whos youtube videos helped me get the courage to just jump in and start my own business.

Lastly and most importantly my wife, whos support and encouragement keeps me going.

Website: https://hccrestorations.wixsite.com/kevinautorestoration

Instagram: @hccrestorations

Facebook: Harrington Classic Car Restorations

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYd5dmBtql_AgObSi2_zgHg

Image Credits
Kevin Harrington