#WhyWeWeld: RESTORE IT, RALPH

Ralph Miller, the creator of "Restore It, Ralph ,“ is a YouTuber and automotive instructor at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

He often buys rusted cars that catch his eye, then brings them back to life through restoration. Working as an automotive instructor is his full-time gig. He said his YouTube channel is really just for fun and a way to share what he is doing with family, students, and whoever may be interested in following along online.

He started his YouTube channel about a year and a half ago by accident when he wanted to share some of the things that he was doing with his family, as he lives over two hours away from his family.

We spoke with Ralph to learn more about his journey, the cars he has brought back to life, and the stories he wanted to share along the way.

The Diplomat Driving his YouTube

Due to the distance from his family, he wanted to find a way to share videos with them and decided to use his 15-year-old YouTube account that he had abandoned years ago.

The first video that made his YouTube channel take off was a video showcasing his Dodge Diplomat. “It is an old boxy top car from the eighties,” he said. He fabricated his own turbo kit for it, and stated that it has been popular wherever he takes it. Once the video took off on YouTube, he obtained free sponsored parts to fix up the Dodge Diplomat.

He was very surprised by the explosive response to that video and was not expecting the channel to grow as much as it did at the time. From that point, he decided to try to keep up the pace and start posting one video a week. He has succeeded in doing so for the past year and a half. “Since I’m working on cars all the time, why not share what I’m doing with whoever is interested?” he said.

Getting Started in Welding

Ralph started his welding journey 25 years ago when he bought a cheap flux-core welder. He increased his number of tools as he got better at his craft. “Since I got my start before the age of the internet, I had to learn my craft through old service manuals or through word of mouth from talking amongst my peers,” he said.

Since then, he says that things have become a lot easier to do with time. He cites the internet and YouTube as great resources that he uses for learning additional methods and skills. If he can’t find any resources online or in person, Ralph will go ahead and try things himself, and if he screws it up, or becomes a wreck it Ralph, he tries it again and restores it.

Love of the Build

Family and friends are Restore It, Ralph’s customers, as he doesn’t do repair work out of his home shop as a business. He does it for his own enjoyment and for his own personal projects. Some of his major projects show just how much he enjoys the build.

He has a Dodge Dakota that he swapped a V8 with a manual transmission into, then fabricated his own turbo kit using YesWelder’s very own welder. He had a blast with the project as he got to use his new plasma cutter to cut the core support open for the intercooler.

“The Dodge Diplomat was able to hit 12.30 seconds on the track,” said Ralph. When he tried to hit 11 seconds, the camshaft he put into it this spring developed a rod knock. That means he will have to rebuild the entire engine, but once that is done, he still plans to return to the track to achieve those 11 seconds. He hopes to achieve this by the end of the summer.

The Diplomat was originally built in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he had a ton of free time due to everything being closed down in the US. He swapped a 5.9 Magnum engine into it that came out of a Dodge truck and a used Holley EFI fuel injection into it while also putting a GT45 turbo into it. This is the setup that achieved the 12.3 seconds on the track.

Ralph also has a green 1954 CJ-3B Jeep that he originally bought for 250 U.S. dollars. He said he really wished he had been posting YouTube videos earlier. The Jeep was so rusty that he could lift the body off the frame by hand. “My son and I fabricated it together when my son was merely 12 years old,” exclaimed Ralph.

Together, they made the panels for the sides as well as the floor panels in the floor structure. He used the original edges as a pattern, then welded everything together and managed to get it running with a rebuilt engine. Once done, he immediately used it to plow snow and go to the river for some fishing and some off-roading fun.

"Just Get It Started"

Getting started is one of the things Ralph has difficulty with. He sometimes feels he is not skilled enough for what he wants to do, especially because he does not have one particular specialty when it comes to fabrication. He stated that the hardest part of any project is just deciding to go do it and figure it out.

One of the most difficult projects he is working on is his 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury. He bought it for $300 back in 2002, and it was completely covered in rust. It should have been a parts car, but nonetheless he decided to start making floors for it to get to restoring when he was 22 years old. Ralph recalled that he did not have the skills to take on such a huge task at the time, so he rolled the car to the back of his barn, where it laid dormant for years.

Much later in life, Ralph rolled the Sport Fury back out into his home shop. He made new floors, made all-new front fenders, fabricated new rocker panels, and then drove it over 700 miles on a road trip with no problems. There is much to be done to the bodywork on the ’59 Plymouth. It is still an ongoing project, but he is proud that he never gave up on it. He said it was his most difficult project and was extremely difficult for him to return to it a second time.

Start Small

When starting a new project, Ralph recommends not trying to take on a project that is so monumental and difficult, like he did with his Plymouth. Build the skill set before taking on something that requires too many skills, or at least have a decent idea of what to do before getting into something. Taking on something too big can be discouraging. It may even make someone not want to continue working on projects at all.

He doesn’t want people to buy something they cannot handle, then end up selling it and never working on anything again. He also suggests choosing a project car that is not your daily driver. You still need a reliable way to get to work or school and keep life running smoothly.

The Future of Restore It, Ralph

Ralph remains an instructor at a community college, and the YouTube channel is still his side project and hobby. He never expects the channel to replace his day job. Since his son has taken an interest in fabricating and welding, Ralph said he will most likely pass the channel along to him if his son is interested later on.

His 15-year-old son has started welding and has his own project: a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup truck that he is building out. So far, he has cut out all of the rust in the quarter panels and rockers. He has fabricated new panels and has already welded them himself, and grounded them down. Ralph said his son is much better than him and is clearly the future of Restore It, Ralph.

Ralph can usually be seen at Dayton Cars and Coffee, the Mopar Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and Holley MoParty.

Check out Restore It, Ralph on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@restoreitralph