Palmetto Restorations Rebuilding the Muscle

Palmetto Restorations Team


Left to right: Richard Hamilton, Gabe Goodwin, Steve Bramlett, Chad Pierce, Chad Odom, Lee Barnes, Kyle Billingsley, Reshod Hughes

To make all the dreams come together, it takes a great team! Chad has filled his team at Palmetto Restorations with a crew of highly trained technicians that are not only the best at what they do, but they share the same love and passion for cars on which the company is based. Each person on the "Palmetto Team" brings considerable value, skill, and experience to the table. For example, the shop supervisors — Lee Barnes, Steve Bramlett, and Richard Hamilton — have over 100 years of combined experience in the automotive industry. Steve Bramlett handles the drive train department, Lee Barnes runs the body shop, and Richard Hamilton manages the administration, parts, supplies, and customer relations.


Lee Barnes

Over the years, Lee Barnes has won numerous awards, including an award in his very first car show for the complete restoration of a '65 Mustang convertible. His cars have been featured in several muscle car magazines, and Lee has judged more than 100 car shows and won hundreds of Gold and Platinum awards at national point shows for overall restorations, mostly on '55 and '57 Chevys. As a matter of fact, Lee restored the highest point car in the nation in 1995 according to the Antique Automobile Club of America — a 1957 Chevy convertible, competing and winning against 15,000 cars over a one-year period. This car was valued at more than $250,000 and the complete restoration entailed more than 1500 hours. Lee also was a finalist in the Year One Cup with a 1965 GTO convertible, one of his personal cars where he logged more than 1000 hours during the complete restoration.

Completing more than 75 full-frame off and 40+ additional restorations over a span of 25 years, Lee has an eye for detail and a passion for classic and muscle cars. Throughout his career, Lee has logged a massive amount of research per restoration, ensuring that each nut and bolt are original and re-plated and verifying that every number and date code are correct for the specific car. With his documented paperwork and attention to detail, Lee has a nationwide reputation for excellence in complete rotisserie restoration.

As a child, he would work with his father on the family muscle cars and later graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College. After graduation, Lee started his own company, Classic Restorations in Spartanburg, SC where he was responsible for metal work, body work, and paint, primarily focusing on '57 Chevys and '65 GTOs. After fifteen years of building his own business, Lee joined Chuck Miller Restorations in Piedmont, SC where he worked for thirteen years until joining Palmetto Restorations in March 2007. While working for Chuck Miller Restorations, Lee primarily worked on '55-'57 Chevys and building motors, handling the mechanical parts, wiring, and managing the body and paint. His vast experience in restorations and cars is all encompassing with extensive experience in major body reconstruction, including complete rust outs where 98% of the bodies were replaced.

Some car restorations by Lee Barnes

Steve Bramlett

Steve Bramlett is no stranger to muscle cars. He is a master engine builder with thirty-six years of experience in OEM engine rebuilding and custom engine building for performance cars, street rods, and race engines. Steve is certified on engines, transmission, drive train, steering, and suspensions and has an excellent reputation in the automotive industry. His passion is to provide quality services to classic auto and performance car enthusiasts.

Steve has thirty plus years of experience in drag racing and is a current NHRA competition license holder. Cars previously used in competition were built ground up by Steve and include a 1969 Mustang Stock Eliminator, 1969 Torino Cobra Stock Eliminator, 1969 Mustang Super Stock Eliminator. He has race wins and ET and speed records set with these cars and numerous class wins and records in the National and International Hot Rod Associations (NHRA and IHRA) as well. These wins and records include:

Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton has been involved in classic car restoration for more than thirty years. It all started when he was 13 years old, and his brother bought a '65 Ford Mustang. As Richard proudly states, "I have been a gearhead ever since."

For 30 years, Richard managed a fleet of 250 vehicles. He was responsible for all the maintenance and operation consideration from tire changes to engine replacement. During these 30 years, Richard spent every weekend for thirty years working on a car. Over the course of these weekends, he has rebuilt six American-made muscle engines (Ford, Chevy) and 12 other engines. He currently owns a 1965 Mustang Fastback, 1966 Mustang Convertible, and a 1969 Mustang Mach 1…and has never taken these cars or any other personally-owned cars to a facility to be repaired or serviced in his entire life.

Richard has been with Palmetto Restorations since its inception and is responsible for customer relations, administration, human resources, and parts procurement. Richard prides himself on being passionate about car restoration and his attention to detail, trustworthiness, and integrity. Richard is an integral part of Palmetto Restorations and a key to its success.


All Palmetto Restorations employees are highly-trained in American-made car restorations with a focus on classics and muscle cars. The Palmetto Restorations staff is honest, trustworthy, and paid competitively to ensure a long-term relationship. Their priority is not to turn the quickest, fastest job, but to take the time needed to do the restoration right. Palmetto Restorations would be nothing without our technicians:

Kyle Billingsley:Mechanic/Electrical/Instruments
Gabe Goodwin:Body Shop
Reshod Hughes:     Metal Fab. Body Shop, Painter
Chad Pierce:Metal Fab. & Body Shop