We love an underdog story.

In 2016, Backyard Legends was born out of a passion for automotive restoration and hot rods. With 20 years of automotive restoration experience and a dream of bringing old American muscle cars back to life, Adam Nicholson took a leap of faith and opened up a custom restoration and hot rod shop in Concord, North Carolina.  When he made the big move, he hired Zach Arlen, the two had worked together at previous shops for the last 8 years. They put their skills to the test and began their first build.

Before long, a 70’s Porsche made its way into the shop. The team went to work, and before they knew it, customer referrals led to three more Porsches sitting on their shop floor. 

They spent the first few months of 2018 working feverishly to finish two Porsches for the Werks Reunion in Amelia Island, Florida. After many late nights and long weekends, they finished these beauties: a Gulf Blue 1972 Porsche 911 RS Tribute and a Tangerine 1979 Porsche 911 RSR Tribute.

With the Porsches loaded on the truck, Backyard Legends was bound for Amelia with hopes of a relaxing weekend of comradery and cars. Little did they know, they would return home with not one, but two wins under their belt! Their hard work and expert craftsmanship paid off with the Tangerine 1979 911 RSR Tribute winning first place and the Gulf Blue 1972 Porsche 911 RS Tribute winning second! 

Certainly, an amazing accomplishment for Backyard Legends’ four-person team! We had the opportunity to see these cars during the process and were honored to learn these beautiful builds have SEM all over them! Products used include Trim Black, SEM’s weld-through primers, Self Etching Primer and more. 

Now, the Backyard Legends crew are back doing what they do best. They are working on a 1968 Porsche 912, a 1969 Porsche 911 and a 1969 Dodge Coronet. Muscle cars may be their first true love but it looks like this shop will be filled with Porsches for a while. We can’t wait to see what they do next!

Photography provided by Kevin Dunsky, find him on Instagram @dundundunsky - https://www.instagram.com/dundundunsky/