Key Takeaways

• Rust Valley Restorers is a Canadian TV series about a car community in Tappen, British Columbia, that restores abandoned cars into shiny classics.
• Mike Hall, the show's host, started the show after his collection of vintage cars went viral, and he built a restoration shop on his property.
• Despite some constructed scenes for dramatic effect, the show is mostly real, and the fifth season is confirmed but has no release date yet.

Rust Valley Restorers is a Canadian documentary TV series produced by Mayhem Entertainment for the History Channel in association with Corus Entertainment. The premise focuses on an extremely unique and quirky car community in the Rocky Mountains of Tappen, British Columbia, transforming rusty abandoned cars into drool-worthy classics.

UPDATE: 2023/09/15 13:06 EST BY TIJO TENSEN

For all you fans out there, we've updated this article with new facts and figures about the show's host Mike Hall, and details of Rust Valley Restorers Season 5.

Tappen, also known as "Rust Valley", is home to acres of old and abandoned cars for as far as the eyes can see. Tappen is also home to a restoration shop run by interesting characters. Using their automotive skills, they restore, trade, and sell the classic cars left for dead here, and they do it VERY well.

Michael, or Mike Hall, is an entrepreneur, rust collector, and hippy who enjoys running his car restoration business in Rust Valley. There are many little-known facts about the Rust Valley Restorers crew, Mike included. We delve deeper, bringing you the origin story of Mike Hall and his popular TV show—Rust Valley Restorers. We also give you concrete evidence of the highly-anticipated Season 5 of Rust Valley Restorers.

RELATED: 15 Little-Known Facts About Rust Valley Restorers

How Did Mike Hall Start Rust Valley Restorers?

Shortly after appearing on an episode of Highway Thru Hell, Mike Hall found himself at the center of public attention when a story of him putting up five acres of land and over 300 vintage cars, various World War 2-era motorcycles, and military for sale went viral. Talking of which, his beloved 'rusty' collection started small with a few rare classic cars.

He mentioned on MotorTrend, "My first car was a '51 International, but really it was the next one, my '61 Alpine, that got things started for me. After I ran that into the side of a mountain at about a hundred miles an hour, I ended up buying six or seven little '62-'65 Novas." Matt Shewchuk, a producer with Mayhem Entertainment, pitched him the idea of doing a show about his cars, and thus Rust Valley Restorers was born.

Mike Hall built the restoration shop on his rural property to get the show started in 2018. However, they got off to a rocky start. Hall said his accountant broke the news to him that he only broke even on two cars and lost a lot of money in the process. He and his team restored a 1963 Continental convertible that had a quoted price of just around $17,000. The real cost was more like $50,000.

Speaking to Driving.ca, Hall says he realized that just because a show is filming in his shop doesn't make him any more productive or his business any more lucrative. He also noticed that he and his team have trouble distinguishing between an estimate and a quote when dealing with customers.

Because of the differential in these numbers, he admits that losing money, especially when shown on camera, creates lots of tension between him and his crew.

What Is Mike Hall From Rust Valley Doing Today?

The recent news of Hall selling off a major chunk of 500 of his rusting vintage cars was shocking for Rust Valley fans. Many even speculated that this move by Hall was an indication of Rust Valley Restorers and Rust Bros Restorations. But it was, in fact, quite the opposite of the rumors. Hall was stuck between keeping his beloved classic car collection and making money to keep Rust Valley Restorers going. The last episode of Season 4 shows us Hall finally letting go of his beloved collection. Avery and Connor couldn't bear Hall parting ways with his loved collection and so made it easy for him by giving Mike a choice of 10 cars that he would want to keep. But he ended up keeping 52 cars from the lot to himself.

Mike Hall is very much invested in Rust Bro's Restoration. His social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram, show that Hall has no intention of wrapping things up with Rust Valley. Hall used to run a demolition business before his on-screen fame with Rust Valley. But today, he is completely invested in the car restoration shop and has let go of the demolition side. He is also accompanied by his son—Connor Hall, who is still indulged in giving rusty old cars a new shiny lease of life.

How Did Mike Of Rust Valley Restorers Get Rich?

Now 66 years of age, Mike Hall boasts an estimated net worth of $5 million – quite respectable for someone who re-sells old cars. However, his wealth didn't all come from his passion for cars. Before he was a reality TV star, Mike Hall was in the construction business. And any profit he would earn there would go directly into buying old, run-down cars that he liked, which he then fixed up and sold for a profit.

Today, Hall continues to pursue his passion for restoring cool classics, even if it means selling them for less than he spent to repair them. And though he admits that fixing up cars doesn't go as fast as he'd like now that he's a reality TV star, Mike has a highly supportive wife (who's also a classic car enthusiast), son, and friends who help him with this business.

Related: Rust Valley Restorers Season 5: Release Date And What We Know So Far

Here's What's Real About Rust Valley Restorers

Hall himself admits that not every single thing that happens on the show is real. He claims that about 90% of the show is real, such as Hall erupting at his son for dropping a piece of car equipment.

So, no, not everything is real on the show. There are some constructed scenes, and there may be some amplified interactions between father and friend or father and son for dramatic effect. Nonetheless, we can see how the real story behind Mike Hall and Rust Valley Restorers isn't always shown on the television program. Still, Hall keeps it real with his description of his company, his thoughts about being on a TV show, and his brutally candid statement about his finances.

Will There Be A Season 5 Of Rust Valley Restorers?

The good news is Rust Valley Restorers will return for a fifth season, according to a press release by Corus Entertainment. Connor Hall also put up an Instagram post indicating a new upcoming season of Rust Valley Restorers. It is filmed and ready but awaiting a release date. When Season 5 of Rust Valley releases, History Channel Canada and Motortrend+ subscribers will most likely be the first to watch it. Netflix subscribers would have to wait longer because, as of today, Season 4 is also not available on Netflix.

In Season 4 of Rust Valley Restorers, Mike Hall had to make the hardest choice of his life: selling his 500-car collection and all the vehicles he hadn't managed to save. Hall was running out of time and money as a result of impending forest fires in the area and new permission restrictions that might’ve forced him to close his business. Ultimately, he decided to sell his collection at auction.

Meanwhile, his best buddy, Avery Shoaf, was having trouble running his own restoration company because of complaints from the locals. Connor, Hall’s son, continued to support his father's company while also planning his own wedding. Today, the Rust Valley team is ready for another mesmerizing season.