Levels of Restoration

We offer four levels of restoration for you to chose from. Some cars may be in to bad of shape for a mechanical or a budget restoration. Some cars may not have enough value for a driver or show restoration. We can evaluate your car to make a recommendation.

 

Mechanical

A mechanical restoration focuses only on the mechanical and electrical systems on your car needed for safe and reliable operation including suspension steering and brakes. The engine and transmission would only be rebuilt if necessary. It does not include body and paint interior or chrome.

 

Budget

A budget restoration includes a mechanical restoration along with a basic repaint and body work without dis-assembly of the whole car. The engine and transmission would only be rebuilt if necessary. We would only replace the needed parts of the interior to make it look good and be complete. We would only replace missing or broken/bent chrome.

 

Driver

A driver restoration includes a mechanical restoration along with a complete dis-assembly, media blasting and repaint of both the body and chassis including all the suspension and brakes. A complete engine and transmission rebuild if necessary. A complete interior replacement with off the shelf kits. We would only replace missing or broken/bent chrome.

 

Show

A show restoration is a top of the line show winning restoration. It includes a mechanical restoration using new old stock or original replacement parts when available duplicating the original look of the car when it left the factory. A complete dis-assembly, media blasting and repaint of both the body and chassis including all the suspension and brakes. A complete engine and transmission rebuild. A complete interior replacement with hand made panels. All chrome would be replaced or re-plated

 

Cost

The cost of restoring a car can vary greatly based on many factors. The most important being the condition of the car at the start of the restoration. The year make and model of the car can have a huge impact on the availability and cost of repairs. You also have to consider the complexity of the car being restored. It is very hard to determine the amount and severity of the welding and body work needed. A good restorer can tell you if body work has been done previously but there is no way to tell how much damage is under it until after dis-assembly and media blasting. It is impossible to give you an accurate estimate prior to starting work.

We would start with an initial inspection of you car – this will take a couple hours. After this we will be able to tell you whats wrong with your car and if it is a good candidate for restoration. If we decide to move forward we would do a complete inspection of your car testing every system to determine what works and what doesn't. At this point you would need to determine what level of restoration you would want and we may be able to give you a very rough idea of the cost to restore your car. You can always change your mind later but we would need some guidance for dis-assembly.

Once your car is disassembled we will know almost everything your car will need and can put together a parts list. We will find additional parts your car will need as the restoration continues but this list will be 90% complete. Once the frame and body comes back from media blasting we will be able to get a more complete idea of how much welding and body work will be needed. Within hours of completing media blasting we will seal the whole car with an epoxy primer to prevent any corrosion. Around this time we should also have an estimate on the chrome plating and interior costs. Factoring in all this information we will be able to give you a more accurate estimate on the restoration.

At this point you should be thinking about what color you want your car. We will start the welding and bodywork on your car. At the same time we will be rebuilding, painting and preparing the sub assembly's and small parts. Once everything has been painted we will begin assembly starting with the chassis. When the chassis is ready the body will be placed on it and we can start final assembly and interior work. After everything is back together we will take several road tests to make final adjustments and to work out any bugs.

Through out the whole project we will be giving you weekly updates with pictures so you will always know how much you have spent on the project. We can work at your pace so you can budget accordingly.

Restoring your car can be an expensive project often the cost of a restoration can be equal to or more than the value of the car. This makes a restoration a poor investment if you are looking for a quick turn around or flip. However as a long term investment it can be very good as the value of the cars is always increasing.

This is only a rough outline of the process every car is different and we may need to do things in a different order on your car.