INTRODUCTION / TABLE OF CONTENTS The Preservation of Our Hobby otisserie. Fluff and buff. Frame-off. RNut-and-bolt. Scuff and spray. Daily driver. Trailer queen. Barn find. Patinated. This is just a sampling of the lingo we toss around when we talk about the vari- ous conditions our collector cars are in — or the conditions we might want them to be in. This first Sports Car Market guide to restoration facilities is designed to let you Workshop Courtesy of The Creative know about select shops that are involved with keeping our old cars alive. There’s no “right” way to go about a restoration. Each journey is different, depending on many factors — including the rarity of the car, its emotional significance, its pedigree — and your budget. This guide should be a starting point for you. As our hobby matures, we are asking different questions about restorations than we did even 20 years ago. The more informa- tion you gather before you start the process, the better the chances are you will be satis- fied by the outcome. In the end, you want to have a car restored or preserved to the state that you desire, and the shops in this guide can help you achieve that. — Keith Martin, Publisher, Sports Car Market ■ FEATuREs ADVERTIsERs INDEx Abingdon spares ..........................................61 14 The Essence of a Good Restoration — Miles Collier Aeristo ..............................................................6 American Car Collector ..............................74 20 Five Tips for a Happy Restoration — Alex Finigan Art’s Star Classics ..........................................55 24 Nurturing Young Blood in the Hobby — Jeff Zurschmeide ATT Auto Restoration/Richard Grenon.......69 Authentic Classics, LLC ................................28 68 Five Years of Pebble Beach and Amelia Island Concours Winners Automotive Restorations Inc. ......................39 Berlinetta Motorsports LTD. ...........................3 Blue Ridge sports Cars Inc. .........................27 Camaro Central............................................71 Canepa ..........................................................19 FEATuRED REsTORATION sHOPs Centerline Alfa Parts .....................................12 Classic Car Restoration................................41 NORTHEAsT 42 The Creative Workshop Classic Garage .............................................63 Classic Showcase ........................................67 30 ATT Auto Restoration/ 44 The FJ Company Cooper Technica, Inc. .................................17 44 Lufteknic Corvette America.........................................53 Richard Grenon County Corvette ...........................................75 30 Automotive Restorations Inc. D&D Classic Automobile Restoration ........35 WEsT D.L. George Coachworks ............................21 31 Berlinetta Motorcars Ltd. Danchuk ........................................................66 31 D.L. George Historic Motorcars 46 Canepa Farland Classic Restoration .........................23 GTO Engineering LTD ......................................4 32 Hahn-Vorbach & Associates LLC 46 Classic Garage & Mortenson’s Hahn-Vorbach & Associates LLC .................9 Custom Touch High Mountain Classics ...............................45 32 Pollock Auto Restoration Hjeltness Restoration ....................................49 34 Ragtops & Roadsters Inc. 47 Classic showcase Inc. Hot August Nights .........................................18 J Chadwick Co Engraving ..........................58 47 Farland Classic Restoration Kevin Kay Restorations ..................................5 MIDWEsT 48 GTO Engineering Lufteknic .........................................................29 McPherson College .....................................25 36 Cooper Technica Inc. 48 High Mountain Classics Mercedes-Benz Classic Center....................2 50 Hjeltness Restoration Inc. MIE Corporation ............................................10 36 County Corvette Miller’s Mercedes Parts Inc .........................59 38 D&D Classic Auto Restoration Inc. 50 J Chadwick Engraving Mulsanne Motorcar Company Ltd ............51 On the Road Again Classics .......................65 52 Kevin Kay Restorations Passport Transport .........................................33 sOuTH 52 Mercedes-Benz Classic Center Pollock Auto Resto .......................................37 Ragtops & Roadsters ....................................37 40 Art’s star Classics Restoration Mgt. 54 Mulsanne Motorcar Company Ltd. Reliable Carriers ...........................................76 Sports Car Market .................................. 34, 73 40 Blue Ridge sports Cars Inc. 54 On The Road Again Classics steve’s Auto Restorations Inc. .....................13 42 Classic Car Restoration Inc. 56 steve’s Auto Restorations The 911 Company ..........................................7 The Creative Workshop ...............................15 The FJ Company ...........................................43 Trim Parts Group ............................................57 Welsh Enterprises Inc. ...................................11 DIRECTORY 60 List of Major North American Restoration shops Cover photo courtesy of Canepa 8 INSIder’s GuIDE TO RESTORATIONS www.sportscarmarket.com INSIDER INFO: ESSENCE OF A GOOD RESTORATION A Collaboration for the Car Most great restorations start with informed, candid talks between the client and the shop By Miles Collier Peter Harholdt Knowing your goals beforehand helps ensure satisfaction with the finished project ith the market rewarding exceptional with restored or even brand-new re-cre- Wcollectible automobiles, the role of ations. restoration has become increasingly impor- Further, as the focus on authenticity con- tant. tinues to develop, concours judges are now While there is no substitute for important deducting for “over-restoration.” Authentic makes and models in the value equation, the build quality puts a new emphasis on under- skill and reputation of the restorer — and standing not only restoration technique and most older cars have been restored at least the authentic configuration of a particular car once — looms large in determining a top- — but on the original character of the car’s drawer collectible. What, then, distinguishes manufacture as well. the best restorers from the rest? Good vs. great Lately, there has been much discussion Let’s take it as a given that, at the highest about the constituents of an exceptional res- levels of the restoration firmament, all shops toration. Given the reference materials now have the human resources to build what available, the increasing discrimination of needs to be built and to conserve what needs concours judges and the rising knowledge of collectors, what once was a fairly simple process of repair, rechroming, retrimming and repainting now involves a slew of deci- sions on countless points of authenticity — even to the sheer feasibility of re-creating lost materials or techniques. At current shop rates, nothing comes Grey Keith W. cheaply in skilled labor or research time necessary to precisely define project scope. Now add the growing demand for original- ity — and the premium placed on unrestored Any original markings, such as these on the objects — and the restorer’s job is compli- center console of the Ford GT40 in the top cated by the growing need to knit together photo, are documented and retained on the genuine, original and patinated components restored part 14 INSIder’s GuIDE TO RESTORATIONS www.sportscarmarket.com INSIDER INFO: ESSENCE OF A GOOD RESTORATION Keith W. Grey Keith W. In this case of a 1966 Ford GT40, the restorer included notes with a photo record, which is submitted with supporting work documentation and billing. The process is time consuming, but it helps confirm that the restorer and customer are on the same wavelength to be conserved. be taken and goals to be achieved may be What, then, makes one shop stand out as selling the customer — to say nothing of the the very pinnacle of this exacting art? Ulti- automobile itself — short, if inappropriate mately, the shop has to satisfy the customer, work is performed or vital work omitted. delivering what the customer wants within Truly great shops add value — in the the time and budget specified. While this form of offering a subtle master class in much is the necessary core of the issue, it is connoisseurship to receptive clients. The hardly sufficient. very best outcomes occur when there is an I was struck by Matthew Crawford’s informed dialogue between the owner and proposition in his book, Shop Class as Soul- the shop about the owner’s goals, about the craft, wherein he stipulates that the mechan- scope of the project, about the trade-offs in- ic (let’s substitute “restorer”) owes a duty of volved at different levels of financial com- care not only to his customer — but also to mitment, and even whether the project in the machine on which he works. mind is appropriate for the automobile in The great restoration shops have question. achieved their status through years of excep- Sometimes the best result, aesthetically tional work, which is in itself the demonstra- and financially, comes from encouraging tion of understanding and love for the ob- an owner to sell a particular automobile and jects of their art. For the customer who wants buy a different but identical car more in con- to listen, such restorers have much to teach cert with the owner’s desires. about the automobiles themselves — and the At the end of the day, unless they ex- broader appreciation of that