Let’s face it-not all of us have the tools, skills and space to restore a muscle car by ourselves. Where does this leave us? There are hundreds of restoration professionals out there who can tackle even the rustiest hulk of a formerly glorious car. Before you can choose a restoration shop, you’ve got to decide what you want the finished car to be (Concours-winning show car, or simply a nice driver?) and how much money you can spend to get it to that point.
When you finally own a restoration-worthy car, you will have to determine if you can perform any aspects of the rebuild yourself, or if you will have to farm out the entire project to specialists. If you reason that restoration is out of your league, the next step becomes the homework you’ll have to do in order to pick a restoration shop that will deliver the finished product you envision while remaining close to your budget and time schedule.
Rule of thumb if you are looking for a one stop shop: Restoration shops are not body shops, and body shops are not restoration shops.
Research a Restoration Shop
The single best resource for finding competent, reliable restoration pros is “word of mouth.” If you belong to a car club, ask your fellow members for recommendations. If you don’t belong to a club, join one. Also, go to car shows and ask judges and show participants for recommendations.
Talk to other people at car shows; pick a car like the one you want to restore, or one that appeals to you. Talk with the owner about the restoration and find out if any other cars at the show were done by the same restorer. You may learn of shops that specialize in GMs, Fords, Mopars or AMCs, but they are not automatically your best choice-the best will be restorers who do the most careful and thorough work.
When you are searching for a shop, keep in mind that its experience with your particular type of car or truck may or may not be a relevant consideration. If you are looking for a machine shop to do an engine rebuild, I would recommend sticking with someone who has experience with your model and vintage. On the other hand, if you are having chrome plating, or even painting done, it is usually not as important whether the shop has done a lot of cars similar to yours. So, if you are at a show and see a Studebaker with beautiful chrome, speak to the owner about it no matter what make or vintage your car might be.
When someone recommends a shop, be sure to ask some probing questions about the business. Taking a few minutes to dis a little deeper at this point can save you lots of potential grief down the road
After word of mouth recommendations have provided you with a short list of shops, visit each of them yourself if you can. By visiting, you can learn things about the shop you cannot learn over the phone, through the mail or from recommendations
You will have to do a fair amount of research; call a variety of shops and speak with the owner or principal restoration specialist. Talk with them about your vision of the completed car and ask them what they have to offer. A good shop manager will be more than happy to discuss his experience and restoration techniques and will do the same for any of his employees. It is also important to learn if the shop stores all cars being worked on indoors, and if they carry enough insurance to cover all vehicles in the shop
The reputation of a shop is extremely important, as is the satisfaction of its former customers. Stop in the local parts store and ask the guys how (the restoration shop is). They will always tell you-they never pay on time, or, they are great guys who do good work. Contacting old customers is also a smart bet. A restoration shop should be willing to give you the phone numbers of previous clients. You should talk to those clients about what was done to their cars and look at (the work) if possible
You will sometimes come across shops that advertise both collision work and auto restoration. While most restoration professionals focus solely on restoration work, some shops combine it with collision repair. Some restorers caution against using a combination shop, arguing that collision expertise is not restoration expertise and that prompt work and attention to detail can suffer.
Costs at a Shop
When you feel comfortable with a shop, it is important to discuss all the particulars of the costs that occur during a restoration.
No two cars are in the same condition when their restoration begins, it would be unjust for anyone to compare your estimate with that of another vehicle. It is extremely difficult for a shop owner to provide an estimate that will hold true throughout the restoration process because the shop does not know what they cannot see; the shop cannot judge the amount of rust and body repair that might be required without a complete vehicle disassembly or even the conditions inside a vehicles drive train (motor, transmission, rear end) without completely disassembling the entire vehicle and inspecting every component. Since they cannot foresee every problem, most shops have a clause in their contracts that state an additional charge will be incurred if extra work is required. Be skeptical of the shop that will restore your car for a set price. Once they have your car apart, if the work is much more extensive than they anticipated (and it usually is), you will be hit with a surcharge. Worse, they may cut corners in places you will not notice, which can be dangerous if they decide not to replace fatigued brake lines or a weak suspension support bracket.
Most shops require a substantial deposit before work begins as it lets them start ordering the parts and supplies needed. The better-run shops will invoice you on either a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, depending on what you have agreed to. Each invoice statement should include detailed labor descriptions, a listing of all purchased parts and a brief outline of the progress that is being made. If all charges are realistic, pay your bill promptly. Should you fail to pay your bills in a timely manner, the shop has the right to stop work, and your project will get pushed aside, only to lose its spot in line when you decide to pay what is owed. Up-to-date accounts always receive top priority. Many shops also include vehicle storage fees for cars where work has stopped for a prolonged period-of-time due to the customer not agreeing or paying for work.
You have to understand vehicle restoration are not done in a TV hour; these are projects that can take up to a year to finish. It is not like Mr. Jones’s Toyota Camry that gets into an accident, and it is back to Mr. Jones in a week.
Labor rates vary from region to region and shop to shop so research carefully the going rate that is reasonable in the area in which you live.
Another issue that comes up at some shops comes in the hours worked on your restoration project. All shops keep written daily logs on their employees work to complete the billing process. You should request that they provide a copy of these sheets as well. We have found that some shops quote $75 per hour or below market rates but are actually billing at a higher rate by “pumping up” the hours on the invoice so as a customer you are actually paying closer to $100 or $125 per hour in reality with the “ghost” hours added on.
