Automotive Restoration
Encyclopedia
Automobile restoration is the process of repairing the degraded aspect of a car to return it to an overall "authentic" condition. To renovate a car without updating or upgrading it by keeping in line with how it would have appeared when first offered for sale. Non factory paint codes and even paint schemes, interior and chrome trim of the time period may be used if they were commonly shared between similar models of the era so as to look the part. Many restored cars may lose their original engines and have a similar capacity or model related engine installed.

A complete restoration includes not only repair of the parts that can be seen – the body
Car body style
Automobiles' body styles are highly variable. Some body styles remain in production, while others become less common or obsolete. They may or may not correlate to a car's price, size or intended market classification. The same car model might be available in multiple body styles comprising a...

, the trim, the chrome, the wheels, the dash board and accessories and the passenger’s compartment – but the parts that are not necessarily visible or otherwise evident, including the engine and the engine compartment, the trunk
Trunk (automobile)
The trunk or boot of an automobile or car is the vehicle's main storage, luggage, or cargo compartment. Trunk is used in North American English and Jamaican English; boot is used elsewhere in the English speaking world. Trunk is also primarily used in many non-English speaking regions, such as...

, the frame, the driveline, and all ancillary parts like the brakes, accessories, engine cooling system, electrical system, etc. Besides repairs done to correct obvious problems, repairs are also done for cosmetic reasons. For example, even if a wheel is covered by a hub cap and not seen, and is structurally sound, it should have the tire unmounted, then any required repairs such as rust removal, straightening, priming and painting.

Restoration is sometimes confused with the term "restomod." A restomod places some portions of the car as they were when the car was first offered for sale, and changes (updates) others. If any part of the car is updated, the car has been "restomodded," and not restored. An "original restoration" puts a car in the same condition as when it was first offered for sale. Many antique and rare cars may not be able to have a true to original restoration done because some parts may not be available to replace or to imitate fully, yet with the proper research, they may be restored to an overall authentic condition.

Disassembly

A complete auto restoration could include total removal of the body, engine, driveline components and related parts from the car, total disassembly, cleaning and repairing of each of the major parts and its components, replacing broken, damaged or worn parts and complete re-assembly and testing. As part of the restoration, each part must be thoroughly examined, cleaned and repaired, or if repair of the individual part would be too costly, replaced (assuming correct, quality parts are available) as necessary to return the entire automobile to "as first sold" condition.

All of the parts showing wear or damage that were originally painted are typically stripped of old paint, with any rust or rust related damage repaired, dents and ripples removed and then the metal refinished, primed and painted with colors to match the original factory colors. Wooden parts should go through the same meticulous inspection and repair process with reglueing, replacement of rotted or termite-damaged wood, sealing and refinishing to match the factory specifications. Chrome and trim may require stripping and repair/refinishing. Fasteners with tool marks, damaged threads, or corrosion need re-plating or replacement-unless the car was originally sold that way. The frame must be thoroughly cleaned and repaired if necessary. Often sandblasting of the frame is the most expeditious method of cleaning. The frame must be properly coated to match the original.

Interior

The interior of the car should be examined and repaired/replaced to match those that were available from the factory. The seats must be repaired before being re-upholstered
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...

 and the coil springs repaired, replaced or retied. The instrument panel, or dash board contains a number of gauges, each of which have to be inspected and cleaned/repaired/replaced to be brought back to both operational and cosmetic standards of the car when it was first sold.

Exterior

In a complete restoration, the repair and refinishing of the car's body and frame must again go through the careful inspection and subsequent repair,and recoating as necessary to bring the car to as first sold condition.

As part of the automotive restoration process, repair of the car's frame is important since in serves as the foundation for the entire car. The frame should be inspected for straightness, twisting, alignment, rust damage, and condition of the mounting points for the body, suspension, and other components. Any problems must be repaired, which can be a costly process. For many popular cars, replacement frames can be purchased from parts suppliers specializing in that make of vehicle. This is often a better option than investing money into a severely damaged frame. Depending on the frame construction, mud and water can make their way inside the frame and cause rusting from the inside out, so it can be seriously weakened with little or no external sign. This, and the fact that many replacement chassis/frames are galvanised
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....

, provides sound additional reasons to consider a replacement frame.

If rust is present on a body panel, the panel was damaged by a collision, or other damage is present, there are several options for repair: fix the damaged panel (minor damage), replacement (excessively damaged panels), or cutting out and replacing a portion of the panel (moderate damage - for many makes of vintage car, small partial patch panels are available and designed to be welded into place after the damaged portions are cut out). Although, this may seem simple in principle, in practice it is highly skilled work. One of the highest skills in restoration is the use of the English Wheel
English Wheel
The English wheel, in Britain also known as a Wheeling machine, is a metalworking tool that enables a craftsman to form compound curves from flat sheets of metal such as aluminium or steel. The process of using an English wheel is known as Wheeling...

 or Wheeling Machine. Many panels, (especially if from different sources), may be a problem to fit together and need reshaping to fit properly. Variation in panel size and shape and 'fettling' by skilled metalworkers on the factory production line to make panels fit well, used to be common practice, especially with British and Italian sports cars. Even genuine New Old Stock factory panels may require panel beating skills to fit.

The re-installation of the repaired or renewed panels requires that the panels be trial fitted and aligned, to check their fit, that their shape 'flows' and the gaps between panels are correct. Consistent gaps are very important to a quality finish. Gapping gauges are available for this. The doors, hood, and trunk should open and close properly, and there should be no interference or rubbing. Steel or aluminium door skins and wing/fender edges can generally be adjusted with a hammer and dolly, in extreme cases a pulsed MIG weld bead on a panel edge, that is shaped with a grinder, can be good solution. At one time it was common practice to use lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 loading to achieve tight panel gaps, especially in the coachbuilding business, but also on the production line. The panels have to 'look right' together. This is a process of repeated adjustment, because the adjustment of one panel often affects the apparent fit of another. If there are multiple styling lines on the side of a car, it is generally best to align doors on the most prominent one. When you are satisfied with the panels on the car, they should be primed and painted a correct historical color for the vehicle (although this is debatable - the owner might want to have the car painted to look like a particular specialty vehicle such as a police car, or a delivery van painted to look like it would have in grandfather's company colors, etc.) Individual painting of the panels is generally the correct approach, as this will result in all parts of the panel being painted as opposed to partially re-assembling and then painting, leaving parts of the assembly that are touching or "blind" unpainted. It is useful to mark in some way, if possible, where the panels fit before removal for painting, to aid re-fitting. The separate painting approach should also result in no overspray on other parts of the since they will not be on the car at that point. It is important when re-assembling painted panels, to be aware that the paint is at its thinnest, and most easily damaged, on corners, edges, and raised styling lines, and to take extra care with them. This is also important when using ultra fine wet flatting paper before polishing, (or when using an electric polishing mop) for the best mirror like finish.

Colors and treatments applied to the panels, from the factory should be considered. A car's owner may wish to have a panel or portion of the car entirely painted when in fact it may have come from the factory with undercoating or other coating applied to one side, which may be less attractive than a smoothly finished and painted panel. In other cases, the owner might paint or plate a collection of small parts to look similar for a better appearance, when the factory might have installed these as many different colors since the factory's prime concern was function and not appearance. This makes the car a "Restomod", and not a restoration.

Engine

The entire engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

 and all related systems are inspected and what ever is necessary to get them into original presale condition is done. The engine and all of the ancillary components – starter, generator/alternator, radiator, distributor, carburetor and all others – must be inspected and corrected to factory specifications. The engine itself, plus the transmission, clutch, overdrive unit and even the driveshaft must be meticulously inspected, cleaned and measured for wear. This will show up as deviation from original factory specifications. All of the parts – block, crankcase, head, transmission housing, etc. – should be inspected for cracks or other damage. All moving parts – pistons, crankshaft, camshaft, oil pump, bearing and bushings, flywheel, water pump and all others – must be cleaned and measured against factory specifications and, if necessary, machined or re-manufactured to bring them within specifications. The same goes for the transmission, clutch, differential and all other moving parts of the power line and drive line. All of the electrical system has to be inspected and, if it shows wear or damage, replaced. Then the entire engine/driveline will have to be reassembled, replacing all worn bearing and bushings, seals, gaskets, belts and gears.

Reassembly

Finally, the engine/driveline has to be re-installed in the frame, the brakes, wheels and other parts re-installed, the body fitted to the frame and the entire car rechecked and tested.

Restoration of a car is a daunting task, not one to be undertaken lightly, or by the inexperienced. A full restoration can take many years and can cost tens of thousands of dollars; often, and generally, well in excess of what the finished value of the car will be. Many jobs will have to be farmed out to specialty shops; those with the special knowledge and equipment to do the job. Often a restoration once started is left unfinished and the car and parts can be purchased for a fraction of their worth. However, if a person buys an unfinished project, it is imperative to be sure that all of the parts are there. Finding parts for an orphan or rare car can be near impossible.

There are different levels of automotive repair. The highest quality level, generally unobtainable for the amateur restorer, is the Concours d'Elegance
Concours d'Elegance
A Concours d'Elegance dates back to 17th Century French aristocracy, who paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during Summer weekends and holidays...

 level; these are cars that are frequently restomoded to a degree often beyond the quality that they were when they left the factory. There are virtually no deficiencies in the quality of the parts that were actually restored. Those parts that did not come on the car as it was first sold must have the highest level of fit and finish, and appear to have been original parts. Many Concours d'Elegance
Concours d'Elegance
A Concours d'Elegance dates back to 17th Century French aristocracy, who paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during Summer weekends and holidays...

 cars are not driven except for the short distances from their trailers to the show field.

Only when a car is completely placed back into the condition it was first sold in is it considered to be restored. Various aspect of a car may be repaired without the car being restored. A car that does not run can be repaired to running condition, but that simply means it will now run and does not mean that any part of the car has been restored. Automotive Restoration means that the car was put back into the condition it was first sold as. Anything else is either repair, or restomod. Between these two extremes are the vast bulk of cars that are seen as drivers, neighborhood show cars, and 20-footers - in that they look great from 20 feet (6 m) away. Many value guides offer six levels of quality, from a ‘parts-only’ car to the best at Number 1 - absolutely perfect in every way.

For the amateur, or even experienced restorer, there are a great number of help sources, books and magazines (Skinned Knuckles
Skinned Knuckles
Skinned Knuckles is a monthly publication written by and for antique and classic automobile restorers. Fondly known to subscribers merely as "SK", it answers to either name. In its 32nd year of continuous publication this journal promotes authentic restoration of cars and trucks. It does not...

 or Practical Classics
Practical Classics
Practical Classics is a magazine written in Peterborough, England about classic cars. It was started in 1980.It focuses on affordable classic cars for the man in the street, as well as more expensive and exotic classic cars that have now become affordable. It has always had a strong emphasis on DIY...

 in the UK, for example) to assist with restoration of an entire car or specific parts. There are also enthusiast websites that can offer help advice and contacts for vehicle restoration.

Ground-up restoration

In more than 100 years since the invention of the automobile, there have been many restoration facilities in existence such that there is a broad range and quality of services they provide -- the history of the automobile is relatively short, and, as such there is no specific, accepted definition of what level of work qualifies as restoration. However, certain shops focus on and are capable of complete restoration or remanufacture of virtually any car including any of its components, to the exclusion of the provision or sale of the cars themselves or other products and services. This includes restoration to a finished factory level, or better-than-factory as discussed in the Concours section above. In addition to the above, generally what separates true restoration sources is the capacity to restore and fabricate all components in-house coupled with the ability to recreate a car no matter what state of decay it is in (or literally how much of the car remains, sometimes as little as a single fender remains and nothing else). Few sources in the world remain who will provide this, however, there are several notable examples: Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

 will restore a vintage car in its factory, as will Schaeffer & Long
Schaeffer & Long
One of the few true automobile restoration shops remaining in the world, owned by Fred Hoch, the owner of Mercer Company....

 and Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...

.

See also

  • Antique car
    Antique car
    In the United States, an antique car is generally defined as a car over 45 years of age, this being the definition used by the Antique Automobile Club of America. However, the legal definition for the purpose of antique vehicle registration varies widely. The antique car era includes the veteran...

  • Custom car
    Custom car
    A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been modified in either of the following two ways. First, a custom car may be altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission. Second, a custom car may be a personal "styling" statement, making the car look...

  • Hot rod
    Hot rod
    Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...

  • Muscle car
    Muscle car
    Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...

  • Rat rod
    Rat rod
    A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same...

  • Sodablasting
    Sodablasting
    Sodablasting is a process in which sodium bicarbonate is applied against a surface using compressed air. An early use was to restore the Statue of Liberty in the late 1980s....

  • Auto detailing
    Auto detailing
    Auto detailing , is the performance of an extremely thorough cleaning, polishing and waxing of an automobile, both inside and out, to produce a show-quality level of detail. Besides improving appearance, detailing helps to preserve resale value of a car.Today, the United States may have more than...

  • Cosmetic restoration
  • Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
    Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
    The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center is the official Mercedes-Benz department for Mercedes-Benz classic car owners and enthusiasts. It was first opened on May 18, 1993 in Fellbach, just outside of Stuttgart...


External links

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