© MuscleCar Restoration and Design, Inc.

Our Restoration Philosophy

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Musclecar Restoration and Design, Inc. prides itself in doing only the best, highest quality restorations available. Our motto is “Details Make the Difference” and we prove that every day leaving nothing too small undone. Over the years we have developed systems and techniques for plating and sealing suspension components and the correct “fish eye” trunk spatter paint as examples that continue to excel us above the rest. We restore cars for the collectors and not the people who just want to turn their cars around and sell them. Because of this our cars are restored just as precise in the areas that cannot be seen as the ones that can be unlike cars only restored so they can be turned around and sold which are usually only cosmetically restored.

	The bodies are painted just as they were originally at the Fisher Body and the assembly plants with regards to paint overspray, thin paint areas, paint drips/runs on the firewall and belly pan, etc. However, panel fit and finish go way beyond the factory’s as their tolerances were way too great compared to today. Areas such as the inside of the trunk lid, door hinge area, front fender apron, taillight panel, etc. all had thin paint on them originally which is replicated during the restoration. Techniques vary between plants and this is also taken into consideration especially in areas of the floor pan where some plants left them primed while others painted them black. In either case body color overspray would be evident. All spot welds and factory metal stamping stretch marks are replicated. We prime our cars in the same color primer as the factory used at that particular plant be it grey, red oxide, rosette or black. These are also applied the same way the individual factory did them.

Many years ago we developed a system to plate and treat suspension pieces. These items were never painted originally from the assembly plant and we don’t paint ours either. Many of these items were heat treated steel or cast iron and therefore will have a different look then non-heat treated bare cast items. Note in the photos the plating and treatment applied as well as the original inspection marks that were put on by the manufacturer prior to assembly. Some of detail to note in the following photos, brake bleeder dust covers, heat treated suspension pieces, inspection marks, rubber mold release on rubber parts, correct dull and/or bright zinc plating, correct cadmium plating, riveted ball joints, exact decals and stamps made from originals, tire stamps, wheel well undercoating, etc.


	Unlike most shops that use silver paint, we also will either chrome plate or chrome paint your dashes where applicable. At a glance they look exactly the same and cost about the same with the chrome plating process being a little more. Once the dash is chromed it then receives the correct color paint. All gauges are checked and rebuilt as needed. Clocks are rebuilt using the latest quartz internals.

In these photos you can see the attention to detail that goes into the engine and transmission assemblies. The engines are restored to an appearance just as they were originally assembled and painted at the Tonawanda engine plant per the customers request. All paint codes, inspection marks, paint dabs, etc. are replaced on the block just as they originally were. The engine is sprayed with enamel paint and over sprayed just how they were done on the assembly line with overspray on the valve covers, intake, exhaust, etc. Masking tape is applied to areas that were originally masked off such as water pump snout, fuel filter area, VIN and code stamp area, etc.


We have reproduced for our use most all the decals and stamps found on these engines such as carburetor, PCV hose, radiator hoses, smog hose, fuel line hoses, transmission codes, alternator, etc. Each engine is researched to see what stamps and inspection marks were used on them and then painstakingly reproduced. The firewall is no exception. It receives most of its grease pencil codes prior to primer and paint and is allowed to bleed through just like the originals. Some codes are applied on top of the firewall paint as well. Most of our decals have been duplicated by a Graphics Art Designer and are exact copies of the originals. There are many variations of these decals depending on vendor and we have tried to cover most all of them.


The Interior receives just as much attention as the rest of the car. Many people ask me why I restore the interior to this degree when it cannot be seen. My answer is simple, if I put this much attention to detail in an area that cannot be seen, imagine what attention it gets to areas that can be seen. All sealers are replicated as is the use of any tapes, clips, etc. to hold harnesses in during assembly. Caulking and sealers are applied just as the factory did. They are also applied in the order that the factory did them with regards to what got painted, primed or just over sprayed. Even our carpets are cut exactly as the originals depending on bench or bucket seats as well as the frames mounted to the floor through correctly slotted carpet cuts.


Every component gets rebuilt and restored such as power brake booster, windshield washer motor, steering gear, brakes, suspension, rear end, bushings, all thing mechanical. All receive the same amount of attention and detail as the rest of the car.