Sign of the Times

An important part of every business is the ability to let people know you're there. Since the move into our new building last October, we've been working through the process of acquiring the necessary permits, etc. to allow us to erect our sign. Once the permits were in place, we had to create the layout and the start on the fabrication. The sign is finally complete and today (in the middle of a high wind advisory...of course)....our sign is finally up. The entire sign was designed, fabricated and installed in-house. Virtually everyone in the shop has a stake in it. We're very pleased with the end result.

Shop Update - 1962 Ferrari 250GT Lusso

The Ferrari project is moving along nicely. The main sections of the body have been painted and we're giving the paint several days to cure before we'll move it down to the main shop to begin assembly. The Metallic Blue paint looks excellent on this car and really makes it pop. Parts for the assembly process have already been staged and we expect to start working on it as soon as it arrives. We also just got the V-12 engine back from the machine shop where it received new pistons, valve guides, bearings, a competition valve job, etc. We'll begin the build-up of the motor in the next week or so. We're really looking forward to seeing this car come together. More to come as the project progresses.

Project Update - 1938 HRG Coupe

Since it's debut at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix - British Car Day Exhibit, the little HRG has been on somewhat of a forced hiatus resulting from some engine problems. This required us to remove the engine from the car in order to send it out for repairs. It is due back any day now and we will jump back into the project with full force. While we've been waiting for the engine to return, we've moved forward with some work on the interior. The door side panels have been covered (see the picture) and look excellent. There are also a few chrome pieces that we're waiting for. Those should arrive any day now. All in all, we don't expect the reassembly to take long and should have the car out for upholstery in a couple of months. Once it returns, we'll complete final testing and detailing and it will be ready to hit some Concours events. We're really looking forward to seeing the car complete.....more to come.

The TIMES is back!

Yep, the Restoration Times is back in business. Our blog has been on hiatus for several months while we focused on a number of exciting initiatives....but now it's time to "Get with the Times"! As we're writng this, freezing rain is falling and more is on the way. It's a good day to be indoors working on cars.

Over the next couple of weeks we will blog some updates on our various projects in process, fill you in on some of our activities from the past year and give you a hint of some exciting things to come.

We will also post some "how to's" as well as our take on various aspects of the restoration and Collector Car scene. There is no shortage of topics to blog about.....just a shortage of time to get it all posted.

Probably the biggest news from the past six months was our expansion into a new building. The new main shop is a 6500 square foot facility along a major highway less than a mile from Interstate 79. It's a great location and we've made some nice improvements to the building. It houses our offices, detailing area, main shop as well as a parts storage area and media blasting room. The shop is brightly lit and has a nice amount of space to give everyone some much needed elbow room. The additional space has allowed us to add to our staff and devote more man-hours to each project....which means we can get them done sooner than in the past. All in all, it was a great move.

Here is a link to our YouTube Virtual Shop Tour - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS=7BjVI-tU



Our next blog will give some updates on the various restoration projects. Stay tuned!

Record setting Gullwing Auctioned in Scottsdale

Last week (Jan 18-23) was "Action Week" in Scottsdale Arizona. All of the big players were on hand....Barrett-Jackson, Gooding, Russo & Steele and RM. Several Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwings and Roadsters crossed the auction block with a '55 Gullwing at the RM Auction pulling in a world record amount of $1,375,000. Gooding had a '56 Gullwing that went for $858,000 and an unrestored '63 300SL Roadster fetched $951,500. No doubt the price paid at the RM Auction was a bit of an abberation resulting from a bidding war that broke out between a European and a Middle Eastern gentleman....none the less, it would appear the market value of these vehicles continues to rise and they are consistently knocking on the door of the million dollar mark. What this means to our customers is that the money they have invested in the restoration of their cars is money well spent as only the top quality vehicles will attain these higher prices. We're thrilled to see the value of these special cars continue to rise and can only hope the trend continues!

Here is a link to the RM Site for more details about the record setting Gullwing:
http://www.rmauctions.com

1938 HRG Coupe comes to life at the 2010 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix

On Saturday, July 24th, for the first time in over 45 years, Bob Affleck's "one of a kind" 1938 HRG Coupe roared to life and motored under its own power to its long awaited debut at the 2010 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.

The car was very well received by the crowd in the "British Car Day" field. The coupe is the only one of its kind produced by HRG during their brief history.....all of their other cars were roadsters. It is also the only HRG powered by a Triumph engine.

Congratulations to Bob!

The event marks another milestone in the car's history and it's appearance at the PVGP owes much to hard work and long hours put in by our build team at Hahn and Woodward Auto Restoration. We couldn't be prouder of the effort of our guys during "crunch time". Special thanks also goes out Michael and Colby Schindel for their help in transporting the car from the shop to the PVGP (and back).

Here are a couple of pictures of the car as well as Bob being interviewed at the PVGP.

One of a Kind HRG Coupe to appear at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix - British Car Day

The 1938 HRG Coupe had been one of our longer running restorations but we're now coming down the home stretch. Car owner Bob Affleck wants to present the car at British Car Day at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix on Saturday July 24th in Schenley Park.

The HRG Coupe is the only non-roadster produced by HRG during their brief history. It is also the only HRG powered by a Triumph Engine.

The body of the car has just been painted and we will be in a major thrash this week to get it put together and running for Saturday. Even after this weekend, there will still be work to do to finish the multitude of details.

We're looking forward to the challenge! Please stop by and check out this unique automobile. Here is a concept rendering of the car......