Carved on the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo is the proverb “Know Thyself,” a philosophical maxim that suggests self-awareness and honesty about how one’s limitations are fundamental to happiness.
For every enthusiast with a half-completed project under a tarp, those words might as well be spray-painted on his or her garage door. Sure, some of us get bogged down in a project when its needs exceed our skills, but most projects languish because of time—and the lack thereof, to be more specific.
The alternative is trusting your vintage Chevy to a restoration shop, but that can introduce a whole bag of new anxieties, as we’ve all heard the horror stories about projects gone awry. From shoddy workmanship and ballooning costs to shops that seem to evaporate overnight—with customers’ cars left unfinished or their more valuable parts disappearing into the night with the shop owner.
Committing to a restoration is a monumental and expensive undertaking, but while entrusting your vintage vehicle to a professional restorer demands a leap of faith, it should not be blind faith.
“The most important thing is finding an established business with a strong track record,” Werner Meier, the founder of a Masterworks
