Shop Recommendations for Complete Reassembly

CharlesJ

CharlesJ

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Been doing my research, making calls, but coming up short and could use a little help. Short of the story is I have a completely disassembled, but partially restored 3.0cs that needs to go back together.

Bare chassis (with paint), subframes/suspension, wood, dash, leather and door panels, long block, and transmission are all done or will be done very shortly, but I want to speed up the restoration process by paying a knowledgable restorer or shop to take it across the finish line and put it all back together.

I have already talked to a few that are either too busy or just not into this type of project, but would love suggestions on where else to try. Car is currently in northern VA, and would love to stay as close as possible to that, but willing to travel a bit and have an enclosed trailer for the car.

Thanks in advance for suggestions
 
i think the first recommendation for anybody on the east coast is Mario at VSR.

another option would be to speak to Bdigel here in Atlanta. Brendan has built a couple of custom coupes, one a race car, the other a radical coupe. he knows his way around a coupe.
 
Korman is probably closer. The last time I was there (5yrs ago), I saw both some good work but also some really not so top notch quality. This was some quick and dirty shortcuts that would be invisible to the owner but which might cause problems further down the road.

VSR is a safe bet. Korman might be fine but I’d say you need to visit often and keep an eye on them.
 
Spoke with both Korman (who are rebuilding the engine right now) and VSR, and both fell into the category of too busy and/or not interested right now, though Mario did have a lead on another person that might be able to help.
 
Maybe try “The Werk Shop” in Illinois. I haven’t used them yet, but they seem to be highly regarded based on my research.


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I don’t have much to add other than this. Don’t even consider a shop that hasn’t assembled numerous coupes from a bin of parts. That gets you down to about four shops. The only two that haven’t been mentioned are La Jolla and Coupe King. If you were starting with a complete coupe that would open you up to competent restoration shops with an established process for cataloging parts and assembling thereafter. It seems that most shops still get that wrong, and that ship has long since sailed.
 
Markos said:
If you were starting with a complete coupe that would open you up to competent restoration shops with an established process for cataloging parts and assembling thereafter.
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Right. Many of the shops who plead "too busy" may really be saying "we don't want to be handed a mountain of loose parts and try to figure out what's missing, what's non-original, what wasn't rebuilt correctly, ...". It is easier for a shop to deliver a high-quality result when they do ALL of the work, including dismantling.
 
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Sean-e9 said:
Maybe try “The Werk Shop” in Illinois.
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I used then for a small job about 7 years ago and was not particularly impressed with their work or value. But they should be capable per their reputation
 
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rsporsche said:
i think the first recommendation for anybody on the east coast is Mario at VSR.

another option would be to speak to Bdigel here in Atlanta. Brendan has built a couple of custom coupes, one a race car, the other a radical coupe. he knows his way around a coupe.
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I agree with Scott, if I was you I would call Mario at VSR before anyone else. He's not actually there right now because he just left my shop in Austin, but I doubt there is a more qualified person in the country for the job you need doing.

Edit: Sorry Charles, just noticed you had already spoken to Mario :rolleyes:

Cheers!
Dan
 
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jmackro said:
Right. Many of the shops who plead "too busy" may really be saying "we don't want to be handed a mountain of loose parts and try to figure out what's missing, what's non-original, what wasn't rebuilt correctly, ...". It is easier for a shop to deliver a high-quality result when they do ALL of the work, including dismantling.
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100% accurate. I happen to know the quality of the car, work and parts I have, but the shops I am calling do not, and without seeing it for themselves cannot verify. So, that is a problem I am running into.

I have also considered breaking it up into two steps, getting the rolling/mechanical bits on first locally (the easier part), and then having someone else handle the detail work.
 
I have visited The Werk Shop in Libertyville Illinois ! It appears they know what they were doing. They have a large facility with plenty of employees and plenty of cars mostly BMW.
Best wishes!
 
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You might also talk to Billy Revis, owner of Motorsport Connections in Winston Salem, NC ([email protected] 336.659.8988). I know he has the experience on the mechanically side, don't know about the interior parts, etc. Amy, coupelady on this board has worked with him, which says alot.
Also might contact Benji, walvoord on this board to see whether he would take it on. He's in Greenville,SC. ([email protected])
Happy hunting.
 
I am actually re- assembling my 72 3.0CS currently. It is NOT easy as I'm sure many others will say.
It's been apart for almost 3 years. Complete rust abatement and replacement of many $$$$$ of metal and then a $$$$$ paint job.
You can never take enough pictures and I didn't. Obtaining the ripe age of 70 last month does not help with the memory banks. Some things are relatively easy but others like yesterday when I installed the gas filler door. 3 hours later I had done it twice and was finally happy. What a PIA.
All the suspension, brakes, gas tank and electric pump are installed. The car has wheels and can roll if necessary but is on a lift so makes any work underneath pretty easy.
It took me over a week to get the headliner correct and it could still use a little tweaking.
The heater and dash are in but I did not like the way the top pad looked so it is out getting a vinyl rap to the tune of $450.
I had rebuilt almost everything while the body was being worked on but had not done the wiper motor and arms or the pusher fan in front of the radiator. Not difficult but took a number of days getting parts powder coated or painted. Wiper mechanism is installed.
Spent a few hours this morning installing 2 beltline moldings. The drivers door and the rear quarter. Moldings had been polished previously but had to remove some bolts and install new ones then polish again before attaching to car.
The tail lights are installed and wired and so it the center chrome license plate section. It's nice to see a little bling on the car and certainly makes me feel better.
So all I can do is wish you luck Charles in finding someone who has the knowledge and skill to do this. Any shops that are qualified are leery of a basket of parts.
 
Its always harder, and more time consuming to do it the right way, rather than just put it back together. My hat's off to you. I've been rolling quarters to get ready for the completion of my interior. Belated birthday greetings! The good news is that while my recall shrinks, my patience grows.
 
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