3/23/06
Auto Restorations, Part II

As I said before, Auto Restorations will work on any car the customer brings in, so there were a lot of cars that pushed the limits of my automotive knowledge. I will try my best to describe what’s in the pictures, and hopefully with Alan Stanton’s help (written in Italics), I will eventually get all the details right! Alan is seen on the left in this picture with David Fenton on the right. 1.5 Liter GP Delage

This is a pre war Alfa that an owner is building from parts he had of another car. With fabrication and parts scrounging, they will eventually have a complete car. Actually built 10 years ago, and is back for some tuning.

A straight 8 cylinder engine awaits to be installed in a corner of a shop. from the Delage

I am always amazed at the engineering that went into these cars 60 years ago.

In another shop area were two Aston Martins and a fairly famous American flat head racer. Baldwin Mercury Special

At every turn was another massive undertaking in automotive restoration. The nickel silver radiator shell on this car was fabricated before the whole body will follow from hammering out flat pieces of sheet metal.

Another full body creation is needed for this car, but I’ll need Alan’s help to tell me what it is!

I also loved poking around their mechanical shops as they were surrounded by things I’ve never seen before. This French engine was designed with such a different approach that I loved having the chance to see it apart! D8 Delage

The proof that AR worked on everything was again proven when I found this Abarth sitting among the other machinery. There is something that thumbs it’s nose at convention in these cars that I just love, and it was neat to see one in such good shape.

The time had come to catch my flight out of town and to leave Allan to his work, but I was glad I made time to see Auto Restorations before I left Christchurch. I was impressed with the amount of work and the quality they achieved, and I think their customers from all over the world see the same thing. With the favorable exchange rates and low hourly fee, I can understand why people have no problem paying for the shipping to New Zealand to restore their cars! The problem they have is not to get too big. As in anything that gets too large, quality can suffer, and that is not what Auto Restorations wants to see!

Thanks Allan for the tour!

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