Everything owners ask before the first visit.
Eighteen years of consultations distilled: the money questions, the process questions, and the ones people are afraid to ask. If yours isn't here, the phone works — and honest answers are free.
Honestly: it depends on condition, platform, and target standard — the range spans an order of magnitude, which is why phone quotes are fiction. We wrote the full cost structure out in our frame-off cost guide, and we quote real numbers only after seeing the car.
Full frame-off builds run 12 to 18 months here; targeted projects run weeks to a few months by scope. Hidden metal and parts lead times are the honest stretchers. Our timeline guide walks the whole calendar stage by stage.
Staged — a deposit opens the project, then progress billing tied to completed, photographed stages. You pay for work you can see. Long-lead parts (plating, upholstery, machine work) are funded at ordering so they never hold the schedule hostage.
Sometimes — documented desirable cars can pencil; common cars usually restore for love, not profit, and we'll tell you which yours is before you spend. What always holds value: documented work. Our binders follow cars through appraisals and auctions for exactly that reason.
We look at the car together — or at photos and tags if it's remote — talk about what it means to you and how you'll use it, then scope honestly: what it needs, what it doesn't, staged pricing with contingencies flagged. No pressure, no deposit-chasing. Serious cars deserve a serious first hour.
The car's verified identity decides more than preference: documented rare cars stay correct, common and non-matching cars restomod freely, and the middle path keeps originals crated for reversibility. Our restomod-vs-numbers-matching guide walks the whole framework.
Regularly — stalled projects are a steady share of intake. We audit what exists, tell you plainly what's usable and what must be redone, and quote completion honestly. Bring the boxes and the invoices; we've reassembled worse.
Half the shop's schedule is targeted work — engines, paint, interiors, wiring, trim. The full services menu runs standalone or combined, and we'll never sell a teardown to a car that needs a tune.
Yes — written workmanship coverage on our labor, manufacturer warranties passed through on parts, and a shop that answers the phone afterward, which matters more than any paper. Eighteen years in one building is its own warranty.
We arrange enclosed transport from anywhere in Greater Houston and across Texas — garages, storage units, seller properties, barns with opinions. Logistics are our problem to solve; most non-running cars are in our shop within the week.
Fully — garage-keeper coverage, monitored security, indoor dehumidified storage. We'll also help you set up agreed-value collector coverage for the finished car, because the build record we hand you is exactly what those policies want.
Please don't — the pre-purchase inspection is the cheapest restoration decision that exists. We vet listings from photos free and inspect in person for a modest fee; our hidden-rust guide shows exactly why sellers fear the borescope.
Climate control or at least a dehumidifier, a breathable cover, a battery maintainer, ethanol-stabilized fuel, and monthly drives. Gulf humidity attacks parked cars from the inside — the storage advice is free and we give it at every delivery.
We restore rather than deal — but we inspect purchases, connect owners with reputable brokers, and occasionally know exactly who's quietly selling exactly what you're hunting. Eighteen years of Houston car community has its uses.
The questions above compress topics we've written about at full depth: what a frame-off restoration actually costs, how long a restoration really takes, restomod vs. numbers-matching, and spotting hidden rust before you buy. For how projects actually run here, start with the build process and the full services menu — and when the reading turns into a plan, the shop is easy to reach.
Every question here has been asked by an owner somewhere in this metro — usually in our office, usually with photos on a phone. Yours are welcome the same way.
Every project starts as a question. Call, write, or book the consultation — the answers stay honest either way.
(713) 555-0180