The Approach

Restorations Built on Trust

When your car first arrives at the shop, our staff throughly analyzes its condition to determine what needs to be fixed, fabricated or rebuilt, keeping as much of the original car as possible. From then on, our team's expertise is at your service.

We work hard to build close relationships with our clients so we can truly understand your vision and make appropriate recommendations. We love building and restoring exceptional automobiles, and we want you to experience and enjoy the entire process with us.

How We Operate

It's Your Dream

We partner closely with our clients throughout the life of a project. You're a part of our team, from creating a vision for your car to finally driving away a world-class automobile. It's your dream, every step of the way.

The Details Matter

Our reputation for unmatched quality is built on integrity. Every member of our team belives in the prestige of truly original, period-correct automobiles. We respect the heritage of each car that comes into our shop, and we're faithful to your vision down to the finest detail.

Use Our Expertise

Our team has decades of experience, spanning countless projects and every aspect of building and restoring unique automobiles. This expertise is at your service from day one as we work together to bring your dream to life. Impeccable authenticity, show-stopping perfection and reliable driveability - these are the hallmarks of our work.  

Create Something Unique

We don't believe in merely producing showpieces. It's about the entire experience, and we strive to ensure your car drives beautifully. Once you have worked with us - whether it's a full restoration or a minor tuneup, we consider you a permanent part of our team. 

Forging Ahead

Tear Down

When your car arrives, we thoroughly analyze and document its condition. Then we work with you to determine your vision and outline an initial restoration plan. From there, turnkey restorations are fully disassembled, with every part and its condition inspected, catalogued, labeled and stored. This gives us a chance to determine our needs and order any large or hard-to-find items, helping us to avoid delays down the line. We approach this initial assessment and planning phase with a studious attention to detail. 

Frame & Chassis

Lasting restorations begin with a solid foundation. We inspect your car's frame, determine any repairs that need to be made, carefully media blast each component, prime and finish the original steel and rebuild the chassis until your car's frame is once again a roller. At this point we are also carefully repairing and restoring individual parts, believing that perfection is built piece by piece.

Our shop has extensive experience in constructing custom chassis for your specific car from the ground up. 

Sheet Metal

The first thing many people notice about a custom restoration is the gleaming paint job. That begins with sheet metal repair and fabrication. We inspect each piece, determine our needs, repair any rust and address any other issues to ensure the proper fit of every panel and part. After the basic foundational work is complete, we move on to any customizations. We then assemble about 95% of the car to test the fit of everything on the frame before breaking it down once again, making any necessary adjustments and welds to the chassis, and reblasting parts to prep them for body and paint work.

Body & Paint

Body and paint work is meticulous and usually begins with the chassis and suspension as they are run through different phases. Sometime these parts are done in flat black, other times the car calls for more personality. All of the smaller parts are painted individually on racks and strings. Once the body and undercarriage have been primed and prepped for superior rust prevention, the main body of the car receives numerous color and clear coats depending what's called for, followed by sanding and respraying to deliver the deepest shine possible. 

Mechanical

Depending on the job, our mechanical work can involve everything from repairing and replacing a few parts to a full tuneup or a complete rebuild of the engine, transmission, suspension and more. Whether we are restoring your car to stock specifications or upgrading it with high-performance replacements and additions, our goal is to make sure you end up with a world-class automobile that will drive like one for years to come. From springs and shocks to bushings and ball joints, our restoration work will leave your car handling beautifully. The mechanical side of things offers numerous options. We'll work with you to design the driving experience you want.

Final Assembly

Final assembly is so much more than that. We build the car from the foundation up, testing and trimming the fit and functionality of every single piece and part to make sure the job is done right - from the brakes and panels to the lights and door latches. Then we aim for at least 100 miles of test driving, constantly dialing in each component and making adjustments along the way as the car settles in - tightening suspension bolts and fine-tuning the brakes, timing, alignment, electrical - everything has to be 100% working the way it is supposed to. Once we are satisfied, the car gets upholstered and receives final touches before we hand over the keys to you.

Personal Project Tracker

There's nothing better than watching your car come to life. We created The Forge's personal project tracker so you can witness your turnkey build or restoration step-by-step. You'll stay informed as you follow your car through each stage via photos and regular updates from the shop.

  1. It's the closest thing to being in the shop with your team.
  2. Easily share progress photos with others through social media.
  3. Track multiple restoration projects from a single dashboard.
  4. Simple text updates and extended photo galleries keep you in the loop.