Triumph Vitesse Restoration

Triumph Vitesse Restoration

This classic car restoration was a fantastic car to work on. It is a timeless classic that holds great sentiment for the client, and it was a pleasure to work with them to produce exactly what they wanted.

Preparation

we stripped the car back to its bare metal by using media blasting. As soon as that was done, we could see the extent of the shell. Everything is bagged and tagged when we take it off the car and photographed so we can go back and use it to see where it goes. We have done this for years as we have found out that if a technician leaves, we need to know precisely at what point he has got up to, but also we need to know where all the parts of the car are.

Bodywork

The client asked to look at the sills as the doors were not closing correctly. We could see that there had been an accident at some point, and that had caused the car to be twisted. We corrected this by putting it on a Jig and looking at what areas needed to be straightened and accordingly straightened them. We put new sills, which were inner and outer, and fitted like a glove after we had jigged the car. Several panels had to be replaced, but our excellent welder had no issues lining up any panels and creating the perfect gap between the doors and the boot. Once we were happy with the panels and the car sat correctly, we moved on to the first coat of epoxy primer. Epoxy primer gives you a hard finish to help your vehicle with further rust issues. It is not a silver bullet but will hold back the rust for many a year. We epoxied the inner and outer shell so the whole car was protected.

Paintwork

95% of doing a car respray is down to preparation. If you receive a cheap car respray quote, please carefully examine the preparation involved. There is no shortcut; it can take days and even months to do an excellent car respray. You pay for what you get.

As well as doing car resprays for classic and retro cars, we also do smart repairs.

Once we have sanded the car, it is up to the painter’s experience to ensure that all the panels feel correct. Once the painter is happy and there are no low or high spots, we can proceed to the next stage of applying the primer.

We may have to put several coats of primer on it to get the best finish possible.

Once our painter is happy, he will move on to putting the paint and lacquer on, in this case, its original maroon colour.

Engine, Brakes and Steering

Thankfully, this car had a pretty good engine, so we only had to replace the plugs, correct the fuel lines, re-tune the car, and set it up.

We fitted new brakes and an exhaust, and after driving her for a few miles, we were happy to let the customer know she was ready. We also re-colonized the interior seats and replaced the hood with a new mohair.

A fabulous team effort at Classic Car Lab in restoring this beautiful classic car at Yorkshire’s finest classic and retro car restoration centre. We are the best classic car specialist, but it’s up to you. Why don’t you pop in or give us a call and see how we can help with your requirements? Please remember it’s not just restorations but servicing tyres and MOT work. We are a one-stop shop for all your motoring needs for your classic and retro cars. I would like to add we see a lot of these cars that come through our doors as well as MGs.

Please consider us not only for just restoration’s but also servicing, general maintenance, SMART repairs , MOT work and even car resprays. All our services that we offer are all under one roof and you can be reassured all our work is guaranteed. We now offer all our garage services for any modern car so please give us a call or pop in to see us. We are based in Yorkshire but we cover all of the country.Yorkshires finest classic car restoration and general maintenance  workshop for Classic, Retro and Modern cars. The best classic and modern car garage, well we think so but don’t take our word come and see and make your own mind up.