Car restoration on the Kāpiti Coast

Salt air is hard on old cars

Coastal cars carry a particular kind of rust. Living near the sea works on the parts nobody looks at — inside sills, along seams, behind trim, in the boot floor and around the screen surrounds — and it's usually well advanced before anything shows on the outside. If your car has spent its life on the coast, assume there's more there than you can see.

That's fine, and it's normal, but it does mean an honest assessment is worth having before you spend money on paint. We cut rust out and replace it with fabricated steel rather than filling it, because filled rust comes back and it always comes back under new paint. Alongside that we do full restorations and custom builds, panel and paint, mechanical and auto electrical, custom trim, Cerakote and certification.

Getting the car to us from the Kāpiti Coast

A short run up the expressway and SH1. If the car isn't going under its own steam, transport from Kāpiti is straightforward and cheap — tell us where it's sitting when you enquire and we'll help organise it.

We're not a mobile operation — the spray booth, the fabrication gear and the trim shop are all at Kuku, and that's where the work happens. What we will do is help you sort transport in both directions if the car isn't going to drive itself here.

What we can do for Kāpiti Coast cars

• Full restoration & custom buildsFrame-up restorations and turn-key custom builds.
• Panel, paint & fabricationResprays, rust cut out and replaced, sheet-metal and chassis fabrication.
• Mechanical & auto electricalEngine and driveline work, full rewires and new looms.
• Upholstery & CerakoteCustom trim and boot builds, high-temp ceramic coating.
• LVV certification & complianceModified vehicles certified, imports complied.

Send us your Kāpiti Coast enquiry