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I’ve a 1970 911E which, after 25 years of me driving it, needs a comprehensive restoration to take it back to its former glory. I’ve spoken with several reputable independent specialists about doing it, however I now see Porsche is offering such services as part of its Classic arm. What I’d like to know is, is the entire restoration done in-house like at the independents, or is anything outsourced? For example, would a Porsche Centre restore an interior? I’m hoping you wouldn’t just replace everything, as a car is only original once…
Thomas D. Ingram
Regarding restorations, Porsche GB has four Porsche Classic Partner Centres located in Leeds, Swindon, Glasgow and Hatfield. These centres have classic-trained technicians which I’m sure could answer the question in more depth.
From the restorations we have carried out at Porsche Bournemouth, we like to do as much as possible. However, regarding interiors we have outsourced these to specialist trimmers. There is a true art to trimming seats, installing headlinings and so on, so things like this are best to leave to the experts. They are then quality controlled in-house before progressing. We carry out all of the mechanical work and strip and rebuild processes.
Other items such as powder coating or material refinishing are outsourced due to the equipment required. The same goes for any machine work required to the engine.
There are many levels of restoration and it all depends on your desired end result – are you after a concours finish, sympathetic overhaul or just general refresh for many more happy miles?
If there are original features that you wouldn’t want to replace its best to keep them, after all it adds character to the car.