Land Rover Restorations & Rebuilds
Land Rover Restoration services start with a dream
Land Rover Restoration services start with a dream and often an unloved Land Rover or indeed a family owned vehicle. Some are a project a customer buys to invest in and make a profit
The restoration always depends on vehicle condition and can get expensive quite quickly, but this is where it’s important to have a good honest discussion
When looking at a vehicle in poor condition we recommend a starting budget of £16000-20000 excluding VAT without engine or gearbox rebuilds if most panels are in good condition. Many restoration companies will say start with a £20000-25000 parts budget alone but we do offer to remove, shot blast and repaint / powder coat what is reusable. If we were asked for an upper budget for time, without fabrication works or modifications we would be looking 300 hours – approx £15000+ vat labour
We will often discount parts costs. Be aware that although a restoration may be done at a discounted labour rate we can’t guarantee costs. When any parts are beyond repair or uneconomical they should be replaced. If repairs hours would be over the replacement cost or very close it’s replaced. If you start adding to this custom interiors, replacement doors, new windows, full colour change respray inside and out and more this could easily double.
We will keep you updated as to costs ongoing. We don’t negotiate on costs. Once permission is given on your restoration we will start. If any stop is requested storage fees apply. If we stop due to parts etc storage fees do not apply.
We don’t post these figures to shock, we post them to be realistic. We have some clients who opt for just a chassis swap, which would be from around £5000 if it’s in good working order. If a vehicle is poorly maintained these can get up to the £9000-12000 figure quite easily so we will always be realistic. There is no point a client coming in for a Land Rover Restoration and us being unrealistic about budgets.
Still interested. where do we go from here ?
We would always encourage a face to face visit first to decide with the car on the lift what is best. Some problems will only be visible when stripping down
We will then recommend if it’s more suitable for a chassis swap or a full Land Rover restoration. For a chassis swap we start ground up, undo everything, body goes onto a lift and splits from the chassis. Parts are swapped chassis to chassis, then body goes back on. When we start a restoration it’s a top down process. Roof off, doors out, panels out, interiors out…. Step by step remove, then onto the new chassis or indeed repaired and refit onto the existing one if it’s in good condition
How do we pay ? How long does a Land Rover restoration take?
Chassis costs are always paid up front. We will then request a start off materials deposit up front depending on anticipated costs. Invoices are usually then fortnightly unless otherwise agreed. Some clients prefer to pay a larger amount up front this is also ok. We will not release the vehicle until paid and after completion storage fees may be charged if collection is delayed. We will notify you if this is the case.
Timescales a chassis swap 40-45 hours a restoration 250-400 sometimes more. Usually over a 2-3 month period. Sometimes this can be delayed awaiting parts. Strip down is the first few weeks, accessories you can remove to reduce costs. Anything that is not needed to drive to us will reduce time and storage needs for our team.
Unlike a chassis swap it’s a top down process. Roof comes off first, then doors, grills, wings and so on. In a chassis swap we don’t remove any body parts. Then parts are stripped down if they look in poor condition so this is usually doors, bulkhead etc. Onto interior, floor, side panels, fuel system, brakes and so on off the chassis until it’s a bare chassis with axles. We strip down the arms, brakes, hubs, everything on the axle. On a chassis swap axles are wheeled onto the replacement chassis not stripped. This means by the end of the 2-3 weeks to strip down we know what it’ll need.