Imagine you’re out for an afternoon drive in your vintage beauty without a care in the world. Suddenly, an unidentified driver rear-ends you and disappears in a flash. Your most prized possession is battered and beaten, and to make matters more difficult, it’s a vintage car that requires an exceptional level of restoration, especially if it's been restored once before. You visit shop after shop but find yourself surrounded by so-called “restorers” who solely rely on plastic body-filler: a cheap, lazy, temporary method of restoration akin to putting Band-Aids all over the car. Just when you think all hope is lost, you see the light at the end of the tunnel and find yourself in great hands with the restoration experts at Carolina Coach Crafters.
This is exactly what happened to Ed and Carolyn Lantz when they were driving their 1938 Ford Standard Coupe. At the beginning of the project, our team found traces of plastic body-filler in the past restoration job from another shop. At Carolina Coach Crafters, "Bondo" is a curse word. We specialize in the art of metal filing and finishing. It takes time for wounds to heal properly.
One of Ed's greatest strains was his search to find a new fender for his Standard Coupe, but all of the tension and stress melted away when he found us. Our team has the capability of making a buck and producing a completely new fender, if necessary. As the following pictures illustrate, his fender was hammered out and partial pieces were made, welded into place, and hammered and filed. After careful, meticulous craftsmanship, it was finally metal-finished and ready for primer and paint. Our shop maintains the art form of panel-beating: a method that far outlasts the plastic body-filler that all too many restoration shops use.
Here's a glimpse of the work that our team did on this 1938 Ford Standard Coupe. While we ran into evidence of "Bondo" from a past restoration shop, it didn't deter our efforts towards pure, proper restoration.
This is exactly what happened to Ed and Carolyn Lantz when they were driving their 1938 Ford Standard Coupe. At the beginning of the project, our team found traces of plastic body-filler in the past restoration job from another shop. At Carolina Coach Crafters, "Bondo" is a curse word. We specialize in the art of metal filing and finishing. It takes time for wounds to heal properly.
One of Ed's greatest strains was his search to find a new fender for his Standard Coupe, but all of the tension and stress melted away when he found us. Our team has the capability of making a buck and producing a completely new fender, if necessary. As the following pictures illustrate, his fender was hammered out and partial pieces were made, welded into place, and hammered and filed. After careful, meticulous craftsmanship, it was finally metal-finished and ready for primer and paint. Our shop maintains the art form of panel-beating: a method that far outlasts the plastic body-filler that all too many restoration shops use.
Here's a glimpse of the work that our team did on this 1938 Ford Standard Coupe. While we ran into evidence of "Bondo" from a past restoration shop, it didn't deter our efforts towards pure, proper restoration.
Our team removed the left fender to assess the damage and determine the scope of necessary work; whether we needed to make an original buck or just repair the fender itself.
This section was previously rusted by a so-called “restoration shop" because it was brazed and heavily coated with plastic body-filler.
New rear body panel and toolbox supporters had to be custom-fabricated as the original supporters are NLA (no longer available).
Refer to the first picture to see the transition from the damaged, Bondo-fraught fender to this beautiful, metal-finished fender–the same exact part with another chance at life. Pieces of the fender were hand-formed, welded, and filed to obtain a complete, metal-finished end result.
And here we have the finished product after we custom-matched the unique red exterior paint. Carolina Coach Crafters took the presence of mind to pre-fit all panels before they went into the priming and painting process.
Our goal in this shop is for every vintage car to receive the necessary revitalization to grace the roadways for years to come. From minor touch-ups and collision repairs to total restoration jobs, we value and care for each car in our shop as if it is our own. The joy we see from our clients once they're reunited with their vintage beauty is our greatest motivation. Ed and Carolyn are now enjoying their precious vintage beauty as they traverse the countryside of Eastern North Carolina once more.
When it comes to accidents and collisions, you never know what can happen, but Carolina Coach Crafters is here to alleviate your stress and resurrect your vintage beauty. You can't be certain on whether your car will remain unscathed, but you can be certain that we will go above and beyond to get it back on the road, looking and driving like new.
When it comes to accidents and collisions, you never know what can happen, but Carolina Coach Crafters is here to alleviate your stress and resurrect your vintage beauty. You can't be certain on whether your car will remain unscathed, but you can be certain that we will go above and beyond to get it back on the road, looking and driving like new.