Guide
Classic car interior and chrome restoration cost drivers
Updated
Interior and brightwork are where a restoration is judged, and where the schedule usually slips. Plan both early.
Almost all of it is hand work
Upholstery, carpets, headlining, hood, woodwork and re-chroming are trades in their own right, and most restorers subcontract them to people who do nothing else. That is a good sign rather than a bad one, but it has two consequences worth understanding: the work sits in someone else's queue, and the cost may or may not be inside the quote you are reading. Ask about both before you compare numbers.
What drives interior cost
- Materials
- Leather, period-correct vinyl, the right weave of carpet, correct piping and the right hood material are not commodity purchases, and the correct specification for your marque and year usually costs more than a generic equivalent.
- Whether kits exist
- Popular models have trim kits made to pattern, which is far quicker than a trimmer cutting and fitting from scratch. Less common cars mean patterns taken off the old trim, which is slower and needs the old trim to have survived.
- Seat frames and foams
- Frames rust and diaphragms and webbing perish. Recovering a seat on tired foam is a false economy, and rebuilding the base is often more work than the covering.
- Woodwork and dashboards
- Veneer restoration and refinishing is specialist work, and delamination or water damage can mean new veneer rather than a polish.
- Headlining and hood fitting
- Skilled fitting work where the difference between competent and excellent is very visible, and it is one of the few jobs that cannot be hidden.
Chrome is the schedule risk
Re-chroming is a multi-stage process: strip the old plating, repair the base metal, then copper, nickel and chrome, with polishing between stages. Pitting and dents in the base metal have to be dealt with before plating, because plating magnifies every flaw rather than hiding it. Complex bumpers, grilles and window frames take time, and platers work to their own queues. On many restorations, brightwork is the item that decides when the car is finished. Send it away early, not at the end.
What to ask
- Which items are going out to specialists, and are those costs inside the quote or additional?
- What are the current lead times, and when will those items be sent?
- Are trim kits available for this car, or is everything being made to pattern?
- Will the base metal repairs before plating be quoted separately from the plating itself?
- What standard of finish is being aimed for, and does it match the standard agreed for the rest of the car?
Match the standard across the car. New chrome and a concours interior around driver-standard paint looks worse than a consistent car does, and costs more. Agree one standard, then hold everything to it: see how restoration hours are priced.