01Full restoration
Shell up, bolt by bolt.
The complete job: strip, metalwork, mechanicals, paint, trim and a 500-mile shakedown. Most take 12 to 16 months.
Full restoration
- Typical time
- 12–16 months
- Updates
- Weekly photos
- Warranty
- 2 years
Rust to road.
Classic cars restored in Kent, every bolt photographed on the way. Scroll to follow one car through the workshop.
01 / 05 · Found
Forty-one years in a field.
Most of our cars arrive like this: seized, sinking, still loved. We collect anywhere in the UK and start with a written assessment before a spanner is lifted.
Intake sheetJob 0418
- Parked
- 41 yrs
- Floor pan
- 62% rust
- Engine
- Seized
- Panels kept
- 18 / 23
02 / 05 · Stripped
Down to bare metal, on camera.
Every part is bagged, labelled and photographed before it leaves the car. You get the whole archive, so the history goes with the car.
ArchiveLive
2,412 photos logged
Shared with the owner every Friday.
03 / 05 · Rebuilt
The engine comes out. A better one goes back in.
Machined, balanced and run on our dyno before it ever sees the car again. Original numbers kept, modern tolerances inside.
Dyno sheetRun 3
- Bore
- +0.030 in
- Compression
- 9.5 : 1
- Leak-down
- 4%
- Running-in
- 3 hrs
04 / 05 · Painted
Eighty hours of flatting for a mirror.
Epoxy primer, four coats of base, three of clear, then flatted and polished by hand in our own booth. Colour matched to the factory code, or to your memory.
Paint boothBay 2
- Base coats
- 4
- Clear coats
- 3
- Flatting
- 80 hrs
- Film build
- 180 µm
05 / 05 · Driven
Five hundred miles before you get the keys.
Every car does a full shakedown on real roads: motorway, B-roads, a cold start every morning. Then we fix what it tells us and hand it over.
ShakedownDone
500 / 500 miles
Snag list closed: 7 of 7.
HALVARD
Motor Works · Ashford, KentRestoration, engines and sale cars since 2009.
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Why restore
A new car is built to be replaced. An old one was built to be repaired, and most of them still can be. We take cars the world gave up on and return them to the road, honestly, with every step on record.
02Engine & drivetrain
Built, dyno-tested, signed.
Engines, gearboxes and axles rebuilt in-house, run on our dyno and delivered with the sheet. Car in the workshop or engine on a pallet.
Engine rebuild
- Typical time
- 8–12 weeks
- Dyno sheet
- Included
- Warranty
- 12 months
03Paint & bodywork
Metal first, then the mirror.
Panels repaired or hand-made, not filled. Then a full respray in our own downdraft booth, flatted and polished by hand.
Paint & body
- Typical time
- 3–5 months
- Colour match
- Factory code
- Warranty
- 5 years
04Interior & trim
Leather that smells right.
Seats, carpets, headlining and wood re-made to the original pattern, by two trimmers who have done nothing else for twenty years.
Interior & trim
- Typical time
- 6–10 weeks
- Hides
- UK tanned
- Warranty
- 2 years
Process
Six stages. Nothing hidden between them.
01
Assessment
Two days on the car: lift, compression, paint depth, chassis numbers. You get a written report with photos and a staged estimate before you commit to anything.
- Time
- 2 days
- Fee
- £650, credited
02
Strip & document
Every part is removed, bagged, labelled and photographed. Nothing is thrown away without your say.
- Time
- 3–5 weeks
- Photos
- ~2,400
03
Metalwork
Rust cut out, new steel shaped on the wheel and welded in. The shell is jigged and measured so it ends up straighter than it left the factory.
- Time
- 3–6 months
- Filler
- Under 1 mm
04
Mechanicals
Engine, gearbox, brakes, suspension and wiring rebuilt or replaced. Discreet upgrades only if you ask: electronic ignition, better brakes, a hidden fan.
- Time
- 2–4 months
- Dyno
- Every engine
05
Paint
Epoxy primer, guide coat, block-sanding, then base and clear in our booth. Flatted and polished by hand over two weeks.
- Time
- 6–8 weeks
- Coats
- 7 + primer
06
Shakedown
Five hundred miles on real roads by our test driver, a snag list, a fix list, and a final drive with you before handover.
- Distance
- 500 miles
- Handover
- With you
The workshop
Small team, long jobs, full records.
- Craftsmen under one roof
- 0
- Months, average full restoration
- 0
- Photos archived per car
- 0
- Shakedown miles before handover
- 0
Recent builds
Back on the road this year.
Keep scrolling: six of the cars that left the workshop in 2026.
Visit
Come and see your car being built.
One hall. Eleven benches.
Open every first Saturday.
Brook Farm Workshops, Ashford, Kent. Owners are welcome any time by appointment, and on open Saturdays without one.
Pricing
Three ways to start.
A
Assessment
£650
Credited against any work
- Two days on the lift
- Written report + photos
- Staged estimate and timeline
B
Rolling restoration
from £2,800/month
You set the monthly budget
- Work in agreed stages
- Friday photo updates
- Pause or speed up any month
C
Fixed-scope rebuild
Quoted
After assessment, one fixed price
- Price held in writing
- Engine, paint or interior
- Warranty on every stage
Questions
Before you call.
Which cars do you work on?
European and American classics from the 1930s to the early 1990s. If it has a carburettor or early fuel injection, we can probably help. Ask us about anything else.
How do you source parts?
New-old-stock and remanufactured parts first, a UK machine shop for anything we can't buy, and our own metal shop for panels. Every part is listed in your archive with its source.
How will I know how it's going?
Photos and a short written update every Friday, a shared folder with the full archive, and an open door: owners can visit any weekday by appointment.
Is my car insured while you have it?
Yes. Cars are covered by our trade policy at an agreed value, stored indoors, alarmed and on camera.
Can you help me buy a project car?
Yes. We inspect cars before you buy anywhere in the UK for a fixed fee and tell you honestly whether it's worth saving.
Do you sell finished cars?
A few a year, usually by word of mouth. Join the list below and we'll tell you before they go public.
Start here
Tell us about your car.
We reply within two working days with a first opinion and an assessment date.
- Unit 4, Brook Farm Workshops, Ashford, Kent
- +44 1233 000 418
- Mon–Fri 08:00–17:30 · first Saturday open day