This page shows highlights of The Metal Surgeon’s completed classic car restorations. Some of our projects don’t require us to do paint and final assembly because the work is for local restoration shops. In those cases, we complete at minimum the metalwork and sometimes coordinate the paint. In addition, some customers prefer to do the final assembly of the car in their own garages.
We do a wide variety of metalwork from nut and bolt restorations to a full custom ‘one of a kind truck‘. We also have the skills to complete concept engineering/fabrication projects like the Mercedes Unimog.
Our new 8,000 sqft facility means we can work on more projects with our well-qualified 5-man team. Be sure to also check out our current projects page.
Pair of Porsche 356 coupe restorations – factory originals
Jeep CJ-5 RestoMod – built for offroading
This Jeep went through a full transformation but kept true to its 1973 roots.
Fastback Mustang RestoMod – Ford Coyote 5L engine swap and tons of custom touches
This car came from another shop where it had sat for a couple of years, because they did not have anyone skilled enough to complete the electrical and mechanical tasks. We took this Mustang from a shell and boxes of parts to this beauty!
23 Window VW Split Screen Bus
This VW bus had been given a quick and dirty “restoration” at another shop, so it looked respectable but a lot of bad things were hiding under the paint.
Porsche Factory Restoration – 1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A Full Restoration
See full details on this 356 Pre-A build here. The customer disassembled this rare Fashion Grey/ Azure Blue Porsche years ago and brought it to us for a Concours restoration. We were pleased to see that it sold for $374,000 at the Scottsdale 2018 auction.
Mercedes Unimog Custom Fabrication – rear doors, walls, floor, and roof
This custom Mercedes Unimog concept build was ultimately for a landmine investigation company. The Metal Surgeon designed and fabricated the entire back end of the Unimog. Assembly by Couch Off-Road.
1959 Porsche 718-006 RSK Spyder Restoration
We really enjoyed the restoration of this unique 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder. The aluminum three-part body shell covers a tubular space frame made of seamless steel. Out of thirty-four 718 RSKs made by Porsche, this is number six, an unknown number survive. We built a datum box to aid in the restoration and get both sides symmetrical. For more photos of this Porsche restoration view Post 1 here, Post 2 here, and Post 3 here.
Chevrolet Pepsi Truck – Highly Custom Hot Rod
See full details on this Custom Chevy Truck build here, it has all the bells and whistles. For example: air ride suspension, one-piece forward-moving hood, Chevy 350 engine, custom chassis, cherry bed wood, shaving the drip rails, door poppers, electric windows, and much more.
American Austin – Factory nut and bolt restoration – very rare!
This 1931 American Austin, was a true barn find and needed lots of metalwork as many panels were badly rusted. We fabricated all parts needed by hand because these are too rare to have reproduction panels or parts available. See more details on the panel fabrication here.
Chevrolet 5-window Pickup – full original factory truck restoration
This 1953 Chevy pickup has been in the family since new. The truck lived early life as a farm truck, and after being stored for years it was ready for a full nut and bolt restoration. It got fresh coat of two-tone paint, but stuck with the original in-line six engine and 6V to stay true to its roots!
1965 Volkswagon Type 34 Karmann Ghia – Factory Restoration – very rare!
If you like VWs, this was a very cool build to be involved in. People call these Type 34s “the big Karmann” in Germany, “Razor Edge Ghia” in the UK, or “European Ghia” in the US. Whatever you want to call it, this came out a beauty in Fashion Grey with a red interior.
Jeep Fleetvan – custom and rare hot rod
The Metal Surgeon gave this Jeep Fleetvan the full custom treatment, for instance: a crate Chevy 4.3L engine and Mustang II narrowed front end. The owner had this white to deep blue fade in mind for the paint scheme from the beginning. We also customized most of the mechanical parts: the steering column, throttle, brakes, and added AC/heat system and vents.
Tri-five Chevy Bel-Air – hot rod restoration
This Bel-Air was another 10-year restoration, the owner had done tons of work in his garage, but life got the best of the project and it ended up unfinished until he brought it to us! We made a custom hood scoop to fit the engine and air intake combo he had gone with. Now he’s cruising around, doing burn outs, and probably hitting up a classic car show or two.
1965 Porsche 911 – Body and Paint Restoration
This Porsche was in decent condition, but the body was full of thick filler on the fenders, rockers, and rear quarters. We stripped it down, repaired the rockers, rear quarters, floors, and package tray, then finished in the original polo red Glasurit paint. The owner decided to complete the assembly in his garage as part of his retirement!
Porsche Body and Paint Restoration – Porsche 914 to 914-6 GT conversion
See full details on this 914 build here. We added the wheel arches aka fender flares, fabricated custom rocker panels, and finished with a signal orange Glasurit paint job.
Metal fabrication for a 1957 Mercedes 300SL
We fabricated these front end panels by hand from scratch, since these Mercedes are too rare and valuable to get reproduction or donor panels. The ‘eye-brow’ front trim was also fabricated by hand.
