TL;DR – Do you think restomod community will carry on as it has, or do you think the future is going to just blow up for these guys and classics?
Main point:
The Restomod community is going to kill it taking classics, and whole collections, to convert to electric or autonomous for wealthy clients, in the near future. Not so bullish about autonomous, but who knows where driving laws are going to go? I’ve got to assume there is a big anti-restomods community?
EV retrofit is already happening. I actually knew a guy in Nevada that was making old Ranger trucks into EVs over a decade ago. I was pondering my 1995 Wrangler, but at the time we weren’t there with the tech. But something specifically about the Rangers made the retrofit really easy. Think of how many technicians and engineers restomod groups will will need in the future, and how many cars out there will have to be retrofit at some point? Makes me want to apprentice at a shop. =) Honestly, it would be a hell of a career to get into now. Both EV and autonomous restomods will take off for wealthy collectors and classics owners that will want to be able to drive them.
More:
I’d wanted a classic of various sorts… Have I shared my car list? Actually, I’ve time this afternoon to possibly start the post with the names of the cars, and pics. I’ll send it.
I’m now sure I’m going to find my favorite cars in history (BMW 835ci or csi) and restomod it. I actually really want a resto of an Aston. There’s a guy locally who did it up to getting remote start, etc. LOL It sounded divine. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cgHU5ntLKpj5jwhj8
I know car collectors might balk, but I really loved it. I mean, I’ve been lucky enough to be around a bunch of collectors, and there aren’t many who don’t add the caveat that they’re a pain in the ass to maintain, and driving in them is really uncomfortable. The old Bugatti guys can’t do more than 150 miles a day, and they constantly lose cars.
My Uncle just passed from Covid a year ago =(. He was a big Corvette guy and that community celebrated him better than we were able! Car communities are badass. He really is a huge part of my car passion. But he did a restomod on a Cobra back in the 80s (power steering, AC and more), and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since. Now you’re seeing them transact more at auctions. I’m sorta starting to think about my Jeep again. But one like the above Aston Martin, or taking a BMW 850csi and updating it? Whoooo boy. Start a swear jar.
Keith Martin’s Sport Car market just did a profile on a Corvette that was great. I’m not a Corvette fan at all, and I was drooling. I still like the Aston better, but might as well share: 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Resto-Mod https://www.sportscarmarket.com/profile/1963-chevrolet-corvette-split-window-resto-mod
And this all started with The Drive profiling this Merc:
Building a Mercedes 190E Evo On a Modern AMG C63 Chassis Took 8 Years and More Money Than God: This is quite simply one of the greatest restomods ever made—and here’s exactly what went into it. https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/40257/building-a-mercedes-190e-evo-on-a-modern-amg-c63-chassis-took-8-years-and-more-money-than-god
