What Is a Restomod?

A restomod is a classic car that has been restored but modified with modern parts and technology. This gives you a unique way to drive.

Have you ever wanted to drive an older car for the style and classic qualities it brings but didn’t want the old-school technology and power? If that’s the case, you want a car that looks old but has new and modern features. This is something that many classic car restoration companies are asked to do. Some of these cars are created to include electric powertrains, making them even more modern than you might expect.

When did this Type of Car Restoration Begin?

These restorations with modern qualities began as a small trend in the late 1980s. It only took a few hot rodders at the grass-roots level to begin building cars that looked old but had modern qualities. This movement transitioned into the muscle car world as a natural movement from improving some of the factory production cars with modern features. Technically, taking a factory car and adding a few items to them doesn’t qualify as a restomod, but taking an older muscle car from the 1960s and adding more powerful engines, electronic fuel injection, disc brakes, better performance tires, and computer-designed suspensions make these cars truly restored and modified versions of what they used to be.

Which Cars Were the Most Commonly Upgraded?

The most common cars to receive these special treatments were the domestic muscle cars from the Detroit Big Three. While these cars were incredibly potent during their heyday, the advanced technology offered in the 1990s made it possible to build true performance machines out of these older muscle cars. Some of the most common cars to receive upgrades were the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Pontiac Firebird, Dodge Viper, Ford Mustang, and Dodge Charger models of old.

Why Did Some Owners of Older Muscle Cars Add Modern Upgrades?

The advanced technology of some of the most recent muscle cars caused many owners of classic muscle cars to get left behind when the light turned green. Anyone could buy a new Mustang or Camaro at the dealership and absolutely destroy an older model when taking off from a stop. This fact caused a lot of owners of older cars to be irritated by the new generation, but they had to admit the new technology was much better than what their cars came with. Thus, the explosion of the restomod movement.

How Much Are These Cars Worth?

Typically, the value of a car that’s been restored back to its original form brings the greatest value at auction. Some cars have been kept in pristine condition and didn’t need to be restored, but that’s not what we’re focused on today. The value of the car typically depends on two factors. The first is how sought after is that make and model, and the second is the level of modification put into the car. If the only original aspect of the car is the body and frame, it’s probably not going to bring as much at auction as a car that only has a couple of small modifications.

Pro Tip: If you want serious value in this type of project, you can find someone else’s stalled project for a low price and finish it yourself.

Does Value Really Matter?

Typically, restomod builds are a labor of love. Some people work on these cars for years in their garages. They start with a junkyard gem of the car they dreamed of as a kid and add what they want to the mix. This creates a unique build and a car that is singular on the road. Because no other car is the same as the one they’ve built, it has much more value to the person that put in the blood, sweat, and tears for the project to be completed than to anyone else. This means value doesn’t actually matter.

Which Models Usually Start These Projects?

Most of the time, owners that want to build a car that’s both restored to its original look and modified with modern technology, power, and performance features, start with one of the base or lower trim levels of that car. For example, you wouldn’t start with a 1969 427ci COPO Camaro and rebuild it with modern tech. This is a car you restore to its original condition because it was pretty awesome to start with. Instead, you might start with one of the six-cylinder or base V8 models that could be improved and show true increases in performance and power.

How Can You Get the Most Out of One of These Projects?

Instead of starting with a rare classic that will cost a lot to buy, even one that’s in bad shape, start with something more common that can be rebuilt and made unique. This could mean choosing the Pontiac Lemans instead of the GTO, the Chevy Malibu and not the Chevelle SS396, or the 318-equipped Barracuda instead of a Super Stock Hemi if you’re looking at a Mopar project. This is a realistic way to approach the project, but so many of us can’t deny the urge to grab one of the top models and give it the restomod upgrades that put a ton of power to the road.

The Goal is to Do Everything Better?

One of the best aspects of driving a car that’s both restored and modified is that you can usually drive it between stages of the project. Unless you’ve stripped it completely down to rebuild it, or the car is undrivable because of its condition, you can enjoy what this car offers. This could mean you get to know the old personality of the car while improving it to a new one.

The idea behind building one of these cars is to do everything better than when it was in its stock form. The only way to do this is to go bigger, faster, more expensive, and harder. While building your restomod, you’ll want to focus on rebuilding the sheet metal, body, paint, fuel injection, overdrive transmission, high-performance suspension, disc brakes, and engine performance improvements.

How will you take your project car and create something new and wonderful that can become the car that you love and share with your family and friends? Imagine the looks you’ll get when you bring your restomod to the next car meet-up.