John's British Classics

The last thing you need is to breakdown that ruins a long awaited driving trip or the drive to the first car show of the year. 

An annual service can often find those potential issues, in many cases once highlighted owners can often work on the problem at his or her leasure. 

Being able to come to you to service your LBC makes life a whole lot easier.  I'll come to you when it suits you.  No more waiting while your car is being worked on, stand, watch and learn.

The dreaded "Lucas" system, well, it's not that bad really.  I find many owners shy away from electrical issues when general maintenance can prevent many problems.   Having a complete  electrical evaluation in many cases locates the source of the problem and finds the next potential failure, fix what's found and you won't go far wrong.

I'm often asked if I will rebuild carbs, and my response is almost always sure can, but WHY !  Most perceived carb problems are not caused by the carb and when they are it's often only one or two parts that are at fault.  Getting a second opinion can and often does save the owner hundreds of dollars, call me to discuss the problem.

While I do most welding and panel construction at a local fab shop I am able to repair minor areas on your car on site.  eg. Floor patching, battery box repair and small holes in the fenders and rocker panels etc.  The more involved work requires too many tools, clamps and fixtures and is generally too dirty to do at a customer’s home ,,,,I  just don't want your wife complaining to me about the mess!

This is an example of a bought floor pan and footwell panel I fabricated for a Healey.

(Click on botton right to enlarge the photo)

This is an area that needs to be regularly inspected and you can do this yourself by jacking the car up, removing the road wheels and looking for play on all the suspension joints.  Rebuilding the suspension and brakes is a little more involved as special tools are needed.  You have a wide choice of suppliers of parts but be warned knowing the good from the bad will save you doing the job twice.

While involved, this job can be done in your garage.  It involves an evaluation including an initial alignment check, removal of parts, purchase of parts, "most are readily available" the cleaning process, painting and rebuilding.  Once complete a front end alignment is done.  This is not a weekend job !

If interested in this service please contact me.

I find this process better suited to be done at my shop as I don't use pre-cut carpet kits.  I purchase high quality auto carpet and cut to suit.  I have the carpet edge bound by a local upholster and in many cases make the side and door panels using premium plywood for the backing with better quality vinyl.

Seats are taken to the upholster for evaluation prior to purchasing a seat kit - which almost never fits correctly!  In many cases the old seats will be striped, used as patterns and the seats covered using the best of modern materials. 

Different densities of foam are often used depending on the owners requirements, ultimately resulting in a custom interior that's a big improvement over the generic pre-cut kits available on the market today.

Expensive! you would be surprised.  Contact for more details.

This is a 1970 TR6 with the faded and cracked dash removed.  A new custom dash was fitted together with a center plinth for the switches and a top dash pad.

Click on the bottom right corner to increase the size of the images 

As can be seen the dash now fitted with the new dash pad. 

 The customer looked at several dashboards before settling on this darker than std walnut example.

The drivers seat was recovered material originally from a passenger seat of the same design.  This gave an overall finish that looked slightly worn but original. 

A new top was fitted together with door seals and later on in the year the car placed 2nd in class at the 2009 Euro Car Show in Spartanburg SC.

One of the many modifications available today to the British Car owner is a 5 speed transmission conversion. I'm able to assist you with installing the new transmission and kit or you can bring the car and the kit to me for the complete installation.

For information on purchasing 5 speed conversion kits call Hap Waldrop of ACME SPEED SHOP in Greenville.  http://www.acmespeedshop.com/projects.html

From a Partial to a Full Engine Rebuild I'm able to help.  Using several local shops, each having a specialty of their own I have successfully put together many British Sports Car engines.

I have cylinderheads rebuilt in one shop, the block machine in another and the crank machined by a shop that only machines cranks.  I only used the best in the upstate.