Vintage & Classic Truck Restorations
Why Choose Finch Restorations?
✔ Custom Restoration Solutions – Full restorations, bodywork & painting, driveline refurbishments, and interiors.
✔ Award-Winning Craftsmanship – Recognised for excellence in classic truck restorations.
✔ Comprehensive Service – We project manage everything in-house, from chassis repairs to mechanical rebuilds.
✔ Flexible Restoration Stages – Select individual restoration phases or opt for a full rebuild.
✔ Preserving History – Your truck has a story. We keep its historical value while improving performance and reliability.
✔ Authenticity & Attention to Detail – We meticulously replicate period-correct features while integrating modern safety and reliability improvements where desired.
Full Ground-Up Truck Restorations
Finch Restorations boasts decades of invaluable experience in the meticulous restoration of vintage and classic trucks, making us a trusted name in the industry. Our well-equipped workshop can accommodate larger and heavier vehicles, allowing us to work on trucks with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of up to 14 tonnes. Depending on the specific restoration scope you desire, we may even be able to accept heavier vehicles, ensuring that we can cater to a wide range of restoration projects.
At Finch, we employ a comprehensive system that consists of nine major stages to effectively describe and manage the entire restoration process. This structured approach not only helps us maintain high standards of quality but also allows you, the customer, to have a say in how much of your truck you wish to have restored and the timing of each phase.
This flexibility means that a tailored scope of restoration is entirely possible, enabling you to customise the project to suit your individual needs and preferences. Whether you are looking to restore a classic or vintage vehicle, our expertise extends to a variety of vehicle types. This includes not only trucks but also buses, utility vehicles, pick-ups, commercial vehicles, and even military vehicles. At Finch Restorations, we are dedicated to bringing your cherished vehicles back to life with the utmost care and precision.
Examples Scopes for Tailoring Truck Restorations
Example 1: Full Ground-Up Truck Restorations
Full ground-up restorations are for those who want to preserve a vehicle for posterity. You can bring your truck back as close as possible to the original manufacturer specifications. Or you might want to perform upgrades to, for example, improve reliability, comfort, or performance.
During disassembly, we remove the cab of your vintage or classic truck from the chassis. Next, we remove dirt, paint, lead, and old fillers from the cab and chassis. Our technicians then check them for cracks, broken welds, broken rivets, and needed rust repairs. These issues can harm how long a vehicle lasts, how it handles, and its safety if not fixed.
The bare chassis is also the ideal opportunity to check for straightness and perform chassis repairs. Now is also a good time to see if any bolts, nuts, or clips are missing or need replacing.
The exposed chassis also provides the opportunity to easily install new or refurbished systems. You may wish to replace and/or upgrade brake, fuel and exhaust lines for increased safety and reliability.
The chassis and each panel of your truck is either repaired or replaced. The cab and chassis are then rotisserie painted. The new paint system will give your truck a new lease on life. Modern and durable primers and paints will ensure the chassis and cab will last for decades to come.
Our technicians will now inspect, replace, or refurbish all mechanical aspects of your classic truck. Depending on the age of the vehicle, insulation on the wiring loom has likely degraded. For safety, our technicians will generally use a new wiring loom to replace the old one.
Our trim shop can reline your truck's interior door panels and cab ceiling. If you prefer, we can keep the old patina. They replace the old worn-out door window and weather seals, upholster the seats, refurbish the dashboard and instruments, and more.
We will renew or retimber your timber tray and headboard, and re-coat them with a bright lacquer or paint. We can perform pinstriping and signwriting to replicate original livery or to meet your specifications.
The result is a truck that families will hand down from generation to generation.
Full ground-up restorations are the most expensive. They take the most time, effort and space to achieve.
Just like an episode of 'Grand Designs', these restorations can uncover the hidden secrets of your truck.
You can optionally install a new or refurbished engine or brake upgrades to achieve more modern performance standards. You can also have the options of including air conditioning, heating, stereo, electric wipers, seat belts, and more.
Example 2: Body and Panel Painting
If you consider yourself a Do It Yourself (DIY) restorer, there’s a good chance you have already taken the initiative to disassemble your truck. In this case, you might find it beneficial to enlist the expertise of Finch to handle the more specialised aspects of the restoration process. Specifically, you may want them to focus on addressing the rust-affected areas, ensuring they are treated properly, as well as managing the subsequent painting of the cabin to achieve a professional finish.
Example 3: Driving Chassis
For those passionate about DIY restorations, there may come a time when you require the assistance of experts, particularly when it comes to critical components such as the chassis, steering, suspension systems, and driveline. Our team is here to help; we can thoroughly inspect, refurbish or replace parts, and even provide painting services as needed to ensure your project is a success.
Example 4: Assembly and Completion
Do you happen to have an unfinished restoration project sitting in your garage, one that you’ve come to realise will likely never see completion? It’s a common scenario that we encounter quite frequently. Many of our clients bring us their incomplete projects, and we take on the responsibility of finishing the vehicle on behalf of the DIY owner. This situation often arises due to various challenges the client has faced, particularly when dealing with a previous third-party workshop that may not have met their expectations or delivered satisfactory results. We understand the frustration that can come with such experiences, and we are here to help bring your vision to life.
Example 5: Single System
If you enjoy DIY restoration, you might want to hire us for one or more system refurbishments. Examples of single systems could include:
- Truck upholstery including truck seat repairs.
- Brake system repairs or upgrade.
Recent Truck Restoration Projects
Our portfolio includes:
- 1930 Thornycroft A1 – A meticulous ground-up rebuild of a pre-war commercial truck.
- 1948 Commer Truck – An award-winning heritage restoration.
- 1934 Albion C-Cab – A stunning example of our expert coachbuilding.
- Vintage Military Vehicles – Restoring historic military trucks with authenticity and precision.
- Custom Utility Trucks – Creating purpose-built, high-performance utility vehicles from classic truck foundations.
- Restored Fire Trucks & Emergency Vehicles – Reviving historic emergency service vehicles.
- Classic Workhorse Utes & Pickups – Preserving legacy models while enhancing performance.
Contact Finch Restorations
Everything you need to make your truck look new again is performed by qualified and professional people who care.
Thinking about restoring your vintage or classic truck? Contact Finch Restorations today for an obligation-free consultation.
📞 Call: (08) 8398 2332; International: +61 8 8398 2332
📧 Email:
📍 Adelaide Hills Workshop Location: Finch Restorations, 17 Oborn Road, Mount Barker SA 5251, South Australia
