Retorers Today and Yesteryear
Our classic car restoration firm was founded in 1945 by James & Arthur Ward in Fleet, about 15 miles south-west of London. In those days following the end of the Great War, we concentrated on maintaining, repairing and respraying cars and commercial vehicles, including the many war-surplus ex-military vehicles then being sold off to motorists made aware of the advantages of mechanical transport by the War itself. Through the 1940's and 50's, we serviced and repaired many of the great classics that we now restore.
Following the retirement of the brothers in the late 1970's, the firm was run by Arnold Farnsbahn,a great classic car engineer & enthusiast. In 1985 Andrewjoined the firm as a Partner. In 1986, redevelopment forced us to move our workshop from Elms Rd to larger premises in Gordon Rd, a total distance of about 400 yards!
Arnold never retired and kept working until his death early in 1997 at the age of 76 years. After Arnold's death, James continued as sole Proprietor until another move was made to better workshops in 2014. We moved back to our original home, and another 400 yards or so! At the same time, in order to cope with the general expansion of our company, our skilled workforce and the range of services we offer, we became a Limited Company.
Fred Smith, the foreman for the previous 30 years joined James as a fellow Director at this time. Fred's wife Angela also joined as Office Manager then, so the business is back to being family-run again. Restorers, with its dedicated and skilled craftsmen, has a vast wealth of experience in the restoration and repair of many types of classic cars. We love what we do and have done so for many decades!
If your car needs a bit of TLC, a little or a lot, we are pleased to be of service so please contact James or Fredfor a free estimate without obligation or just a friendly chat. We know that many of our current friends will be delighted to hear that the kettle survived the move so a good cup of tea or coffee is always available when you drop in. We look forward to seeing you soon.
