Specialty Car Modification & Restoration
Decades of auto racing experience and a lifelong passion for motors has given Smart Automotive Restorations a unique expertise in sports cars, classic restorations and racing car preparation. We provide servicing, repairs and restoration for anything from box racers, hot rod builds and replicas to motorcycles, vintage marquee vehicles, classic saloons, sportscars, family heirlooms, film prop vehicles, museum pieces and more.
We can arrange all aspects of your vehicle’s restoration, whether you’re looking for a simple dent removal or a complete, body-off ground-up restoration, including:
- carburettor tuning and overhauls
- chassis repairs and manufacturing
- timber frame and fiberglass repairs
- fuel tank repairs and manufacturing
- specialty modifications
- rust repairs
- coach building repairs
- trim work
We use original factory specifications and methods where possible, and can also handle any timberwork where needed. Whether your classic car needs to be ready for a track day or a car show, Smart Automotive Restorations will bring out its absolute best.
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Logbook Servicing
Whenever you purchase a new vehicle, the manufacturer provides you with a warranty that protects you from the cost of parts failures. This warranty is only valid if you have your vehicle periodically serviced, according to its service schedule, by a certified mechanic, who records and stamps these services in the vehicle’s logbook.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our skilled mechanics are certified to provide logbook servicing for all types of vehicles.
Contact UsRoadworthy Certificates & Inspections
Whenever you are transferring registration of a vehicle in Victoria, the vehicle first has to pass a roadworthy inspection from a licensed tester. This is a thorough inspection that ensures the vehicle meets the legal safety standards to be driven on Victorian roads. Once your vehicle passes the inspection, it receives a roadworthy certificate.
If you’re looking at buying a secondhand vehicle, we would recommend bringing it in for a pre-purchase inspection. A roadworthy certificate ensures your vehicle meets the minimum safety standards, but a vehicle can pass the roadworthy inspection and still have long-term mechanical issues. A pre-purchase inspection ensures you know exactly what you’re buying, and avoid any nasty surprises.
When you’re planning a long road trip or camping trip, we would advise getting a pre-trip inspection, so you can find any issues with your vehicle in our workshop, and enjoy your trip with peace of mind.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our expert technicians can help you with:
- Roadworthy certificates
- Pre-Purchase inspections
- Pre-Trip inspections
Brakes
The brakes are your vehicle’s most important safety feature. While they can help reduce the severity of an accident, like airbags and other safety systems, they can also act preventatively, and the condition of your brakes can often mean the difference between an accident and an emergency stop.
Your brakes suffer an astonishing amount of wear, routinely bringing a large mass to a complete stop from high speeds. For this reason we agree with brake manufacturers that you should have your brakes checked at least once a year.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, we are brake specialists, and manufacture our own brake hoses.
A cracked or leaking brake hose can drastically reduce the effectiveness of your vehicle’s brakes, ranging from ‘mushy’ brake pedals that require more force than usual to work or even a complete brake failure. Either of these symptoms make your vehicle unsafe to drive.
Smart Automotive Restorations can replace leaking or cracked brake hoses with tailor made replacement hosing, cut directly in our shop.
Our skilled mechanics can also help with:
- Brake component replacement (pads, rotors, drums etc.)
- Brake machining
- Brake hoses
Steering & Suspension
Faults and flaws in your vehicle’s steering and suspension affect handling and ride comfort, causing issues such as play in the steering wheel, vibrations at speed, and body lean through corners. Your suspension is also responsible for maximising the grip that your tyres exert on the road surface, so a poor suspension will also increase your stopping distance.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our expert technicians can help you with:
- Wheel alignments
- Shock absorbers, springs and struts
- Wheel balancing
- Bushing replacement
- Power steering repairs/replacement
Clutches & Transmissions
As part of the assembly that transmits power from the engine to the wheels, the transmission is made up of some of the most complex and intricate machinery in your vehicle. Due to its sophisticated nature, even minor flaws can quickly escalate into costly repairs, so if you notice slipping gears, difficulty changing gears, or a burning noise after driving, please get your transmission checked sooner rather than later.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our proficient mechanics can help you with:
- Servicing
- Repairs & replacement
- Manual transmissions
- Automatic transmissions
Engine & Exhaust
Most people can be counted on to remember that their engine needs petrol – but almost everyone forgets the other fuel that is vital to your engine running: oxygen. Your vehicle’s exhaust isn’t just a muffler to reduce running noise – it draws waste gases out of the engine bay, allowing fresh air to enter and continue the combustion process, and has a profound effect on your engine’s operation.
If your engine isn’t working, the state of the rest of your vehicle doesn’t really matter, at that point, you don’t have a car, you have a heavy and expensive lawn ornament.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our accomplished mechanics can help you with:
- Exhaust repairs and replacement
- Engine rebuilds
- Engine reconditioning
- Engine testing
- Engine blocks
- Cylinder heads
- Camshafts
- EFI diagnostics
Cooling System
If your cooling system is malfunctioning, it can cause myriad issues, from reduced fuel efficiency and power output, to decreased engine lifespan, as overheating and leaking coolant damages the engine. If these problems are left untreated for long enough, they will render your vehicle immobile, with the cost of repairs being comparable to buying a secondhand car!
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our skilful tehcnicans can help you with:
- Radiator/Heater repairs and replacement
- Head gaskets
- Coolant flush
- Thermostat check
Auto Electrical
As modern vehicles have increased in complexity, more and more functionality is being governed by the vehicle’s onboard auto electrical network. This network handles everything from playing music and measuring fuel consumption to assisting with braking and gear changes, even monitoring your engine and notifying you if serious flaws are detected.
Here at Smart Automotive Restorations, our expert technicians can help you with:
- Alternators and starter motors
- Battery check and replacement
- Component test and replacement
- Diagnostic scans
Other Services
We offer a wide range of other services here at Smart Automotive Restorations, including, but not limited to:
- Windscreen repair and replacement
- Towing
- Motorcycle repairs