Honesty before the work begins
If a car is better off being recommissioned than restored, we'll say so. If a project is going to cost more than the car will be worth, we'll tell you that too. You decide what to do — but with the full picture.
Based at Stretham Farm in West Sussex, close to Shoreham — looking after aircooled Volkswagens and the wider classic car community for owners who notice the difference.
Vintage Auto Repair is a small workshop at Stretham Farm in Small Dole, near Henfield — a few miles inland from Shoreham. Aircooled Volkswagens are the bulk of what comes through the door: Beetles, Buses, Karmann Ghias, Type 3s. But the workshop is open to most interesting older cars and we welcome owners who simply love what they drive.
In 2013 we were approached by Haynes to write a restoration manual based around a real, ground-up rebuild of a VW T2 Baywindow Bus. We did — and the book is still in print today, on benches around the world. Some of the photographs from that project will be on the Restorations page once you've added them.
What we promise is simple: honest assessments, fair prices, careful work, and a car you can rely on once it leaves us. You're welcome to drop in to the workshop any time to see your car, ours, or whatever else happens to be on the bench.
If a car is better off being recommissioned than restored, we'll say so. If a project is going to cost more than the car will be worth, we'll tell you that too. You decide what to do — but with the full picture.
We use original specification parts where they exist, source good period replacements where they don't, and only deviate from the factory manual when we and you have agreed it's the right thing to do.
Every car receives a written record of work done — torques, settings, part numbers, photographs. Years from now, the next owner will thank you for it. (And so will their mechanic.)
We're not interested in static museum pieces. The mark of our work is that the car drives properly afterwards — confidently, comfortably, and the way it was designed to.
Got my Baywindow back today. Four years of waiting, and worth every day of it. He treats every weld like it matters — because it does.— Sample testimonial · replace with a real one when you're ready
In 2013 we were asked by Haynes to write a manual based around the restoration of a VW T2 Baywindow Bus. The result documents that real project from collection to road-ready — and it's still helping owners around the world today.
The best way to get a feel for what we do is to spend an hour at the workshop, kettle on, talking through your car.