GK Wangbichler Restorations is.....
A comprehensive facility, providing full or partial restorations for automobiles and motorcycles 1900 - 1967. Where quality materials, organization and above all... patience and dedication to the craft... is the rule, not the exception.
Located since 1999 just across the Long Bridge from Sandpoint, Idaho, I have been doing very thorough and authentic restoration work for discerning clients for over 35 years. Whether you are wanting to preserve your vehicles originality, use it as a daily driver, or show competitively, from small and local to Pebble Beach or National, you have found the right place. This is a clean, organized, efficient shop that was designed to accommodate all phases of your restoration, in rooms designed for specific processes. All parts removed that are fragile (glass, upholstery, interior wood, chrome and finished parts) are kept safe upstairs, separate from the work areas.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I constantly take pictures to use as a reference during the restoration and to keep you up to date on the work being done, just as if you were here. I have selected some of these "in-process" photos and placed them under specific headings on the website because as they say, "the proof is in the pudding"..... or in this case "the photos" and as time permits, I will be adding more.
About the pictures ... In late December of 2012 my hard drive self destructed, taking with it all my personal and business pictures back to 2005, when I first went with digital photography. This site was put together by retrieving photos from un-deleted emails to clients and friends and some older film photos that I still had. Apologies for the "lean" spots, "holes" and areas of poor-quality photos that are on the site. Lesson learned, I now back up and will be adding more photos as they are created in the future. ENJOY!
What has always set me apart from the rest is my coachwork and attention to detail. I am highly skilled (with many awards) in metalwork, fiberglass body restoration and paint. Gaps and panel alignment are those things that I am very committed to getting correct. Once a steel body has been metal finished out, I USE LEAD... buying 50 pounds at a time! Lead is the ONLY material that can be used to permanently fill those places on a steel body that have been welded, seamed, have mismatching contours, or stressed areas around corners, hinges, latches, handles, antennas etc. If someone isn't using lead, on a steel body, they are NOT doing restoration work, NO EXCEPTIONS. They are like someone who claims to be a cook, but doesn't know how to use an oven or stove. There are NO equivalents that come in a can, PERIOD!
Engines, accessories and mechanical work are all done with measuring instruments close at hand. Tolerances and balance are crucial to a fine-running and long-lasting drivetrain. I enjoy doing what I call "Stealth Mods". These are improvements to the original design, internal or external, throughout the entire vehicle that increase the durability and/or functionality without sacrificing the appearance or authenticity. Now that these vehicles are from 50 yrs to over 100 yrs old, I have the benefit of knowing their weak points and can correct them through improved design and materials.
I enjoy restoring and collecting both vintage cars and motorcycles and USE both on a daily basis. I believe that a vintage or collectible vehicle should at least be as usable and dependable as it looks! Consequently, vehicles I work on enter and complete long distance tours and the like... without issues (knock on wood).
So if you own a vehicle that you are interested in having work done on, and you'd like to take it somewhere that you know WHO is going to work on it and HOW it will be done, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email..... I enjoy helping others realize their dreams!
Talk to you soon, GK
