Twin Oaks Classic Corvette

Get to know us:

 

At Twin Oaks we are probably very much like you. We grew up in an era when our cars were an important part of who we were. We started Twin Oaks in 1989 and from the beginning we have restored only 1953-1967 Corvettes. We spend a lot of time on our restorations, more than most shops. Craftsmanship is quickly becoming a lost art. There are a myriad of details and when everyone of them matter it just takes a lot of time. We are fortunate to partner with some amazing clients and work on some truly remarkable cars. We are not the shop for everyone. Simply put it gets expensive, but if you are looking for the very best in quality, workmanship and overall experience give us a call. We may be the shop for you.

 

 

Our Facilities:

One of the things that makes Twin Oaks unique is our facilities. They offer the space that allows us to have separate work areas for each step of the restoration process. With many renovations and changes, we have created a system that has all operations under one roof while still keeping things separated. We are able to have muitiple projects going on at once while maintaining a very clean and professional work space. In addition to the work spaces, we have plenty of room for parts and a system that inventories, tracks and meticulously accounts for everything. As you can see through the pictures on this site, we keep a spotless shop. We believe that working on cars in a flawless envrionment is crucial to the outcome. Your car may see shoes in it at some point but never from us. Even our chassis assembly is done with soft cotton gloves to keep the oils from our skin off the finishes. We invite you to come check out the facilities and see why our shop is truly one of a kind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testimonials:

 

The NCRS Corvette Restorer Magazine Cover Car and Article

I’ve been fortunate. Over the last 35 years I’ve had the opportunity to own some remarkable cars. But once in a very rare while you happen upon something truly special. I had just sold an original 1969 L-88. I was looking for something else, I just wasn’t sure what. Thru a friend I heard about a 1967 Corvette in Jackson Mississippi. He thought it was a red, big block convertible. Certainly I had chased these ghosts before. They rarely materialize. I followed up and finally contacted the owner. He told me two things. First it indeed was an original 67 Corvette and secondly it was not for sale. He had bought the car in 1978. It was sold new to Dumas Milner thru a dealer in Jackson. But more importantly I found out that it was a red car with a black interior and a big block. I’m not sure if it was his change of heart or my persistence but he eventually relented and set a price. I didn’t waste any time. I drove down to look at the car. He pulled the garage door up and there sat a completely original 435 hp roadster with side exhaust. As I looked the car over I realized that I was looking at something that I would probably not soon see again. In another place and time this would clearly have been a Bowtie/Survivor. If it were together nobody in their right mind would restore it. But this car was apart. So the mold and been cast and the car would have to be restored.

It had four elements that in themselves don’t seem that impossible but together they almost never exist. First, it had an extremely desirable body and option package. This beautiful red, 1967 435hp roadster with heavy duty suspension and side exhaust defiantly fit the bill. Secondly, originality. Everything was completely original from the big items like the engine and transmission down to the small ones like the heavy duty shocks, belts and hoses. The engine had a untouched stamp worthy of its own seminar. Thirdly, it had a beautiful original body and frame. The car had been taken apart to restore in 1980 and had been sitting stored inside ever since. The body was clean and unhit and the car had a spotless rust free southern frame. Fourth, the final criteria and the Holy Grail, original paper. I was looking at a beautiful tank sheet still on the tank and documentation including the warranty book with Protecto Plate.

I had been of the understanding that I was going down to look at a complete car but I this car was apart. Even though it wasn't the assembled car that I had expected it was still beyond what I had hoped. I stepped out and called a good friend Bill Brackin to get his opinion. The conversation was short. He said something to the effect, “if you don’t buy it, just tell me where it is and I will.” I loaded the car and hauled it home. My thoughts then turned to the restoration. I had worked with Todd Spain of Twin Oaks Classic Corvette in Iowa before. I knew that he and I shared the same philosophy in restoration. We got together and went over the project. The originality and condition of the parts were remarkable. We decided to embark on a truly unique restoration that would take us over two and a half years to complete, a process in which the objective would focus on how this car was actually built.

The end result is a car that is more like a Survivor candidate than just a restoration. We documented and duplicated everything. We cleaned and reused the original black carpets with red stitching. We copied the paint mask lines on the hood stripe and duplicated the flaws. We oversprayed the interior door latches and reinstalled the non typical hardware for the side exhaust covers. We put very little paint in the front door jams and visible red paint on the inner fenders under the blackout. We duplicated blackout patterns and matched the paint runs on the frame. We used many typical original parts that you might expect and then went on to use other items like original hoses, tires and shocks that you may not. We refinished that beautiful clean body in correct lacquer, following the factory application techniques that we had observed and documented, as closely as we possibly could.

One thing a lot of people have asked is “how could a restoration take over two and a half years? Couldn’t you have found somebody pretty good to do it in less time?" I think the difference is in the detail. For me the joy has been in the journey. It was not only a search that resulted in a very unusual opportunity but a remarkable cooperative effort with a restorer that shared my vision. It has expanded by my friendship with some outstanding people in the Corvette world. Over two years of work has culminated in a truly fine, historically significant addition the legacy that is the Chevrolet Corvette.      

                                                                                                                                                                             - Don Felts 

 

 

Our Staff:

 

We have a personalized staff of talented individuals. There is one thing that everyone who works at Twin Oaks understands and that is the standards that we have set. Everyone takes pride individually in producing industry leading quality work day in and day out. We have found that when you have people doing something they are passionate about that is directly reflected in the work that they produce. We relentlessly strive to improve and become better. We love what we do. Look at our work and judge for yourself.