Just What Is A Resto-Mod?

 

It’s impossible to remember when we didn’t know what we didn’t know. Few people of age can actually remember when they couldn’t read or even walk and talk. They are things we know and use every day, things we are so comfortable using and doing that we don’t bother to even consider not knowing them.

Practically every industry, job or business has its own lexicon, a language that each person in that community understands. In the old car hobby we can all use terms that to outsiders sound like a foreign language but most of us understand them. But sometimes word or term or phrase will come along that even some in the hobby don’t fully understand. Occasionally I’ll use the term resto-mod when talking about a car or truck. Recently I have had a couple of people email me asking what I mean by that term.

So, what exactly is a resto-mod? Different people surely have different definitions but they all relate to the restoration of a vehicle. On the one end of things a pure full restoration that will bring a vehicle back as close to the condition in which it was when it rolled off the assembly line. The other end of the spectrum is when a car or truck is used as the mere baseline of a full customization. This generally includes modifications in all aspects of the vehicle.

 In between somewhere is a resto-mod. When a restorer wants to keep the visual appeal of an original so that when people will look at it and think it is been restored to original and yet desires a few more modern creature comforts, then a resto-mod is born.

Our feature car is a perfect example of a resto-mod. Seymour McWhorter owns what looks like an original 1941 Buick Eight. That is if you are looking at it from a distance. The Inferno Red classic has the beautiful soft shape and small step running boards that give it a distinctly classic look.

But on closer inspection you can see that this remarkable vehicle has been chopped and put together with a more practical and luxury ride in mind. He bought the unrestored car back in 2005 and did an almost total restoration on it, including fabricating some of the metal work.

 

“I bought it from a guy in Dayton who had it for 17 years,” Seymour said, when he was looking for a new project to take on.

 “I’ve fooled with street rods my whole life,” he said. “I can do anything to a car myself,” he added but pointed out that on this car he did everything but the interior and the chrome work.

 

Starting with the ’41 Buick, Seymour dropped a 454 Chevy V-8 into it and added a Chevy automatic transmission. To that he modified a 1978 Firebird suspension. “I had to cut the frame and weld it in,” he said with a grin of satisfaction. He also fitted Cadillac rocker arms.

In addition to putting in power steering and power brakes, Seymour added air conditioning, a CD system and fitted Caddy seats for comfort.

 And, according to Seymour, the comfort is there. “I drive it a lot, even on big trips,” he said. “It rides extremely well and it drives extremely well.”

 

 Seymour pays a great deal of attention to the safety of his car, taking it through the rigorous National Street Rod Association safety inspection each year. “They won’t pass you if you aren’t completely safe,” he said.

 So looking at this 1941 Buick Eight from a distance you can see the Inferno Red exterior that was chosen by Seymour’s wife. But get up close, or glance as it blows by you, and you’ll see that there is a lot more than meets the eye with this exceptional car.