Chevrolet Offering Factory Restorations, Just Not Here

General Motors has announced a new service, called Chevrolet Vintage, that will offer complete factory restorations and restomods for vintage models. The only hitch is that the program is presently exclusive to Brazil.

There aren’t many automakers that sanction branded restoration programs and the few that do exist tend to focus on European automobiles that are broadly considered internationally desirable classics. You’ll absolutely find some mainstream brands willing to offer support (usually just parts) for out-of-production models that were extremely popular in certain corners of the globe or have remained popular entrants for motorsport. But full factory restorations are largely something that’s reserved for wealthy customers who want their vintage Porsche or Jaguar to become immaculate and carry around proof that the work was done by experts hired by the same company that originally manufactured the car.

With the above in mind, Chevrolet Vintage is kind of a surprise. General Motors has created an in-house division entirely dedicated toward restomod and restoration projects for vehicles that can be considered classics but aren’t all that rare. The manufacturer made its official announcement late last month in Brazil, with our catching wind thanks to a recent article published by The Drive.

Chevrolet Vintage is a pilot program designed to “serve collectors and fans of the brand who are looking for exclusive projects, designed and certified by GM's engineering department.” While some of the details could be lost in translation, as I don’t speak Portuguese, it looks as though GM is targeting models built between the 1960s and 1990s. Chosen models will be selected based upon their “relevance in the classic car market.”

That presumably means models that were either exceptionally common and/or deemed desirable by collectors. The press release makes mention of the Opala, Chevette, and 3100 pickup/SUV. Those vehicles are decidedly popular models within the region. But would not typically qualify as rare models fetching high prices at auction.

Meanwhile, other models were mentioned specifically because they were going up in value. The press release cited the Chevy Kadett, Omega and early examples of the S10. One of Chevrolet Vintage’s first restoration projects was said to be a 1990 Monza Classic, which is being done while the restomod team outfits a 1976 C10 pickup truck with hardware from a more modern Camaro V8.

GM has been doing the parts thing for a while, even on our market. However, this looks to be the first time the company has been willing to take the entire vehicle and restore it to factory condition or modernize it via restomods.

“Chevrolet Vintage will operate in two strategic niches of classic cars: restoration and restomod. While the first modality aims to preserve the originality of the vehicle and its accessories as much as possible, in restomod , the objective is different – ​​that is why technological updates are added to the vintage car to make it more comfortable, safe or even reliable for everyday use”, stated Emerson Fischler, engineering director of GM South America.

Were GM not selling parts for loads of vintage models in North America already, it would be an absolute tragedy that something like Chevy Vintage wasn’t being offered here. Provided you have access to the right kind of shop, or are capable of doing the work yourself, you can probably make your restoration or restomod dreams come true. However, that’s not to suggest we wouldn’t love to have every automaker under the sun offering something like Chevrolet Vintage on our market.

[Images: Luiz Giope/Shutterstock; betto rodrigues/Shutterstock; Gestalt Imagery/Shutterstock]

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