Before we quote a timeline on any project, we ask to see the car. That isn't a dodge. The honest range on a full restoration runs from 6–10 months for a solid car that needs mechanical and cosmetic work to 18–24+ months for a frame-off on a rust-heavy, incomplete car. Both answers are true, and neither helps you until we know which category your car falls into.
Here are the three bands we use, what moves a build from one to another, and how you can follow along while it happens.
The three timeline bands
- 6–10 months: driver-quality restoration, or a solid car that needs mechanical and cosmetic work. The car is structurally sound, parts are easy to find, and the goal is a reliable, good-looking car you can drive and enjoy.
- 12–18 months: full show-quality restoration. Finish level is the difference. Panel fit, paint, chrome and detail work get the extra passes that close inspection rewards.
- 18–24+ months: frame-off restoration on a rust-heavy or incomplete car. The body comes off the frame, damaged metal is repaired or replaced, and missing pieces have to be found or made. If you're weighing this route, our comparison of frame-off and frame-on restoration explains when it's worth it.
These are ranges, not promises. Every build is quoted individually after inspection, and parts availability and issues discovered along the way can move the timeline.
What moves a timeline
Rust and metalwork. Bodywork is usually the longest stage and the one most likely to grow. Straight, rust-free sheetmetal moves quickly. Rot in the floors, rockers or quarters means cutting out damaged metal, fabricating or fitting new sections, and getting everything straight enough to paint. There's no shortcut that doesn't show in the finished car.
Parts availability. Cars with a deep reproduction market, like many Fords, GMs and Mopars, tend to get parts quickly. Rarer models, imports, and anything that needs original or hard-to-find components can leave a build waiting on a single part. We order early and tell you when we hit a wall, but some waits are outside our control.
Discovered issues and change orders. You don't know exactly what a car has until it's apart. When we discover something that expands the scope of work, or an approved task runs out of time, we contact you and get a change work order approved before we continue that labor. That's how a timeline can move without surprising anyone: the change is documented and agreed to before the work happens.
Finish level. A driver-quality finish and a show-quality finish are different amounts of work. Automotive painting done well means sealer, primer, blocking, color, clear and cut-and-polish, with cure time between steps. Higher finish levels take more passes.
Your decisions. Paint colors, interior combinations and drivetrain choices need your input, and they hold up the next stage until they're made. We tell you when we need an answer to keep moving.
Why the order matters
A restoration is a sequence. You can't paint what hasn't been blocked, and you can't reassemble what hasn't been painted. Texoma Classics has been in business since 2001, and paint, bodywork, mechanical work and upholstery are all done in-house, so the stages share one schedule and one point of accountability. Interior work like automotive upholstery can be fit-tested against the real car as the build progresses, rather than sent out and hoped for.
Why rushing costs more
Paint goes over bodywork. Interior goes into a finished car. If a stage is done wrong and found late, the fix means undoing everything after it. Paint needs to cure between coats, and filler and sealer need time to harden before they're blocked. A shop promising an unusually fast timeline is usually cutting corners somewhere in that sequence, and the failures tend to show up months later.
How you follow the build
A build that runs a year or more is a long time to wonder what's happening with your car. Every completed labor task is photographed, and the photos appear in your client portal. When a change work order is needed, you hear from us before that labor continues.
We also explain our deposit and payment schedule up front and show you where the money goes: the photos of each completed task are the record. Deposits vary by project, so ask any shop, including us, what the deposit covers and when later payments come due. We cover what else to ask in our guide to choosing a restoration shop.
Work you can look at
We've worked on everything from tractors to Airstreams, and you can see the range on our project pages, including the 1962 Ford 801 tractor, the 1957 Cadillac Series 62 and the 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
Planning the budget alongside the schedule? Our breakdown of what a restoration costs covers what drives price. When you're ready for a realistic timeline on your own car, request a quote or an inspection and we'll give you a straight answer.