Motive Auto Restorers

15/04/2026

Do you know somebody who would fit right in at the Motive workshop? We're on the lookout for another team member to join us here at Motive! Follow the link below to learn more about who we're looking for and for details on how to apply.

Motive Auto Restorers in East Tamaki is looking for an experienced Vehicle Restoration Specialist/Panel Be**er to join our team in our vehicle restoration works...

25/03/2026

As usual, there's a variety of vehicles from all corners of the world that have been keeping us nice and busy since our last post! I'll detail a few below, with more to share soon.

It's not just the vehicles that vary, the repair and restoration work has varied too. From complete boot floor replacements, quarter repairs, sill rust repair, engine installations, suspension work and body-off chassis tidy up work, we've had all sorts on the go.

In the pictures below, you'll see a 1975 XB Falcon that came to us in a pretty sad state. Missing a host of parts and having suffered a prang in the front, we worked to straighten things up before moving on to some in-depth pillar repair. Following this, we painted the engine & engine bay before bringing it all together with brand new suspension, a NOS exhaust system and even a brand new fuel tank. For the first time in nearly two decades, she looks like a Falcon again and is almost ready to hit the road. There will be a more detailed post on this old girl, down the track.

Making its statement next to the XB, is an orange, big block '66 El Camino. The full manual steeingr, manual brakes' muscle truck deal. Having been imported years ago and never put on the road, we've been tasked with tidying it up and running it through the compliance process. We were pleasantly surprised when we split the body & chassis, having only minor issues to rectify. Once the freshly epoxied & painted chassis was remarried to the body with new mounts, the engine went in, followed by a fresh interior. Today's job was to fabricate some missing rear tray panels, blending them back into the rear tray by mimicking the GM chip style coating that was already present.

Having come and gone from the workshop earlier this year was a sharp looking Pontiac Firebird, of which had some rust rearing its ugly head at the bottoms of the rear quarter panels. While the supplied patch panels were a help to the repair, some pretty involved "re-shaping" was needed here to get them to fit correctly. Nevertheless, once the inner boot floor drop panels had been tidied up and the new patches welded in, the car was nice and solid again.

They say rust never sleeps, and they're right. If your pride and joy (or your day to day driver) is showing signs of rust, don't hesitate to send us a DM, give us a call, or drop by the workshop to see what we can do for you!

18/11/2025

The MK5 Ford Cortina, a true kiwi classic alongside its smaller Es**rt counterpart! This golden example was recently dropped down to us for some rust repair work around the front windscreen area.

Once our team pulled the windscreen out, it was evident that some past repairs had failed. As is often the case, we revealed more corrosion than what was initially expected. When the car came in, there was only some rust bubbling visible on the cowl panel.

We cut out all affected areas around the windscreen area, fabbed' up some new patch panels in house, and welded them in place. The result? A smooth, steel finish, of which we promptly sealed off with an epoxy primer.

During some interior disassembly when preparing to weld, it became apparent that the heater core had sprung a leak. We sourced and installed a brand new replacement while the car was in with us, preventing a really inconvenient problem down the road.

The owner of the Cortina also asked if we could put a bit more life back into the bonnet, as the paintwork had chipped and faded, letting the rest of the car down. No worries! After some sanding and chip repair, we had it matched and refinished in the correct shade of gold, seamlessly blending it back in with the rest of the car.

To top things off, once we re-installed the windscreen, we installed a new "mylar" chrome locking strip. This is a plastic/chrome trim that surrounds the windscreen. Our NZ sun had well and truly baked the old one, so it only made sense to replace it once the windscreen was back in.

The results speak for themselves. Summer is a fantastic time to sort that rust around your windscreen before the weather sets back in. Come and see us, or give us a call to see how we can help you!

Don't forget to drop by our site at the Kumeu Hot Rod Festival, from the 16th through the 18th of January, 2026!

17/10/2025

What a way to finish the week! We're wrapping up our complete rebuild on the 1966 Pontiac Laurentian project.

This old girl came to us for a total refresh. Stripping it down, we found it to be surprisingly solid for a 59 year old car! She'd worn a few different colours in her lifetime, so we opted to have the body and chassis blasted, with the body retuning in Epoxy primer and the chassis coming back wearing some fresh 2K black over epoxy.

Once the repairs were taken care of, we moved forward with the bodywork. After much deliberation, the colour was chosen, one which we think highlights the unique body lines of this full size Pontiac, and ties in nicely with the original light blue interior.

As standard, the dash, steering wheel and all interior pillar trims were gold in colour, something we considered to clash with the predominantly blue colour scheme. The decision was made to bring the dark blue exterior colour through to meet the light blue interior, which gives the car a bit more "flow", reducing the number of colours for a cleaner look. On top of this, we chose to roll with a satin finish on the interior parts, bringing just the right contrast to the exterior paintwork. We're stoked with how that plan turned out!

We also made the decision to "black out" the inner grille sections and the rear taillight panel, giving this Pontiac a unique touch and breaking the blue up nicely.

We're thrilled with the results, our team worked hard to turn this once weathered classic into a stand out build. Keep an eye out for it this Summer!

12/10/2025

What a day! Saturday brought on The Howick Village Hop, an awesome event that takes place in the Main Street of Howick, showcasing all kinds of classic and unique vehicles. We did something a little different this year, by bringing along some smaller projects that we built out of odds and ends to commemorate hot rodding. Great to catch up with some familiar faces and meet some new folks!

19/09/2025

13/08/2025

Here's a beaut! We don't remember the last time we saw such a tidy, original XA Falcon, let alone a station wagon!

This 73' Falcon came into our shop recently for a replacement bonnet cable. When these cars reach this age and stage, parts such as bonnet cables, latches and hinges can fail at any time.

Once we got the bonnet open, we replaced the entire cable assembly and greased all of the vehicles bonnet and door hinges, as well as the bonnet latch assembly, in an effort to ease up tension on the new cable and keep these items from wearing out prematurely.

We handle everything from frame repairs, hard collisions and bare metal restorations, to the smaller jobs such as replacing bits of trim and broken cables, just like the job we completed on this Falcon.

13/08/2025

Taking shape! This 1979 Chevrolet Camaro is destined to go jet black, but not before we've carried out some panel replacement work.

Over the last few weeks, we've replaced the rear panel, both rear quarter panels, both rear wheel tubs and both door skins. We also tidied up a few spots of rust on the cowl panel to wrap up the metal work!

Once we'd carried out the metal work, we sanded the car down to remove the (very average) coatings from the new panels, as well as the old paint on the roof and trunk lid. Following this, the car received a metal conditioner treatment before we laid a few generous coats of 2K black epoxy primer down.

The results speak for themselves, and this Camaro is destined to be one sharp looking car when it's all said and done.

Does that rust need some attention before your WOF is due? As we creep up on cruising season, don't put it off too long! Drop by or give us a call to see what we can do for your classic.

04/07/2025

It's been a non stop few months here at Motive!

We've had all sorts of classic cars, muscle cars and even a touch of modern day muscle come by the workshop for all sorts of repair work.

We've got a bit to cover in the coming days, so watch this space for some updates on what we've been busy with. There'll be something for every enthusiast to take a look at! For now, have a scroll through this album to check out whats new.

There's no better time to get that classic tidied up for summer. Give us a call, email, or private message on our page to see what we can do for you.

31/03/2025

The passion the Motive team shares for classic cars keeps us motivated each day to achieve the best results when it comes to the repair and restoration of your classic. We find it important to motivate (no pun intended!) and inspire the younger generation to preserve oldschool vehicles, so when an opportunity arose for workshop owner Stu & his son Cory to repair some front-end damage on a 90’s Nissan Pulsar, they jumped right into it.

As Cory isn’t quite old enough to sit his licence, he seized the opportunity to make a start on learning the ins and outs on how his first car works. Working alongside his Dad during his school holidays, Cory was able to disassemble the front end of his Nissan and take a look at intricacies of his Pulsar, learning more than just the basics.

Some second hand parts were sourced, and Cory was tasked with sanding them down and prepping them for some fresh silver paint. Stu handled the structural stuff - his time in the industry clear as before long, the front of the silver hatchback was returned to its former shape.

Once the parts had been painted, it came time to reassemble the front end of the Nissan. Cory helped out here, keen to make sure his ride was looking good as it took shape. We all wanted something cool for our first car, so some aftermarket mag wheels came into play to spruce up the Nissan. Even these needed some love, so we re-faced the lips in house to bring them up to scratch. The Motive boys installed a new set of lowering springs to complete the look.

Below, you’ll see the results of Stu and Cory’s hard work. The Pulsar took quite the hit, but in no time, was returned to normal and is now ready for Cory to practise his driving in.

31/03/2025

It’s without a doubt that it takes real dedication, passion and patience to own a classic vehicle. It isn’t for everybody. In any case, Kenton has owned his 1974 Porsche 911S for more than twenty years, a true testament to the enthusiasm he has when it comes to his 911. It wasn’t until Kenton left his Porsche with us, initially for some WOF rust repairs, that he realised how good his targa-topped Porsche could really shine.

When Kentons Porsche rolled into Motive, it was evident that the miles had taken their toll. Unfortunately, at a first glance, our eyes caught on brush-painted primer patches, cracked windscreen rubbers and a once crudely repaired passenger door; not necessarily the characteristics of a sleek German sportscar.

Once on our vehicle hoist, the Motive team launched into the WOF rust repairs. You’ll see the extent of these complicated repairs in our picture gallery below. The first move was to drop out the entire running gear, creating room to complete all of the welding and patchwork needed to rebuild the lost body strength, stiffen the ride, and ultimately restore safety in all crucial areas.

After a discussion between the Motive team & the owner, it was decided that it was time to address the cars exterior. Once the underside had been completely repaired, with the engine back in and running, the exterior strip down began.

As the Motive team worked to carefully dismantle the Porsche, a number of previous “repairs” reared their ugly heads. Un-welded patches tucked under windscreen rubbers, welds over welds and numerous “filled over” dents made themselves known to the team and needed to be fixed before the detail work could commence. Not to mention, the door catches were so far out of adjustment that the doors hardly closed at all!

It can be difficult to determine what you’re in for when it comes to bodywork. Even when you think you’ve got a good idea of what will be involved, you’ve always got to be prepared for the worst when it comes to classic vehicles. In the case of Kentons Porsche, we revealed, and rectified everything that needed attention, right down to rebuilding the taillight assemblies and reconditioning a worn window regulator. In cases where you just can’t get those rare or costly parts, the Motive team can breathe new life into your old ones to keep your classic looking good and totally functional.

The results speak for themselves. The worn down Porsche that came to us in desperate need of some TLC now leaves us stronger, safer, completely road legal and totally transformed. We’re excited to showcase our work! If you’re thinking about revamping your classic, bring it by the shop or drop us a message to see how we can re-work your ride.