Dear Bill,
Richard shared the letter you sent with me, and I just wanted to thank you for your thoughtfulness. It meant a great deal to him, believe me. Next came the photo book which actually brought tears to my eyes and to his I suspect. We appreciate not only the expert work done on our car, but also your efforts to find a suitable (and worthy) buyer. In the end, it was little sad for both of us, but clearly the time had come to part with that wonderful machine. But I do hope the sale of the Mercedes and our move will not be the end of our relationship with you. You and Richard have been friends for a long time. Happy and Healthy New Year.
I am the owner of a 1966 GTO, which I purchased with the intention of having it restored to its original condition. In 1994, I delivered the car to Palermo Auto Body Shop for the purpose of having the restoration work commence. I was familiar with the restoration work done at the body shop. I was also familiar with the reputation of Bill Hahn, who does restoration work at the shop. He was in complete charge of the restoration work, which was being done from the ground up. He did all of the research work and ordering of the necessary parts down to the original nuts and bolts to achieve the objective of restoring the car. Through his determination and research necessary to achieve this goal, my car was finally completed. I have received numerous awards and trophies at car shows for the work done on the car. I also was awarded a perfect score of 400 points out of 400 at a recent POCI Car Show. I think that speaks for the work which was done by Bill Hahn.
I am an avid fan of muscle cars and in the future I would like to restore a street rod. With the outcome of my experience with Bill Hahn, I certainly would have him do the work on any future cars I may have restored. Bill is a thorough and energetic person who is familiar with all aspects of restoration work.
I do believe there is a need for a more expanded body shop to restoration work in this area. I do not believe that a regular body shop can achieve goal. I also believe that the market is good for restoration work. Some people may not go to the extreme that I did, but I do believe there are many people who are interested in having this work done. In fact, my brother is now in the process of having some restoration work done on his 1965 Corvette. Restoration work is becoming more prominent in this area, but you also need to have dedicated and thorough people who can achieve that goal. With the experience that I have had with Bill Hahn I certainly would recommend him to anyone interested in having restoration work done. I speak from experience.
Dear Bill
Now that I have had a chance to show my car since you completed last summer’s restoration project, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for a job exceptionally well done! At every cruise or show that I have displayed the car, it has gotten rave reviews -- many knowledge car enthusiasts have told me this is the “the best ‘55 Chevy they’ve ever seen.” One person who has judged ’55-’57 Chevy’s for 16 years told me that my car would easily win a “Platinum award” in a national Chevy meet. In judged competition, the car has won7 first place awards, 2 second place awards and 1 third award. And finally, in the one show that was “participant judging”, I finally beat a red convertible, which isn’t an easy task for a 2 door sedan to accomplish.
In my opinion, there is a lot more to doing a top quality restoration than simply repainting the car, having chrome redone, installing new upholstery, etc. The true difference between standard restoration and one that’s top quality is the level of research that goes into obtaining accurate assembly information, correct original or reproduction parts, special touches such as frame markings or quality check markings, etc. That result in the car looking exactly like it did the day it rolled off the assembly line. Certainly the level of skill and research that you put into the accuracy and quality of my car’s restoration are without equal- it is fare too rare today to find someone like you who take’s the level of pride in the quality of their work that you do.
This letter of recommendation will discuss my relationship with Bill Hahn regarding his car restoration capabilities. I have thrown away all my files and have to rely on my memory, so no dates can be provided and details will be lacking. But one thing I can assure you is that my confidence in Bill to plan and perform a total car restoration could not be higher.
It all started when a beautiful and fun Austin Mini Cooper S sustained some fire damage and it became necessary to return to the shop that repaired my Porsche years earlier and was well known for its quality work. There I met Bill who was in charge of their restoration business. He discussed fully all options available for repair of the Mini. Bill took the car apart, carefully loggings his actions. He kept me well informed of his progress along the way and always asked my approval at each step where there were options available. After consulting me about different types of paint and their advantages and disadvantages, he proceeded to paint the body. At that point it came back to my garage for my work to put it back together.
Bill’s advice and work throughout the project were impeccable. He even recommended cadmium plating of important parts. I wish I had the foresight to allow him to finish the job, but I sold the car before I was able to spend the time to put it together.
So in summary, Bill was in total charge of the restoration from the beginning. If the need would arise for similar work, I would call Bill with out any thoughts of going elsewhere - and I have already recommend him to others. His knowledge of the detail work and the business in general exceed my needs and expectations.
Willian R, Hahn is an outstanding automobile restoration expert. The first project that he did for was a total restoration of my 1966 Dodge 426 Hemi convertible. The project started in 1980 and concluded in early 1983. Shortly thereafter, I entered the car in Pittsburgh Annual Custom Car Show and won 1st place in the Post WWII Convertible category.
In 1993, Bill completed a partial restoration of my 1983 Porsche 928. This job included a very special Green/Pearl Black paint job the results of which are far superior to the original Porsche factory finish. Bill does it all and is the best restoration expert I know. Both of these cars are still in my collection, and you are welcome to inspect his work first hand if you like.
William R. Hahn did a complete restoration of my 1957 Ford Thunderbird. I consider his workmanship and knowledge of authentic restoration to outstanding. He is a perfectionist in his work. I was very pleased with the final result and received many compliments from T-bird aficionados.
If I ever purchased another vintage car, I would certainly want Bill to do any restoration required. I would also confidently recommend bill to any of my friends considering restoration work.
I cannot quantify the size of the vintage car restoration market in Southwestern Pennsylvania. However, there does appear to be a growing interest in fine vintage cars in this area judging from the number of entrants and attendance at the Annual Vintage Car Grand Prix, and the growing interest of the “Baby Boomer Generation” in vintage cars.
I spent considerable time looking for a dedicated restoration specialist for ’57 T-Bird and consider Bill Hahn to be the best in the area.