1939 Bugatti Type 57C

Here at Velocity we are incredibly lucky to work with experts from all over the automobile world – whether it’s racing, auctions, history or restorations we are fortunate to have a window into their worlds.

We are excited to bring you part one of a Q&A with Don McLellan from RM Restorations. When a classic car is entrusted to RM they are there for every step of a restoration. The team researches the history behind the car and can restore, repair or rebuild everything from the trim to the transmission of the special vehicles that cross their shop floor.

This week we asked Don about some classics that have stood out in his mind – you can read about the 1939 Bugatti Type 57 here and tune in to One of a Kind tonight at 9:30 pm E/P to see it happen.

There seem to be two types of classic car fans – those that want to enjoy the car that’s been restored and drive it and those who want museum pieces that remained garaged. Which seems to be the most common?

In the past, it was 50/50 for guys that wanted to drive and those that wanted to put their classic car in a polished collection. At this particular point in time, the trend seems to be moving towards cars for driving, even when it is an investment quality piece. Some of this shift towards driving comes from the show circuit, many of which have participant tours that are an important part of the judging. There is a lot involved in preparing for this component, we drive and thoroughly test the cars, including both open road driving as well as via a chassis dynomometer in our shop to test horsepower, vibrations, leaks, overheating and emissions in order to get the cars to turn-key condition.(Click here to keep reading @ Velocity)