Finch Restorations

Finch Restorations is an Australian automotive restoration business headquartered in Mount Barker, South Australia. Founded by Ray Finch in Mount Gambier in 1965, the company developed from a small workshop into a substantial specialist operation focused on the conservation, reconstruction, and mechanical renewal of older vehicles. Its work includes ground-up restorations of classic and vintage cars and trucks, as well as the refurbishment of vehicles that customers have owned and maintained over long periods. The business combines traditional restoration skills with more recent engineering and project-management methods. Its work can involve coachbuilding, metal finishing, mechanical rebuilding, engine tuning, fabrication, and the reproduction of components that are rare or no longer commercially available. The company has introduced three-dimensional scanning to help recreate difficult-to-source parts, an approach that supports restorations requiring a high degree of dimensional accuracy while retaining the appearance and construction character of the original vehicle. Finch Restorations operates several adjoining facilities at its Mount Barker headquarters. It also has the Finch Powerhouse in nearby Woodside, which generally handles maintenance for customer vehicles together with engine rebuilds and tuning. This arrangement allows the company to separate broader restoration projects from ongoing servicing and specialist mechanical work. In addition to restoring customer vehicles, Finch has built replicas of the 1939 SS100 Jaguar and the 1959 Ferrari Testa Rossa. These projects place the company in the specialist and recreation-vehicle segment as well as the conventional restoration market. The replicas are based on historically recognizable designs, but the available reference material does not establish their production volumes, pricing, or current availability. Peter and Harbinda Roberts have owned Finch Restorations since 2014. By the early 2020s, the company had become one of Australia’s larger vehicle-restoration businesses and employed close to 30 people. Its growth reflects the increasing scale and technical complexity of high-end restoration work, while its operating model remains dependent on craft knowledge associated with older vehicles. A continuing challenge identified by the company is the shortage of skilled tradespeople. Finch has specifically pointed to difficulties recruiting workers with capabilities in traditional coachbuilding, metal finishing, and mechanical work on vintage vehicles. The business has linked this problem to the decline of older automotive skills and training pathways. Consequently, its position rests not only on completed restorations but also on maintaining and applying specialist knowledge that is becoming less common in the wider automotive sector.

Finch Restorations was established by Ray Finch in 1965 in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The business was founded around the restoration and rebuilding of older vehicles, and its work later came to encompass both cars and trucks. Rather than limiting its services to cosmetic refurbishment, Finch developed a focus on ground-up projects in which vehicles could be dismantled, repaired, rebuilt, and refinished as complete systems. The company also restored vehicles that had remained with individual owners for many years, giving it a role in preserving personal as well as historically significant automotive property. The business subsequently moved its headquarters to Mount Barker, where it expanded its workshop footprint. Four facilities are located next to one another at the Mount Barker site, supporting the division of restoration, fabrication, and related activities. A separate facility, the Finch Powerhouse in Woodside, is used primarily for customer-car maintenance, engine rebuilding, and tuning. The two-site structure reflects the distinction between long-duration restoration programs and recurring mechanical support. Finch’s work has included the construction of replicas of the 1939 SS100 Jaguar and the 1959 Ferrari Testa Rossa. These projects broadened the company’s activities beyond the restoration of surviving customer vehicles into the specialist recreation of historically styled automobiles. The available reference material does not specify the number of replicas produced or the commercial terms under which they were offered. Since 2014, Finch Restorations has been owned by Peter and Harbinda Roberts. Under their ownership, the business adopted more advanced engineering and project-management systems as restoration projects became more complex and larger in scope. Three-dimensional scanning has been used to reproduce parts that are rare, unavailable, or difficult to measure by conventional methods. This technology complements, rather than replaces, traditional skills in coachbuilding, metal finishing, mechanical restoration, and fabrication. By the early 2020s, Finch had grown from its origins as a small workshop into one of Australia’s larger vehicle-restoration businesses, with close to 30 employees. Its development has taken place against a labor shortage affecting specialist restoration trades. Management has described particular difficulty finding people trained in older forms of coachbuilding, metalwork, and mechanical repair, attributing the problem partly to the decline of traditional skills and training programs. The company’s continuing challenge is therefore to scale complex restoration work while preserving the craft knowledge needed to work faithfully on vintage vehicles.

• 2014

  Roberts ownership begins

  [1]Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org

  Peter and Harbinda Roberts became the owners of Finch Restorations.

• 1965

  Business founded in Mount Gambier

  [1]Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org

  Ray Finch founded Finch Restorations in Mount Gambier, South Australia, establishing the workshop that would become a specialist classic and vintage vehicle-restoration business.

• Expansion to Mount Barker and Woodside operations

  [1]Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org

  The company developed a Mount Barker headquarters with four adjoining facilities and established the Finch Powerhouse in Woodside for maintenance, engine rebuilding, and tuning.

• Adoption of three-dimensional scanning

  [1]Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org

  Finch introduced three-dimensional scanning and related engineering systems to help reproduce rare or unavailable parts and manage increasingly complex restoration projects.

• Growth into a major Australian restoration business

  [1]Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org

  By the early 2020s, Finch had grown from a small workshop into one of Australia’s largest vehicle-restoration businesses, employing close to 30 staff.

A specialist Australian restoration house combining traditional coachbuilding and mechanical craftsmanship with modern engineering, three-dimensional scanning, and structured project management.

• Automotive restoration service · 1965

  Classic and vintage vehicle restorations

  Finch’s core service is the comprehensive restoration of classic and vintage cars and trucks. Projects can involve ground-up rebuilding, body and metalwork, coachbuilding, paint and finishing, mechanical repair, and the recreation of parts that are no longer readily available. The company also works on vehicles that have remained with customers for many years, combining preservation of personal history with technical refurbishment.

• Replica vehicle

  1939 SS100 Jaguar replicas

  Finch has built replicas styled after the 1939 SS100 Jaguar. These vehicles represent a specialist recreation offering distinct from restoring an original surviving car. The available reference material identifies the model but does not provide production totals, specifications, pricing, or current ordering status.

• Replica vehicle

  1959 Ferrari Testa Rossa replicas

  The company has also built replicas of the 1959 Ferrari Testa Rossa, extending its portfolio into historically styled competition-car recreation. The reference material does not establish how many were produced, their detailed engineering specifications, or whether the offering remains available.

• Automotive maintenance and engineering service

  Finch Powerhouse services

  Located in Woodside, the Finch Powerhouse typically handles maintenance of customer cars, engine rebuilds, and tuning. It provides an ongoing mechanical-support function alongside the company’s longer-term restoration projects.

1. 1Finch Restorationsen.wikipedia.org