Prepared a 1995 limited edition for a 4.7-star show rating
We spent 19 hours on the details alone. The car took home a trophy at the local heritage meet after being stored for 12 years.
A 1995 limited edition supercar arrived at our Bristol workshop after sitting in a heated garage since early 2012. We had exactly 6 weeks to make it road-legal and show-ready for the Gloucestershire Heritage Meet.
The challenge
The car had not been started in over 12 years. The fuel had turned into a thick varnish, blocking the lines and the original pump. We found 4 distinct oil leaks coming from dry, brittle engine seals that had shrunk over a decade of sitting still. The timing belt was also 9 years past its service date, making it a ticking time bomb for the engine.
David Vance needed the car to be mechanically perfect without losing its original look. The paint was covered in micro-scratches from a dusty car cover being pulled on and off. Most workshops would have just replaced parts with modern equivalents, but that would have lowered the car's value at a heritage show.
Our approach
We assigned a team of 3 technicians who specialise in 90s Italian engines. First, we pulled the factory blueprints from our archives to check every single bolt torque setting. We didn't just guess. We used a global parts network to find a period-correct fuel pump in Italy because the modern plastic replacements don't fit the 1995 housing correctly.
Our team performed a full engine-out service to reach the rear seals. We used dry ice cleaning for the engine bay. This method removes 12 years of grime without damaging the fragile original factory stickers or the wiring loom. Every step was documented with 47 photos for the car's history file.
The solution
We replaced 14 rubber gaskets and the entire fuel delivery system with era-accurate components. The paintwork underwent a 19-hour correction process using three stages of polishing to remove the scratches while keeping the original clear coat thick. We also replaced all interior bulbs with New Old Stock (NOS) parts to ensure the dashboard glow matched the 1995 factory warmth.
To finish, we fed the leather seats with a specific pH-neutral oil over 3 days. This restored the flexibility of the hides without giving them that cheap, shiny look. We then road-tested the car for 40 miles around Bristol to ensure the cooling system handled modern traffic without a single temperature spike.
Results
The car was delivered to the Gloucestershire Heritage Meet on a covered trailer and performed flawlessly. It was the only car in its class to show zero oil sweat after the 40-mile drive home.
Timeline
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April 2024Flatbed recovery and 80-point mechanical audit
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May 2024Engine-out seal replacement and fuel system flush
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June 202419-hour detailing and interior restoration
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June 2024Final trophy win at Heritage Meet
"I was hesitant to touch the car after 12 years in storage. FC Azerbaijan handled it with a level of detail I haven't seen since I bought it. They even found the correct factory-stamped hose clamps."