Seattle-While not a fast-paced business, the restoration work done by two adjoining firms certainly is highly specialized and unique, said Tom Sumner, owner of Golden Era Motors, which has operated at its location near Lake Union since 1960.
Many years ago, Sumner said he bought a boat and had Don Vogelsang, then a Ballard-area car and boat restorer, perform all the woodwork on the vessel while he did the mechanical restoration. "Don is amazing at restoration, whether it's a car or boat," he said.
Sumner said he later sold Vogelsang half of his Golden Era building and the two have worked together sharing projects ever since.
Always a sports car enthusiast, Sumner said he has enjoyed driving a variety of older MGs, Jaguars, Packards, and other such vehicles over the years but also likes other older vehicles, including the two Citroens he drives. "I don't drive anything later than a 1973 vehicle."
A technician by trade, Sumner said he always liked working on older vehicles and for decades has worked on antique, classic, and restoration cars, mainly performing mechanical repairs and fabricating special parts for vehicles. "Over the years I have had a wonderful contingent of customers. It's been a grand tour and I have enjoyed the people I have done business with."
The pair said they only work on a handful of projects each year as most are long term and expensive. They had just completed a MG TF when Parts & People recently visited the shops. It had been sent to an upholstery shop for its final restoration work. "It was here for about four years," Sumner said. "Like many of the jobs here, it takes time to complete full restoration." He said the final price tag for the MG repairs was about $70,000.
Another recently completed job Vogelsang recently sent on its way was an older Cadillac mountain wagon that had been at the shop for about six years. "Things don't move fast here, though some mechanical fixes are able to be done quicker," Sumner said.
"This is not a high-turnover business," Vogelsang said, adding that his next project at Broadway Classics is a 1947 Chrysler wagon that has been sitting in the shop for some time and will require full restoration. "It will be a long-term project, just like most I do," he said. "I keep saying I want to turn a vehicle in six months, but it just doesn't seem to work that way."
Sumner said he likes to work with materials like iron, brass, steel, and wood, adding that with newer vehicles, there are more plastics and composite materials. "Parts for most of the vehicles we work on are nonexistent, so we make a lot of parts," he said. 
The shop has lathes and other equipment to fabricate what cannot be located through vintage parts sources, he said. There are also repair manuals dating back to the turn of the century for dozens of makes of vehicles.
A 1908 Buick that has been in Golden Era Motors for more than a year, will soon be sold by the customer to a collector in New York, Sumner said. "I did a lot of work on it, and it's in decent condition but running a bit rough. It's a classic and will a good vehicle for the new owner."
A 1954 Buick Skylark will soon arrive at Golden Era for mechanical restoration work, Sumner said. It will be one of a handful of cars that will pass through the shop this year.
