Maurice Labro's (1959) workshop in the Brabant village of Velp looks more like an artist's studio than a garage. It is the masterpieces of automobile history that he is working on: he restores handmade sports cars, especially aluminium ones, but steel ones as well.
The restoration process starts with a careful measuring and consecutive aligning of the chassis. On the basis of this and of all available documentation he draws up an action plan in consultation with the owner.
Next, Labro sets to work, craftsmanly and with inexhaustible patience. The chassis and coachwork components to be renewed are completely handmade so they meet all original specifications. With traditional machines and hand tools, such as a heavy leather sandbag and mallets, Labro forms aluminium and steel into accurately fitting panels.
This way, the most complex forms evolve under his hands, custom-made to repair damaged parts or replace missing parts with authentic new ones. Labro even welds aluminium the classic way: by gas-welding. The result of al these efforts can justly be called masterly: a completely original, classic automobile in perfect mint condition.
