The project
Pre-war coachbuilt cars like this one were never mass-produced — each body was hand-formed over a wooden buck by a coachbuilder working from the chassis manufacturer's rolling chassis, which means replacement panels cannot simply be ordered from a parts catalogue. Every dented or corroded aluminum panel was hand-planished back to its original shape rather than replaced, preserving the coachbuilder's original metalwork. The V12's hydraulic tappet system, a common and complex failure point on this model, was fully rebuilt by a specialist rather than converted to a simpler solid-lifter substitute some shops use to avoid the original complexity.
Original coachbuilder’s body number, still legible stamped into the aluminum under the rear seat frame, was cross-referenced against factory build records as part of the car’s documentation package.