Hammer & Dolly Automotive Restorations

Hammer & Dolly Automotive Restorations is a restoration and service shop for antique, vintage and classic cars in Traverse City, Michigan. Owner Adam Hammer opened it in 2012, according to a 2017 Northern Express profile, and the shop's own site describes work from routine maintenance up to complete restorations.

Who they are and how they started

Adam Hammer is a graduate of McPherson College, the Kansas school known for its automotive restoration degree. Press coverage reports he received the Leno Automotive Scholarship while there, and that he worked in shops handling Rolls-Royce, Packard and Duesenberg cars before starting his own business. The Northern Express profile says he began with a small amount of capital and rented space at first, growing job by job. The name comes from the hammer and dolly, a pair of sheet metal shaping tools. The shop has since moved: the 2017 article gave an address on Park Drive, while the shop now lists 2392 Cass Road.

What they restore

The shop says it services antique, vintage and classic automobiles, and its site names Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg, Packard, Mercedes, Ferrari and Porsche among the makes it handles. The 2017 profile described a focus on cars from the late 1920s through the early 1940s, and listed a 1940 Packard, a 1950 Cadillac, a 1966 Mustang and a Jaguar XK120 among cars in the shop at the time. Its first complete restoration, per that article, was a 1956 Chevrolet Nomad.

Work done in-house

The shop lists the following services on its website:

• Maintenance and mechanical restoration
• Machining and component restoration
• Paint and body repair
• Upholstery
• Electrical work and fabrication
• Complete restoration

Working with the shop

Hammer & Dolly says it tailors its approach to how each car will be used and that it will not trade craftsmanship for speed. Pricing, deposit and billing terms are not published on its site. If you are comparing shops, our guide to choosing a classic car restoration shop lists useful questions. The shop keeps a project gallery on its website, and we found no documented competition awards.

Reputation

On Birdeye, the shop showed a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 29 reviews when we checked. That is a single review platform, so read the individual reviews yourself.

Visiting and contact

The shop is at 2392 Cass Road, Traverse City, MI 49684, and lists hours of Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Phone is 231-421-1065 and its site lists [email protected]. Hammer & Dolly has no affiliation with Classic Cars Arena. If you want to find a car to bring in, see classic project cars for sale.