​What are Retro-Themed Ways to Modernize a Classic Car?

For some vintage car enthusiasts, while there is so much to respect with the classic engineering and construction of an antique car or truck, it’s enticing to harmonize technologies that may not have been available to a vehicle at its time of production. Trading originality for contemporary features add improved reliability and drivability making your classic car more inviting for owners desiring an old-style road cruise with current-era comforts.

When restoring a vintage car, you may run into the conundrum to choose the direction of a period-correct look or adding modern touches. it’s enticing to harmonize technologies that may not have been available to a vehicle at its time of production resulting in a more drivable vehicle. However, is it worth potentially altering the original aesthetics many of us have grown to love? What if there are available modern technologies that can honour classic beauty?

The following classic car upgrade options allow new vehicle features to merge gently with timeless styles from 1950s to the 1980s:

LED Headlight Conversion

Headlight technology has evolved considerably in recent decades in a manner that far outclasses the sealed-beam headlamps found on most vehicles built from the late 1930s to the mid 1980s. The instance but efficient brightness of LEDs is a touch today’s automobiles flaunt.

For your classic or collector car, an LED upgrade can prove to be a remarkably easy way to improve nighttime visibility. Even for many vehicles more than a half century old, the installation of LED headlights is described as plug and play. In addition to providing a more intense light, LEDs drain less energy from your vehicle’s electrical system and last considerably longer than traditional sealed-beam headlights.

Audio Upgrade

The original sound equipment found in your vintage car may have been satisfactory when new music on the radio consisted of Elvis, The Beatles and Patsy Cline but today’s audio systems are built and programmed to enhance one’s experience listening to Taylor Swift. Installing a modern radio unit can be attractive for maximizing in-car entertainment but it can come at the cost of the interior’s classic aesthetics.

Ideal for replacing a broken radio unit or for upgrading stock radio hardware, a variety of audio products from Custom Autosound provides the flexibility of auxiliary input and USB connections while maintaining a period-appropriate look. For owners of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air, the USA-630 radio is a 300-watt set designed to be fitted in the dash in place of a factory unit.

Disc Brake Conversion Kit

While seeing an early muscle car in motion is a brilliant sight, the romance of this motion is interrupted with the reality of slowing down. The drum brakes commonly found on older vehicles is generally viewed as inferior to disc brakes in providing stopping efficiency. Disc brakes have succeeded drum brakes citing improved and more reliable stopping power. Although front disc brakes were available as an option at the front of the classics such as the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang during the 1960s, the improved braking performance was not common until the late 1970s.

When restoring a 1960s muscle car to embrace better than stock handling, a front disc brake conversion kit should be a strong consideration. These front disc brake conversion kits are offered with many popular classic Mopar, Ford and General Motors vehicles and include much of the necessary hardware related to adding the upgrade braking including rotors, calipers and brake master cylinder.

Retro-themed Radial Tires

From the 1930s until the mid 1970s, it was common to find what is known as bias ply tires as original equipment on vehicles. Formed through the combination of layers of rubber coated fabric, bias ply tires remained popular until the adoption of radial tires. The superior ride quality, greater tread life and improved traction of radial tires saw it emerge as the standard presently found with modern automobiles.

For vintage cars, a number of tire companies produce radial tires that replicate the look of classic bias ply rubber recreating the shape and even large whitewalls when required. The uncompromised retro appearance comes with an enhanced ride quality and endurance expected from modern cars.

Regardless of your goals for your ride we are here to help. Check out our story.