My 1949 Buick Sedanette

Restorer Tari Justin Hills thinks his restoration of a classic American car is more like how an artist would paint a concept than a finished production model. “A production car will never look like an artist's concept drawing,” he says.

“Concept cars from this period were always longer, lower and wider. So my idea for the car was to create a concept car that they wanted to build but never did."

The 39-year-old English migrant bought the car for US$3000 online in 2004 and estimates he spent a year working on the car.

"He owes me more than $100,000, but he's not for sale unless someone has a lot of money," he says. “The biggest expense is chrome plating, trim and material costs. I've spent over $4000 for the softest skin you've ever felt. It's so soft you want to bite into it."

When Hills was looking for a classic car to restore for himself, he wasn't looking for a Buick. "I was actually looking for a '49 James Dean Mercury at the time, but I saw this and knew I needed it," he says. “It was the right period and the right view; it just ticked all the boxes i was looking for.

“I love his fastback shape. The way the roof goes down to the ground." Hills accentuated this effect with an air suspension that lowers 15 cm when parked so that the panels almost touch the asphalt.

This is far from the state in which he bought it. “I believe she was in the paddock for 30 years and did not move,” he says. “It was full of dust. It must have been a car from California or Arizona because it was really dry but not rusty.”

The engine was completely taken over and was replaced by the 1953 Buick engine, which was also an inline-eight with the same block but a larger displacement of 263 cubic inches (4309 cc).

“The gearbox was fine, but everything was taken apart and redone anyway,” he says. “It has a three-speed gearbox and it just drives great,” he says.

“He does everything he has to because everything is brand new. I built it to ride, but I don't ride it that much."

“Ever since I finished it, I love it too much to drive. It's like collecting a work of art. It lives in a cartoon bubble in my workshop and I have to work to keep it clean because it's black." Instead, he drives a daily 1966 Jaguar Mk X, which he calls "the most underrated Jaguar in the world." I love them. They are a bit like a Buick — a big boat out of a car,” he says.

“I'm not into modern cars. I just enjoy the feeling of driving an old car. I often have to go to Sydney and I always take Jag. He does his job and looks good."

The automotive builder and restorer started out as a car repairman and has worked on cars for clients from Darwin to Dubai.

Although he considers his Buick the best he's ever made, his most expensive job was a 1964 Aston Martin DB4 convertible he restored for an advertising executive in Sydney. "He later sold it for 275,000 (about $555,000) to a Swiss museum."

But it's not about the money. His dream is to restore a car for the famous Pebble Beach Hall. “This is my career goal. It would be nice to be a Bugatti,” he says.