On the following pages, we’ve assembled a listing of the restoration parts that were featured in the New Products Showcase at the 2014 SEMA Show, but “restoration” is now as much about rejuvenating a vehicle using modern underpinnings as it is about numbers-matching purity. In fact, many of the industry leaders quoted in the commentaries included within this buyer’s guide cite “restomod” vehicles as the segment’s most significant. They also note that trucks have become a major force in the restoration category, and the limits of what qualifies for “classic” status are also being stretched.

New Introductions and Featured Parts From the 2013 SEMA Show

The restoration marketplace includes not only matching-number renovations of classic cars and trucks but also original-appearing vehicles that have been updated with modern running gear and comfort features. The restomod projects encompass a large portion of the vehicles that many shops now build, but there is also an abundance of nostalgia and traditional projects that call for period- and OE-correct components. On the following pages, we’ve assembled a listing of the restoration parts that were featured in the New Products Showcase at the 2013 SEMA Show. Also included are comments about restoration market trends by professionals who manufacture, distribute or use many of the products found on these pages.

The bedrock of the automotive specialty-equipment industry is the parts that are used to build, restore and modify vehicles of all types. Every segment of the industry counts on parts that are properly designed, engineered and manufactured to operate as promised. Within the restoration segment, however, those standards are complicated by the fact that the vehicles involved are anywhere from two decades to nearly a century old.