How to Start a Career in Auto Restoration

 Given the presidential attention, how could a nationally well-known vehicle customizer chose to lose ownership over his unique throwback company? The fans of vintage vehicles know Robert Agzamov, the designer of the avtonostalgia project in the car city. His reputation came from a distinctive company: stylizing modern foreign cars to pass for Soviet autos. He explained to the "BUSINESS Online" reporters why he is not well-liked among retro automobile owners, why he declines to mention his clients' identities, and why the special cars are required to be registered in the surrounding areas, while also sharing insights on how to start a career in auto restoration.

Of course, I did not see this trend as of a business when I started dressing modern cars in the retro fashion. Made on my order, the first automobile was Later on, I saw the great public interest in such vehicles that generates. The renowned Honda Crosstour is outside; inside is another Honda Crosstour. Alternatively in a KIA Opirus outside the top Soviet car GAZ-21 Volga. Alternatively a Zaporozhets sporting an inside of a Volkswagen New Beetle and a humpback. Thus, the craft of yesterday has developed in a commercial sense and today it is the only national serial project generating auto-replicas.

Robert, is what you do a business or a craft?

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2010 is The Opirus became a "Volga." We actually took a whole year to finish the job since we had to overcome several obstacles in the course of execution. We spent six months creating a working prototype of the car and then six months building the tools needed for mass manufacture. Then, to crown it all, we spent a few months establishing mass production of this model. One of my very good friends bought KIA Opirus in 2005. He described that car as a Korean Mercedes and simply liked it. But I was always trying to talk him out of it—don't buy this car; it's a "mongrel" car; you would lose a fortune.

He barely sold it 2 years later at 580 thousand rubles after buying it at 1 million 250 thousand ruble. Then, seeing the form of this car, I started to consider in my mind what type of reproduction of a "Volga" may be created from it. At last, I started this job in 2010. We started the project. I designed; my friend handled the technical realization. I am not scared of it, though. Whether or not a car is a serial production, we do not, after all, give any thought to the alternative point of view. As far as general forms and lines are concerned, we ride a car meant as a "Volga," or a "Pobeda," or a "Zaporozhets".

And when did you build your first car?

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These automobiles fit that really nicely. And we will undoubtedly have work for ten years ahead. Sure something else will, I know it will. We are not sitting about doing nothing. For instance, we are building a superstructure of one of the businesses that will be providing telecommunications services to the Silk Road event, where the telephones will be placed in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Another endeavor, so-to-speak, is tuning elements to a Moscow corporation. The company that orders vehicles from us is in the business of turning a standard Chevrolet Express van into what is called a mobile office.

For big cities who spend half of their time in traffic congestion, a mobile office is pretty modern. In Germany, they make the interior, where BMW 7 Series with an absurd feature count is attached. It includes a coffee maker, a computer, an air ionizer and a divider separating the cabin from the driver in form of a television, as well as massage capabilities for VIPs and associates. We developed the outside design to help this car have a decent attractiveness. We have made it ourselves. One can develop the appearance without any difficulties.

Why, actually, "Volga" from Opirus?

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The component installation raises the biggest problems. Moreover, the produced component does not cause any future trouble for the operator. I would say on the source car we remove the original exterior body panels and replace them with carefully designed composite panels that start to give the modern automobile retrocar qualities. We do not meddle with the car's construction meanwhile. We do not touch any of the structural elements, factory systems of components (safety system, transmission, engine, chassis and electrical systems); the doors, car roof-all are original.

We only style fiberglass overlays on automobile bodies to give the vehicle classic appeal. And the inside is original as well. Definitely. We are therefore the only manufacturers doing copies of this kind. Most Russian tuners would slice the top of the donor car and lay their retro variant on top of it. Not found here. Indeed, Rustam Nurgalievich personally confirmed it in one of the entrepreneurial councils. During the same discussion, I had to bring up the issue about the traffic police registering the retro cars we build. Our president is really passionate about automobile technology.

Conclusion

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He enjoys vintage, racing, and modern vehicles. And, naturally, imitations also catch his attention. I know he has been following our initiatives from their beginning. And the copies under the Pobeda really caught his eye; the president helped us to produce the first automobile. Not a bit, not at all. I opened this company by hand. And I see great promise here. And I think these registration issues will work themselves out finally. Our president has orders in this regard. And even Republican traffic police understands.

There is a myth in Moscow. Of course, I did not see this trend as of a business when I started dressing modern cars in the retro fashion. Made on my order, the first automobile was Later on, I saw the great public interest in such vehicles that generates. The renowned Honda Crosstour is outside; inside is another Honda Crosstour. Alternatively in a KIA Opirus outside the top Soviet car GAZ-21 Volga. Alternatively a Zaporozhets sporting an inside of a Volkswagen New Beetle and a humpback. Thus, the craft of yesterday has developed in a commercial sense and today it is the only national serial project generating auto-replicas.