Until the 1930s, people who wanted a luxury vehicle would often buy a chassis, which is basically all of the mechanical pieces that make a vehicle move, and then decide what they wanted it to look like. A coachbuilder would create the body and attach it.

Mr. Kleeves said repairs to those bodies were not just a matter of fixing them. They should honor the way the car was created as long as 100 years ago.

He starts with a flat piece of metal, sometimes steel and sometimes aluminum. While a computer may be used to help get the correct dimensions, the shape of the panel is guided largely by hand, with what ultimately amounts to a series of hammer taps.

The close attention to historical detail includes putting welds in the same place and having a forge in the shop, because if a bracket on a car was originally forged, well, the repair must use a forged bracket.

Mr. Kleeves said he often thought about the original coachbuilders.

“They took great pride in their work. They put their heart and soul and life into it,” he said. And he feels obliged to pay homage to that with “a proper piece.”

That “proper piece” can take a year or more to build and cost between $300,000 and $500,000, assuming an entirely new body is not needed.