Additive Restoration: 3D Printing Classic Car Parts That No Longer Exist

North of New York City, at Dominick’s European Car Repair, priceless Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis fill a specialist vintage car garage. Here we meet Steven Dibdin, founder of Additive Restoration, a company solving one of the classic car world’s toughest problems: what do you do when a part simply doesn’t exist anymore?

Founded in 2018, Additive Restoration designs and manufactures parts for rare and unusual cars. Steven trained as an industrial model maker in the UK before moving to New York, where he built a career in prototyping and design engineering. Having already 3D printed parts for his own cars, he decided to turn his hobby into a business after meeting Santo Spadaro, owner of Dominick’s European Car Repair.

Steven’s first conversation with Santo turned a planned 20-minute chat into three hours, a box of broken Ferrari parts and a request to recreate a rotor arm for a 1955 OSCA, a car built by the Maserati brothers. The component directs sparks to the correct spark plugs at the right time, making it critical to the engine.

Steven developed a replacement using composite resin, and the car ran successfully. The original part had apparently been failing for around 20 years, meaning the engine had been operating on only half its sparks. The replacement reportedly increased power by 10–15%, proving the potential of Steven’s new business.

Additive Restoration isn't primarily about making classic cars faster. Its focus is preserving vehicles as they were originally designed and built.

For Steven, the value of these cars lies in their connections to people, design and history. From Alfa Romeo’s links to Enzo Ferrari’s early racing career to the influence of the Fiat 8V (or Otto Vu) on American automotive design, each car has a story worth preserving.

Additive Restoration operates across three areas: an online parts store, specialist engineering projects and restoration support using 3D scanning.

Most components are recreated to preserve the original design, although Steven will sometimes correct known failure points without changing a part’s appearance. For a Lotus Elan, he recreated a missing airbox and discovered through airflow analysis that the original design was starving one carburettor of air. A small, invisible redesign corrected the issue.

For valuable or unique cars, 3D scanning creates a detailed digital record of the vehicle’s shape, paintwork, racing numbers and even historic dents. If the car is damaged, restoration specialists can use the scan to help return it to its previous condition. Steven describes it as an expensive undo button.

Scanning can also reveal unexpected details. When his team scanned a Ferrari 166 MM Berlina, they discovered the right wing sat 18 millimetres higher than the left, a quirk dating back to the 1950s. Steven chose to leave it untouched because authenticity matters more than perfection.

One of Steven’s most ambitious projects involved rebuilding the front end of an alloy-bodied Ferrari 275 GTB after a high-speed collision with a deer. With most of the bodywork being destroyed and no identical car available for reference, his team used 3D scans, surviving components and historic photographs to reconstruct the missing sections.

They designed a wooden body framework using digitally modelled CNC-cut plywood panels that slotted together like an IKEA kit. The framework was shipped to the restoration shop, where the team could use it to recreate the Ferrari’s bodywork.

Although Additive Restoration uses CAD software, CNC machining and 3D printing, the final finishing is always done by hand. Steven believes this human touch matters because the original parts were also finished by hand. Digital tools provide precision, while traditional craftsmanship preserves the character of the vehicle.

Steven applies the same approach to his own 1969 Rover P6. He has upgraded its engine, suspension and brakes while retaining its everyday usability and making it capable of track driving.

Michele del Mondo from PTC explains how Additive Restoration’s techniques reflect wider changes in automotive manufacturing. As vehicles become increasingly software-defined and receive over-the-air updates, manufacturers need accurate digital records of each individual car’s configuration.

Digital modelling also allows manufacturers to test different product variations virtually, while additive manufacturing enables smaller production runs and greater personalization.

Michele compares Steven’s approach of scanning before cutting metal with the wider automotive principle of simulating before creating physical tooling. Digital models allow manufacturers to test designs, optimize material flows and identify problems before committing to production, reducing costs and improving quality.

Although Additive Restoration operates on a smaller scale than major automotive manufacturers, the underlying principles are the same: accurate digital models, simulation and engineering expertise help manage complexity.

Additive Restoration demonstrates how digital technology can preserve automotive history, from recreating obsolete parts to rebuilding damaged bodywork. By combining 3D scanning, digital modelling and modern manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship, Steven Dibdin helps keep rare and historically significant cars on the road.