When Vulcan was erected atop Red Mountain in 1938, the statue was filled to chest height with concrete in order to provide secure anchorage to the stone pedestal and lower its center of gravity. Unfortunately, the concrete ballast had a co-efficient of expansion roughly 20% greater than the cast iron skin which eventually caused the formation of cracks in the lower torso area of the statue. This coupled with severe bolt deterioration, caused much concern within Birmingham’s City government and citizens alike.

In 1991, two studies were performed on Vulcan at the request of the Vulcan Task Force and the City of Birmingham. The first study by Law Engineering recommended a cleaning and patching effort on Vulcan and did not address the problem of the concrete ballast. The second study performed by Scott Howell of Robinson Iron recommended the removal of the statue from the pedestal so that the concrete could be removed and the statue could be restored and re-anchored around a stainless steel armature system – much like the construction of the Statue of Liberty.

In October 1993 a third study was performed by Nick Veloz Conservator a nationally known conservator from the National Park Service. The conclusion of this study corroborated those of Robinson Iron presented two years earlier. This led to a fourth study by Robinson Iron in the Summer of 1994 which detailed the methodology for the removal and restoration of the statue as well as the restoration of the 1938 stone pedestal.