In a message dated 6/25/03 11:47:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
mnypitgarage@cfl.rr.com writes:
<< I plan on doing a
complete ground up frame off restoration on at least one of them. >>
A few thoughts:
What is the intended use of the car? Pebble beach, local car show, sunny day
driver, daily driver?
Pebble beach stuff only has to look good but a daily driver must be reliable.
If the car is a sunny day driver, you can get away with less than better
body work and chrome.
My 1972 Porsche 914 gets lots of looks and compliments, a closer inspection
reveals some rust bubbles ( but no holes or brown rust ), paint needs buffed
and less than perfect chrome. It's strengths are it's a solid red color, a bit
of chrome, a bit of black and black centered wheels with polished lips.
It's a good 10 ft car, the contrast of red,chrome,black and being a uncommon
car make the difference. "Thanks for the compliment, I'm still piecing the
car together" I usually say. At best most people are going to look at the car
for 30 sec, they will never see that stone chip below the right headlight.
Many restorations get abandoned due to the immense work involved. It is
better to restore parts as you remove them from the car rather than tearing
everything apart and starting with the frame.
If you restore parts as you go, just about the time you are running out of
energy is the time you will be ready to use the nice fresh parts sitting on the
shelf.
The car will never be perfect. . . . if you take the immense time to do so ,
you will be afraid to drive it. Making something 98% is 2X harder than
97%. Don't fuss every little ding or detail, these cars were mass produced and
came from the factory "imperfect" Slightly tattered, but original, Corvettes
are valued higher than "over restored" examples, they are considered
"survivors" Some people are even going to great lengths to reproduce
overspray, paint
runs and such.
Concentrate on making mechanical items reliable, you can always purchase
better chrome parts down the road and bolt them on. Rebuilding the engine
takes
longer.
Structural body parts are much more important than fenders, spend the money
there first.
When repairing rusted areas, be sure to paint and rust proof ( not spray can
undercoat!) the back side of the repair. If you don't rust bubbles will ruin
your high $ paint job.
Don't worry if the car will be worth what you spend on it, cars ( except for
a few) are not investments. Own / restore / drive what you like.
There is probably more but I have to go
Harold
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