On Sat, 1 Aug 1998 fergie@ntplx.net wrote:
> PS: While I'm at it, is there ANYONE out there who would recommend
> restoring a TR4 as opposed to buying one already done? Without
> exception, everyone I've asked says I'm crazy to even THINK of doing one
> myself. By the way, re the opening of this post, I'm better with
> mechanicals than I am with computers! Thanks again.
A restored car will undoubtedly be less of a total investment than one
you buy and then restore (unless all you need to do is polish the paint
and change the fluid in the windshield washer bottle). With very rare
exceptions, one simply cannot recover the costs of the average
restoration. But regardless of that, one can expect to pay dearly for a
top-quality restoration.
OTOH, it is often difficult to ascertain exactly what someone else's
restoration entailed. Was it a complete nut-and-bolt rebuild, with
everything done to factory standard or better? Or was it bondo, chicken
wire, "ring job in a can" and sawdust to quiet the other mechanical bits?
If you do it yourself, you've a pretty good idea of exactly what was and
wasn't done, and you have the incredible satisfaction of having done
something like this with your own hands (and hopefully those of several
friends, neighbors and anyone else you could woo with the promise of a
beer or two for helping you pull the engine, remove the tub from the
frame, weld the new panels in, etc., etc.)
It depends primarily on the size of your wallet and/or your abilities and
vision. I tend towards the do-it-yourself approach, but then I've a barn
full of such projects. :-)
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
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