Restore it, but leave some original patina???

[Hawkeye]

That's a great looking car. I'm with you on trying to keep as much originality as you can. It's only original once. Take plenty of pictures of the underside and then make it look as good as the rest of the car. You've gone this far, might as well finish it. Keep the trunk untouched. JMO. Originality is getting hard to find.

[owners2]

I believe you have the same disease i have.No amount of medication or time with a shrink can help,so just do what you feel best.I have a Copper 71 Z28 that needed an exterior paint badly, so that's what it got. yet i only spotted in certain areas in the jambs & re-did some of the interior & left the slightly beat up trunk alone.I restored the engine compartment but not to absolute perfection.Crazy i tell ya. & yet it took years to come up with this Mad method of a resto.

[Verne_Frantz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hawkeye</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That's a great looking car. I'm with you on trying to keep as much originality as you can. It's only original once. Take plenty of pictures of the underside and then make it look as good as the rest of the car. You've gone this far, might as well finish it. Keep the trunk untouched. JMO. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Originality is getting hard to find.</span></span> </div></div>

Boy, I can sure agree with that statement. I'm kind of in a similar predicament with my one owner '62 Impala. It had a repaint in '79 and it's fine as is so I don't need to worry about a repaint, but the engine compartment was a pure mess, with custom pieces added and screwed around with. Also the engine itself was subject to some vandalism from the jealous boyfriend of the owner's sister after the owner died. I HAD to rebuild the engine, so therefore it will be painted. Could I put it back into a terrible engine compartment? No. So, the compartment is being done, but nothing more than necessary. All original components are being put back in without restoration because they are still fine as is.
So, the end result will be a car that will be looked at by most as a half-azzed attempt at restoration by some bozo. I just hope some people will be able to see what I have tried to preserve. The car just won't fit into any established catagory. It will be in the gray area.

Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]