Restore it, but leave some original patina???

[Hawkeye]

Very Nice. Looks great! Love the Corvette Bronze.

Marty

[Xplantdad]

Very nice Helmut!

[GaryC]

Leave the patina. I think the repaint would be OK since it has had one already. You couldn't control that, but the rest you can now that you have it. If it's out in the weather you can kiss it goodbye sooner then if it's stored inside. I have an unrestored 69 Z that looks pretty fair for it's age and I love it. It has 3 repaints over the original and that is the only thing I would redo. I can't figure out why restore a car unless it's been sitting in a field and trashed really bad. Just my thoughts.

[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]