Restore it, but leave some original patina???

[L78M22Rag]

A couple of years ago I bought this corvette bronze 1968 Camaro SS/RS 396 convertible. My buddy Mike Hepler in KY offered to do a simple re-paint before I brought it home... seeing as it had already been repainted once. The original stripes were taped-off when the car was previously painted, but hardly enough original paint to qualify as a survivor.

Otherwise, the car is completely original, numbers matching and documented so it deserves the attention.



One thing led to another, and soon it was off the frame. After carefully stripping that Michigan undercoating with a heat gun and putty knife, Mike discovered that the car was incredibly well preserved for a northern car! Here's a photo of the underside.



Those of you that know me, understand that I really appreciate original cars... especially patina. I'm thinking about leaving most of the underside completely original - a little more cleaning, and perhaps a few minor touch-ups. Same goes for the very nice original trunk.



I think those unrestored parts would show-off the original condition of the car. Some might think different, but if the entire car is restored, nobody will ever appreciate just how clean this Michigan car was before being restored! The original interior is also very nice and presentable and so will remain original. The original convertible top needs replacing, but I may even try to keep the original dated rear plastic window because it's still in mint condition and clear.


Have I gone off the deep end, or am I onto something by preserving the originality of this car? I do plan on driving the car.

I respect your feedback, but go easy on me, eh!

[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]

[fbirdguy]

I faced the same dilemma with my 69 T/A but I came to the conclusion that they are only original once. I went to great lengths to keep the car original and with the correct patina throughout. It would have been alot easier to just pull it apart and properly restore it since it was almost completely apart anyway. I have seen people walk past restored show cars to check out my car at the shows. People just seem to like survivor cars. I would just clean it all and put it back together. Also, if you are ever going to sell the car having the original unrestored finishes will certainly show you are not trying to hide anything. As a classic car dealer I can tell you restored cars make people very skeptical.

[MosportGreen66]

[ QUOTE ]








[/ QUOTE ]

Leave it alone!

In both cases, go over the belly of the car with preps-all (wax and grease remover) and leave it alone!

-Dan

[L78M22Rag]

Here's a couple of pics of the original motor and firewall... lots of originality and patina to preserve. It's just going to receive a good cleaning and detail.

Unfortunately, the original inner fenders, rad support and subframe are not presentable in original condition. If anyone has an original subframe, rad support or inner fenders that are still reasonably presentable in original unrestored condition, I'd sure like to buy them. Please either give me a call at 403-803-3879 or send me an email at [email protected]
Thanks!

[Salvatore]

I probably would have not taken the car apart. I would have just cleaned it real well with a steam jeny and wipe the frame and everything else down with WD-40 or Armoral. I think that frame will be nice and original with a real good clean up. Seems like you are getting into a resto with doing the resto. I would not change anything, then it becomes fixed up altered or ..... The car is what it is. I think it is a great example just like it appears.

[L78M22Rag]

[ QUOTE ]
I probably would have not taken the car apart. I would have just cleaned it real well with a steam jeny and wipe the frame and everything else down with WD-40 or Armoral. I think that frame will be nice and original with a real good clean up. Seems like you are getting into a resto with doing the resto. I would not change anything, then it becomes fixed up altered or ..... The car is what it is. I think it is a great example just like it appears.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks... I share your point of view.

I wouldn't be replacing anything if I didn't absolutely have to. The car had been in a minor front collision some time ago, and repaired poorly. The subframe was damaged and slightly bent, while the rad support and inner fenders need rust repair... and thus a repaint. That's what led from a simple repaint to taking the car off the frame in the first place. Since the underside cleaned up so well and firewall is so well preserved, I've changed my plans for the frame-off. I'm repairing or replacing ONLY what's damaged and retaining as much originality as possible. The trunk and interior were always going to remain original. Since the frame, rad support and inner fenders still need to be repaired, I'm simply going to replace them with nice original components rather than the repaired and repainted components.

[L78M22Rag]

Finally... got some Corvette Bronze paint back on the car!



I hope that I don't regret it some day, but I retained all the original patina under the hood, in the trunk, door jambs (where possible), etc. Just the way I like it! The car simply received a repaint (had been repainted once before) and a thorough cleaning/detailing.