In a message dated 2/17/2005 1:25:27 PM Pacific Standard Time, Shelby6t7@aol.com writes: > If I may make a suggestion: > If the car is as nice as you say, and is in original condition, I would > think twice about doing a full restoration, as opposed to just a freshening up, > and to have the car be mechanically sound. You see that true "unrestored" > original cars are very rare these days. > Jody, I went through this with my '66 Hertz; I decided to keep as much of it original as I could, and I've always been very satisfied with that decision. Some of us (the more demented amongst us, some would probably say) look at it as a case of "You can restore a car as many times as you can afford, but it's only original ONCE". So, I'll echo (or even strongly second) Kenny's suggestion; preserve every bit of originality you can while still having the car safe to drive--IOW, definitely redo the brake system, with all-new hydraulics; replace the tires; (probably) rebuild the carb; replace all the hoses & belts and flush the fuel & cooling systems (and of course drain & replace all the lubricants)... what else, folks? Oh--decide whether you'll want to show the car in judged "unrestored" class. IF you think you might, you'll want to use at least "correct" repop belts, hoses, clamps, nuts, bolts, screws, etc, rather than "off the shelf" stuff from your local auto parts store...and if your main purpose is gonna be to show the car, you may wll find yourself in the "NOS hunter" world.... When you clean & refresh the interior, you might want to pull up (some of) the carpeting and pull one or two interior panels back enough to check for surface rust on the inside surfaces of the body panels--not likely, but better to find it now & deal with it, before it "bubbles" through on the outside, right? When you're detailing the engine bay & trunk, RESIST any urge to "rattle can" the paint there; it'll cost you "unrestored points" just as much as repainting the exterior panels would. Find a paint shop (or detail shop) where they REALLY appreciate both the value & the fragility of that (nearly) 40 year old paint, and have 'em GENTLY bring it back--buff, polish, wax--and mix some touch-up paint for the rock chips, etc. And before that, find the best "paintless dent removal" business in your area & have 'em work out any & all dings they can. Oh, yeah, check all the rubber, etc that's supposed to keep water "out"...but remember, if the car doesn't get grimy, you can do your "after-drive" clean-up with "instant detailer" products--I've only actually washed the Hertz about 3 times in 10 years.... Well, that's obviously more than enough unsolicited advice. Enjoy that fantastic car you have; that's the main thing. Dave
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 DLen1261@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 2/17/2005 1:25:27 PM Pacific Standard Time, > Shelby6t7@aol.com writes: > >> If I may make a suggestion: >> If the car is as nice as you say, and is in original condition, I would >> think twice about doing a full restoration, as opposed to just a freshening up, >> and to have the car be mechanically sound. You see that true "unrestored" >> original cars are very rare these days. >> > > Jody, > > I went through this with my '66 Hertz; I decided to keep as much of it > original as I could, and I've always been very satisfied with that decision. Some > of us (the more demented amongst us, some would probably say) look at it as a > case of "You can restore a car as many times as you can afford, but it's only > original ONCE". I will echo what they said, but in addition, in your case, being able to touch the same paint, sit on the same seat upholstery, etc. that your dad did is just something personally.... very special. If you go to sell it, then those things will not be so meaningful, but as long as you keep it, I would do my best to keep as much of it around as possible. Calvin http://www.svsaac.com
