++> Dear List,
++>
++> Most or all of us are convinced of the "restorer's central truth,"
++> which is, always start with the best car you can afford. Making use of
++> this bit of wisdom may be what is tough.
++>
++> One can very often spend x thousands more than a basket case would cost,
++> only to find that he has bought little more than a basket case with very
++> good paint and upholstery. Few eyes are keen enough to detect a really
I could not agree more. Take, for example, a rocker panel. Once the
thing is rusted through, you have to replace it. It doesn't matter if it has
a few pinholes or is 25% gone, the replacement cost is the same. Unfortunately,
you will have to pay much more for the car with the pinhole rockers versus the
one with large holes. Unless the car you are buying is absolutely pristine,
chances are that you will get little more than someone buying a badly rusted
example. I think it is far more important to concentrate on making sure the
car is as complete and original as possible. Take my Healey as a data point.
I paid 5000. for a very complete non P.O. hacked rust bucket. At present,
(I admit to having been lucky with this restoration - thanks Dave L. and Robb
P.)
I have a completely rebuilt (and mostly orginal) substructure, and a nice set
of outer body panels. All the rest of the parts are in good shape (nice chrome,
O.K. interior, complete dash, good glass...) The last accounting put me at about
9500. I routinely see "nice drivers" going for 15,000 in the Austin Healey
publications and fully restored cars as much as 25,000. By the time I hit 15000
with my car (I probably won't spend that much before I put it back together and
start driving it) I'll have something far better than a "nice driver."
I guess my advice would be to concentrate on the things which make a
car
unique. Sheet metal, paint, and mechnicals can be repaired or replaced. Glass,
chrome,
guages, trim, can be extremely expensive or impossible to replace. I'll bet if
you
asked Roger Garnett what the 3 most difficult/expensive aspects of his
Peerleess GT
restoration are, finding a new rear window would be one of them!
--
William Woodruff woodruff@caen.engin.umich.edu
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