Original vs restored
Discussion
I'm sure this must have been discussed before but on a personal level I'd like your opinion.
I'm looking to buy a 40+ year oldcar.
I've seen a couple of examples.
One is in original condition. The paint is largely factory paint but there are a couple of places where it's been worn away on the edges of "high points". I'm guessing this is due to over zealous use of a machine polisher at some time.
The other is restored to like new condition with perfect paintwork.
Which would you pefer?
Obviously the restored one could hide all sorts of nastys but looks fantastic but the one with the "patina" is like me- good body work, especially for its age, but on closer inspection no longer perfect (
)
oh, and they're similar prices
I'm looking to buy a 40+ year oldcar.
I've seen a couple of examples.
One is in original condition. The paint is largely factory paint but there are a couple of places where it's been worn away on the edges of "high points". I'm guessing this is due to over zealous use of a machine polisher at some time.
The other is restored to like new condition with perfect paintwork.
Which would you pefer?
Obviously the restored one could hide all sorts of nastys but looks fantastic but the one with the "patina" is like me- good body work, especially for its age, but on closer inspection no longer perfect (
)oh, and they're similar prices
Edited by stuartmmcfc on Friday 14th June 23:07
)Personally I'd choose the original one, bit IMO there's fors and against in both
Regarding the original one, I think there's something satisfying that most of the car is how it was, containing original parts from the factory, most of it will probably be of better quality too as modern parts, which were probably used in a resto aren't generally such old quality as original parts, plus as original rustproofing was never great, so internal box sections may need checking. One thing I've personally found is on an original car, pretty much every but, both or screw will be seized solid!
As for a restored car, most parts should be new so mechanically it should be fairly reliable, however electrics and such could still be patchy depending on the quality of parts used, the retired car probably would be a better drive as all bushes etc would be fresh and most mechanical bits would have been built to finer tolerances that the originals, rust should be less of a problem but all of this depends on the restoration, restorations seems to be a very wide term, some restos can be listed as a full resto but be a pile of crap, whereas others will be better than new, so quality of the resto would be a factor.
This is just my opinion though, others may disagree, but I have 2 MG's, one original, one restored, the restored one is technically better,feels tighter, fresher mechanics etc, however the original has a certain patina and 'feel' that you get with an original car that restos generally don't have, even if it does clonk, whine and fart etc! It would depend on what each car is like though as there are many variables, such as how good was the resto to the condition of the original
Sorry if I've waffled!
Regarding the original one, I think there's something satisfying that most of the car is how it was, containing original parts from the factory, most of it will probably be of better quality too as modern parts, which were probably used in a resto aren't generally such old quality as original parts, plus as original rustproofing was never great, so internal box sections may need checking. One thing I've personally found is on an original car, pretty much every but, both or screw will be seized solid!
As for a restored car, most parts should be new so mechanically it should be fairly reliable, however electrics and such could still be patchy depending on the quality of parts used, the retired car probably would be a better drive as all bushes etc would be fresh and most mechanical bits would have been built to finer tolerances that the originals, rust should be less of a problem but all of this depends on the restoration, restorations seems to be a very wide term, some restos can be listed as a full resto but be a pile of crap, whereas others will be better than new, so quality of the resto would be a factor.
This is just my opinion though, others may disagree, but I have 2 MG's, one original, one restored, the restored one is technically better,feels tighter, fresher mechanics etc, however the original has a certain patina and 'feel' that you get with an original car that restos generally don't have, even if it does clonk, whine and fart etc! It would depend on what each car is like though as there are many variables, such as how good was the resto to the condition of the original
Sorry if I've waffled!
Edited by Dbest92 on Friday 14th June 21:34
stuartmmcfc said:
I'm sure this must have been discussed before but on a personal level I'd like your opinion.
I'm looking to buy a 40+ year oldcar.
I've seen a couple of examples.
One is in original condition. The paint is largely factory paint but there are a couple of places where it's been worn away on the edges of "high points". I'm guessing this is due to over zealous use of a machine polisher at some time.
The other is restored to like new condition with perfect paintwork.
Which would you pefer?
Obviously the restored one could hide all sorts of nastys but looks fantastic but the one with the "patina" is like me- good body work, especially for its age, but on closer inspection no longer petfect ( )
oh, and they're similar prices
It's a difficult one, I prefer the patina, but the bits where some knob has polished through would annoy me!I'm looking to buy a 40+ year oldcar.
I've seen a couple of examples.
One is in original condition. The paint is largely factory paint but there are a couple of places where it's been worn away on the edges of "high points". I'm guessing this is due to over zealous use of a machine polisher at some time.
The other is restored to like new condition with perfect paintwork.
Which would you pefer?
Obviously the restored one could hide all sorts of nastys but looks fantastic but the one with the "patina" is like me- good body work, especially for its age, but on closer inspection no longer petfect (
)oh, and they're similar prices
Edited by stuartmmcfc on Friday 14th June 21:05
Do you remember the recent-ish thread on the blue Marina for sale with 2 miles on it?
This came into the shared yard at work recently:
It's going to be sprayed Harley Davidson matt black and orange which is a great shame IMO, the same body shop
spoiled a lovely old Rover P5 by spraying it in gleaming overly shiny 2k paint recently too. If you're going to paint a classic then do it in Cellulose or whatever IMO.
My classic Fiat:
Evoluzione said:
This came into the shared yard at work recently:
It's going to be sprayed Harley Davidson matt black and orange which is a great shame IMO, the same body shop
spoiled a lovely old Rover P5 by spraying it in gleaming overly shiny 2k paint recently too. If you're going to paint a classic then do it in Cellulose or whatever IMO.
Off topic but they should fix the suspension on that pickup before thinking about applying paint It's going to be sprayed Harley Davidson matt black and orange which is a great shame IMO, the same body shop
spoiled a lovely old Rover P5 by spraying it in gleaming overly shiny 2k paint recently too. If you're going to paint a classic then do it in Cellulose or whatever IMO.
I like the idea of an original, un-restored car but reading some of the comments about seized bolts makes me wonder if a well restored car wouldn't be easier to own. Also, would the original car eventually reach a point where it would need some level of restoration?
Why would you think a machine polisher has been used on the car, 40+ years of hand polishing would be enough to wear the edges away ?
What model of car are you taking about ?
Since every restored car is completed to a different standard and every unrestored car has a different history of use, maintenance and condition there is no simple answer.
Buy what you want.
What model of car are you taking about ?
Since every restored car is completed to a different standard and every unrestored car has a different history of use, maintenance and condition there is no simple answer.
Buy what you want.
mph said:
Why would you think a machine polisher has been used on the car, 40+ years of hand polishing would be enough to wear the edges away ?
You may well be right. The only reason why i thought this was because i had a friend who once did this on an urquattro and I'd hope I'd stop once it was apparent hand polishing was starting to cause this!depends on how much you will use it?
these original cars are fine but from my experience if you use them regularly its not long before you see things looking scruffy. Which is fine, but if you are paying a premium for original - then end up replacing those tasty bits which have inevitably expired once its shown some use, you may as well save the bother and buy restored. Easier not to care then, bits break / damaged, just replace, dont have to be precious. Just IMO
these original cars are fine but from my experience if you use them regularly its not long before you see things looking scruffy. Which is fine, but if you are paying a premium for original - then end up replacing those tasty bits which have inevitably expired once its shown some use, you may as well save the bother and buy restored. Easier not to care then, bits break / damaged, just replace, dont have to be precious. Just IMO
I had the same dilemma when I decided to buy a classic car. In the end I opted for a restored car on the following basis;
- it is more likely to be reliable
- I don't have the mechanical skill to do anything that isn't very simple
- I don't have the time for fiddling etc
It depends on what you want the car for I suppose
S
- it is more likely to be reliable
- I don't have the mechanical skill to do anything that isn't very simple
- I don't have the time for fiddling etc
It depends on what you want the car for I suppose
S
stuartmmcfc said:
mph said:
Why would you think a machine polisher has been used on the car, 40+ years of hand polishing would be enough to wear the edges away ?
You may well be right. The only reason why i thought this was because i had a friend who once did this on an urquattro and I'd hope I'd stop once it was apparent hand polishing was starting to cause this!Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff