How far gone is too far gone?

[vinnie01]

Lost an entire morning looking through the classics left to die thread and it got me thinking. People still restore VW T2s that are held together by the paint and hopes and some of the pictures of cars seem in better condition. So my question is, How far gone is too far gone. Is it dependant on the value of the vehicle or is there a hypothetical point where you have nothing to restore?

[Dave Hedgehog]

if its worth enough im sure all they would want is a nut from the original car

there was a documentary about the auto union racers that where recovered and restored, one of them looked totally crushed and rusted to oblivion, looked brand new when restored

[dbdb]

There does seem to be a point for very expensive vehicles where it becomes difficult to argue it is the same car. For everything else, then it is a personal decision. I have seen an XJ40 scrapped for a noisy wheel bearing and bald tyres in the past. I thought that was sad. I guess that's the opposite to restorations of the minor remains of something of high value, where the final version looks to contain only one original nut. Just make sure you remember which one it was!

[vinnie01]

Dave Hedgehog said:

if its worth enough im sure all they would want is a nut from the original car

there was a documentary about the auto union racers that where recovered and restored, one of them looked totally crushed and rusted to oblivion, looked brand new when restored

oo that doc sounds interesting have you a link or is it likely to be on you-tube>

[Dave Hedgehog]

vinnie01 said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

if its worth enough im sure all they would want is a nut from the original car

there was a documentary about the auto union racers that where recovered and restored, one of them looked totally crushed and rusted to oblivion, looked brand new when restored

oo that doc sounds interesting have you a link or is it likely to be on you-tube>

it was quite a few years ago,

i think the story went like this - there was some controversy over the recovery of the cars, a chap had found a couple in a shed in some part of russia and had bought them but could not get permits to transport them after some time (years?) they cars vanished or where seized by the local authorities/mafia and vanished. A pic turned up of one in a partial state of restoration, then many many years later they reappeared finished.


i think, i am sure somebody here knows the proper story

[aka_kerrly]

^ sounds about right.

Wasn't one of the Auto Unions supposedly a ex race car with a specific chassis number. When it came up for auction there were doubts over it's authenticity and it was pulled subject to further checks.

[Yertis]

There's probably a formula which is A, probable selling price minus B, where B equals cost of purchase plus cost of restoration plus cost of sale, for dealers and speculators.

For me the formula is (where can I put it X how many years do I think I've got left X I should be spending money on the pension/house/other half-finsished projects) minus (I've always wanted one of those X it would be fun to restore.)

[TooMany2cvs]

There are a few classics for which you can buy EVERYTHING needed to rebuild from no more than a V5C.

[oliverb205]

If it is rare/valuable enough then surely nothing is too far gone. The Lindner Nocker E-Type was rebuilt using virtually all the original bodywork despite the fact that it had been rolled into a ball 40 years previously. If someone wants the car enough and has the money then pretty much anything is possible.

Oliver.

[Slidingpillar]

oliverb205 said:

If it is rare/valuable enough then surely nothing is too far gone. The Lindner Nocker E-Type was rebuilt using virtually all the original bodywork despite the fact that it had been rolled into a ball 40 years previously. If someone wants the car enough and has the money then pretty much anything is possible.
Oliver.

That car is pretty much the ultimate example of how far can you go in saving things if money is no object. Many everyday types of car can be 'restored' by the use of available parts with not much more than a V5 to 'prove' originality. Over half the sheet metal in my 1930 car is original, but I know that no professional restorer would have spent the time I did to patch, fill, and reshape things and certainly not to the extent I did, all repairs to steel are in steel; there is no filler.

The answer to the question is dependant on your expertise or size of your cheque book. Pretty well anything is possible, the only real question is: how much do you want to spend?

[mph]

I know of several cars that have been restored using nothing more than a V5C as a starting point

[kev b]

Some classics have been restored into three cars using selected numbered parts from one original, putting the cat among the pigeons years later when one is put on the open market.

Correct me if I am wrong but when that Bugatti was fished out of the lake in Switzerland having been dumped half a century ago its chassis number was being used on another"genuine" car in Japan.

If this story is true then you can "restore" a car from absolutely nothing as long as you can find a few original or well faked spares from the same type of car.

The people who race multi million pound Ferraris etc. aren't that afraid of crashing as no matter how much their car is worth it will be rebuildable for around £250k max as long as it did not burn to the ground. Lesser cars on the grid will cost the same to repair, a much larger proportion of their value.

[Slidingpillar]

Years ago I met someone with a Bentley 4.5 (proper Cricklewood one) that even then was insured for two figures as it could be rebuilt for less than the worth of the whole car should it be stolen.

[lowdrag]

From another topic. Final estimate of cost when rebuilt, £230,000. Value? Somewhat less.