Restorations

["Brinkmann, Gerardo V" <brinkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are 2 options both with pros and cons:

1 - Buying a fully restored car : Almost certainly going to be the cheaper
route and
you get instant gratification. However you have no clue as to the quality of
the restoration. 
All you see is the paint - how much rust/filler is there lying under the
paint ?
All you see are the valve covers - but what 's underneath them?
Is the frame straight ?

It's always handy if the previous owner has documented the restoration.

I have looked at car advertised as "restored", but upon closer inspection
have notice that all it meant was that the car had a new paint job and the
interior had been vacuumed. No work had been performed on the engine
or the suspension

2 - Restoring a car : Takes A lot longer, take lots of time and works out
to about 30% more expensive and you will never get the value back 
(unless the vehicle appreciates dramatically). However - you know exactly
how well
the restoration was performed and can take enormous pride in rebuilding a
car.

I totally restored a car 3 years ago, starting out with a bead-blasted shell
and working out from there. Every single component on the car was either
rebuilt or new. It took me 3 months from a bare shell to a road going
car. However I did not see my wife for that time period. I worked
on the car 5/6 hours every night, and spend  week-ends confined to
the garage - just taking nature breaks and food breaks.

However 3 months later I had literally a brand new car which I built.

gerry

------------------------------