To over-restore or not?

[Don S.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

Jeff-- You have to remember where you asked the question. NCRS has a lot of purists(and so they should) and you will not get an unbiased answer. I see a lot of cars go through auctions and the awesome over restored cars usally get higher prices. (Beauty overshadows originality).Figure out what you want and do it. You can have it both ways . Restore to original but do a nice paint job and chrome refurbishing. These can easily be redone by a new owner if they so desire and you will have a car that looks good as well. I myself do not want to own a junky looking car even if it was all original.--this is my 2 cents.

[Mike M.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

its been my experience, in judging c-1 and c-2 vettes that have been over-restored, that the deduction is minimal. make it the way you want it. mike

[Tom O.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

I've built/restored many cars (some weren't Corvettes) and I did them all to the highest standard. I didn't care if they were "over restored". Why go to all that work to make a car equal to the sub-standard level as a mass produced car? I've had a few people comment that my 60 makes the one they bought new look like a POS. I look at it like building a house. Why build to code (the minimum standard that won't fall down under it's own weight) when you can build a superior product? Do what makes you happy. A half azzed job just doesn't do it for me.

Jim

I think that Jim has summed up what Ihave been thinking and a lot of you have been saying, ". . . why make a car equal to the sub-standard level of a mass produced car." And I would add, mass produced in the 50s and 60s.

Our judging manual gives points for overspray and adhesive slopped around, etc. I am now acquiring parts to restore my '59 and I have long pondered what to do. I would like to get a Top Flight award when done but I hate making it look like the sloppy, sub-standard product that was produced 50 years ago.

I think sometimes way too much empathasis is placed on "originality" just because quality standards were once way too low at the factory.

[Roy B.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

its been my experience, in judging c-1 and c-2 vettes that have been over-restored, that the deduction is minimal. make it the way you want it. mike

And that is the reason the original character is gone and the few people that restore their Corvette original and DRIVE them are passed by.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

And that is the reason the original character is gone and the few people that restore their Corvette original and DRIVE them are passed by.

ROY
I agree. I think that some people are so set on getting a 99% that they will change the original parts that were installed at the factory because the judging manual said it's not right. Al Grenning told horror stories of original 65 396 cars that people redid the engine pad #'s because the first ones had the engine build date stamped to the right & then the SN was stamped right by it at Assembly. It's not NCRS's fault. It is people wanting Cookie cutter 99% cars. TOO BAD
KEN

[Roy B.]

Re: To over-restore or not?

ROY
I agree. I think that some people are so set on getting a 99% that they will change the original parts that were installed at the factory because the judging manual said it's not right. Al Grenning told horror stories of original 65 396 cars that people redid the engine pad #'s because the first ones had the engine build date stamped to the right & then the SN was stamped right by it at Assembly. It's not NCRS's fault. It is people wanting Cookie cutter 99% cars. TOO BAD
KEN

I again have to agree , money is no object to get some award, then there never driven ,shown once or twice a year, and after they get all the award stuff they can sell it.The people that really enjoy a Corvette drive them (and they can be 100% original but never enter a judging.) Those are keepers !!
And as you know I'll now get hate mail, I don't care what some one does with their Corvette ( it's their Corvette-do what turns you on) but don't look at use that drive them as sloppy
Sub-standard pieces of junk because it don't have a $20,000 paint job and NCRS hasn't given use their a provale

By the way here is my sloppy sub-standard pile of junk