Restoration Vs. Making it Go

Over the past five years I have restored my Triumph TR250 and recently I bought a BMW 2002 with passable paint and interior and I have been making it run and fixing various bodge jobs done by the DPO. I have to say, getting away from the merits of each car, the I enjoy the "running restoration" more, although I wouldn't really call it a restoration, more of an effort to clean it up and make it work. It is just a lot more enjoyable to me than the tear it all down and put it back together thing. A big part of it is the instant gratification. For example, the shift linkage on the BMW needed new bushings and was very wobbly, so an hour getting greasy under the car (actually a lot longer than that, because I did other things as well, but trying to illustrate my point) and suddenly the car shifts much better, is more fun to drive, and I feel satisfied that I got something done, and next weekend (or more likely the next night) I do a new job, a nice balance of work and reward. The full restoration (and I know some of you guys seem to be able to, miraculously to me at least, tear down a car and put it back together in six months or so) involves hundreds if not thousands of hours in the garage for me before I get to drive the car again. I suppose some of the preference is going to be based upon whether you are happy having a driver level car, which runs good and may look decent but not great on the outside or under the hood.

My other issues with the full restoration, I am my own biggest critic, if I paint a car and there is a flaw, and there inevitably is, however small, it drives me nuts, if someone else painted it, well, I just shrug and tell myself I didn't paint it, or maybe even a self congratulatory, I could have done it better. The third thing is the restored car is of course a bigger worry, door dings and scratches and such being a major concern. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice restored car as much as the next guy, but for me the journey is a little more enjoyable on the running restoration, and please don't be offended, just expressing my opinion, and hoping others will express theirs as well. One of the other reasons I post this is because a few years ago in the hobby there seemed to be this trend or school of thought that was saying the only thing really worth doing with a car is a full body off restoration. I think thanks to Hemmings Sports and Exotic and more appreciation of original cars lately that trend may be going back the other direction a bit, just my opinion, and expressing to express it and also wondering what others think.

I'm probably even farther over; my modus operandi is to fix it until it runs, drive it until it breaks and then fix it again. The driving is the real reward for me, not the restoration process or even owning a show car.

But it takes all kinds, and some folk prefer other aspects. I can respect that, there is room in the hobby for all of us.

I'm on the other side of this coin,and my way takes a whole lot of them. I bought this SP250 in 1969 & put about 100k on it before a broken tooth ring&pinion forced me to park it...for about 15 years. So I decided to do a running restoration, which turned into a frame off. But, I was able to find a running SP to drive for the 4+ years of the restoration so I sort of had the best of both worlds. And more importantly, it gave the restorer a car to use as an example of what was an original build. This car is not original any more, because in the last 50+ years there have been too many advances to ignore if one wants to make a safer, more comfortable, and dependable driver. We've put about 4k on it every year since the resto, and enjoyed every trouble free (mostly) mile.

I'm in the running restoration camp with my '69 Sprite Mark IV. I know this car will never be a show winner. My goals are 1) Make it safe to drive 2) bring all the mechanicals to a high state of tune and 3) get the most luster that I can from the existing cosmetics. I take on one major project per month on the car and then do a bunch of minor ones. Of course, each project seems to reveal two or three other items that I want/need to address. My to-do list is getting longer, not shorter!

It really depends on if you are an "owner" or a "driver".I like them both, but the cost of the 2 are very different. I love to look at cars that are perfect(well almost perfect) but would be afraid to drive one. If I had the time,talent and money for a full resto. I might think differently, but for now I'm in the fix-drive mode.

I like the return of the popularity of "patina" on classic cars. I have a beater 72 chevy truck in need of paint and a few rust repairs. When I saw restomod trucks with custom paint jobs with artificial rust spots painted in, I crossed paint job off my list of to dos!

I can understand the interest in originality and earned patina. I have a problem with painting fake rust spots though.

i wish i had the know how and the wherewithal to do a frame off restoration if for nothing else the satisfaction of having a car my hands put together and in the way i want it done. i dont think i would ever go 100% stock as i would want to make it "mine" as of now im have enjoyed the constant improvements with the immediate gratification of a daily driver but hey, im a marshmello now kind a guy anyway

oh, and no painted rust... its not that hard to earn anyway.

I have a pretty nice MGB street car and didn't feel the need for another real nice street car.

As things happen, I bought a run-down '73 Midget parts car very cheap just for the engine and trans (for my Spridget race car).

After pulling the engine/trans I noticed that the tub on this '73 parts car was pretty solid. But interior, top, bonnet, bumpers, wheels and lots of other stuff was trash.
I already had a PILE of Spridget spares (including a decent top and a 35 HP 948 engine from an Austin sedan). So I put all my bits together into this car.
The only thing I bought was new tires ($230 for 4) plus paint, paint-hardner, foam brushes and a roller from Tractor Supply. I
figure I've saved it and the next owner can restore it properly.

It's slow as molasses but runs fine. About a 40 footer if you don't squint too hard.
It's a car I don't really need and didn't intend to "save", but sorta fun to built a car for (almost) free out of all the spare bits you have laying around.

~More about it here~

that look really nice!! well done, one more car saved.

I am kinda stuck between the two. I had a car in the family that was neglected to the point it needed lots of body/metal work so it turned into a frame off restoration. I don't think it will ever be a show winner but probably a lot better than it was back in the day.

On the other hand I picked up a parts car, so to speak, I was looking for parts and ran across a second car. It is almost opposite of the first car. It is a very solid body that needs to be mechanically sorted but I think that will make a really great driver.

So basically right now I have two non working TR3s but that ain't bad. I have goals.

But first I need to add some garage space to be able to do as I please......HOA approval on the plans is done..just have to figure out how to pay for the addition.

cheers,

Aeronca65t---I think the Sprite looks great, and I agree, although I didn't have a lot (any) spare BMW parts around, I was lucky and most of what it needed cost little or no money to fix, it is fun to get something back on the road with a little sweat equity and ingenuity.

The running restoration is good for enjoying yourself as it progresses.... but I found that there were a couple of things where parking it for a while and good strip down were the only way of doing the job properly. So... it's good to have a couple of cars, or three, or ...

I don't know where I'm at in this line up! I built a 72 MGB, took 17 months and it came out pretty nice. Now I've got this 55 TF and I want to drive it, but every time I work on it,(full restoration), I do a little more. I think the 17 month thing is out and more like 17 years it seems. That's the problem when you like both sides of the coin. A lot of coffee and a shrink helps! :abnormal: PJ