Is it time to rebuild?

[BOBBYR]

Hi Gang,
Getting my 65 A.H.,has been really a great adventure up to now.I've been taking it out for a short drive every night and the reaction from the people that see it is outrageous.I am having a blast with this car!!!Last month,I took off for a weeks vacation and spent most of it working on her.She cleaned up like a rare gem.To see what she looks like now compared to when I got her,is truly amazing.The thing that really has me rattled right now, is I do have a frame that needs to be blasted and painted to insure it's future.I am not thrilled at the idea that I won't be able to drive her for a long time.I don't know how you guys do it. Anyway,I guess I'm just looking for some moral support.If anyone wants to push me over the cliff,I would like to hear your story on how you came to your decision.As always,thanks for your input,but lets not have too much fun kicking the dog.
Bobby R

 

[Randy_Gay]

Of course it's up to you but I would recommend a rolling restoration. Pick a manageable project each winter and do that, keeping it on the road for most of the year. It's no fun working under the car, but that's better in my opinion than trying to restore it all at once.

 

[mrdibbles]

Hey Bobby-
If your Healey cleaned up really nice why restore it at all? Is it original or an older restoration that's already been done? If it's original then I'd be tempted to just do mechanical and small cosmetic restorations. Original is only original once. Patina is hard to fake.

If though you're heck bent on a restoration, which I can also understand the desire to do, then it comes down to $$ which way you go. Are you doing some of the work yourself or farming it all out to an "expert". If you're going to have someone else do it, or the lions share of it, prepare yourself for cost overruns, delays, arguments, sleepless nights, and all that.

Look... I used to be one of those guys that had to have everything "perfect". I have had cars restored to concours and I've taken national prizes for the work done (by others). It's expensive as heck and the moment it's completed it is a pain keeping it that way. In fact I am sure that once that car was completed it wasn't me that owned it but rather it that owned me.

Anyway long story short... cars are meant to be driven. Life is short. Save yourself some stress and do as much as you can yourself and do it as a rolling restoration. There is no such thing as "perfect". It has taken me a LONG time to come to terms with this simple reality.
Matt-

 

[JodyFKerr]

Hey Bobby,

A fair bit of what I'm going to say echoes the earlier statements. You need to define for yourself whether you bought your car to drive it or restore it. Surficially they may seem the same, but there's a great difference between the two.

From your description so far, it sounds like the car is fairly well sorted and driveable. That provides you with the choice on how to proceed. I'd recommend that you go over your car in detail and write down everything that isn't working well, do the basic analysis of how well everything that does work functions. When you have that list together, it should give you a roadmap on how to proceed.

From there you really need to then decide whether you can deal with having the car off the road for what could be many years. I know that I couldn't deal with that on my first restoration, and ended up (having started the restoration on the car) buying a better sorted car that I could drive around in during the restoration. (The final goal was drive one, restore the second, then when the first restoration was done, restore the second one.)

As mentioned in a previous post a rolling restoration (or in-situ) is a good place to start, rather than tearing the whole thing apart. You can use the list you made to find the areas to target. Fix those, and keep up on the vehicle maintenance. That way you are restoring the car and ensuring that it remains driveable. The best of both worlds.

I'm certainly not against taking the car down to it's base parts an doing a nut and bolt, but if you'd rather be driving it, then drive it.

Jody

 

[tahoe healey]

Depending on your age, a year with out driving could be a long time. One of these days the DMV or your health could put a stop to your fun. I'm wishing for 20 more driving years at my present age of 62. I don't want to miss one of them. But if you are in your 30's or 40's go for it.

 

[Cutlass]

The first question I would ask is whether there is any saftey issue with the frame that requires restoration. Next, will continued driving exascerbate issues that will be more espensive to fix later? If you've got a frame that is structurally unsound, likely to fail, then don't drive the car. If the frame is sound, then why do it? But do remember that rust is progressive. It is hard to stop even with a rotisserie restoration, but impossible otherwise.

 

[TomFromStLouis]

What is it about the frame that concerns you?

With disassembly and reassembly, I don't know how long it takes to blast and paint a frame, but surely there is a month or more in the winter in NJ when the road salt keeps you from driving anyway. If you plan your burst of activity right, you may not miss a single road day. I feel your pain though. These things are way more fun than I thought they'd be....

Here in the Show Me state, we like to see pictures of new and improved 65s...

 

[nevets]

Some good advice here. It's an easy decision when the car is a complete wreck. I'm often amazed at the terrible condition of some of the cars that are restored. It's a trickier proposition when the car is a driver. Personally, I would continue enjoying the car and maintaining it for as long as possible, and hold off on a restoration until one or more major systems needed rebuilding, such as engine/transmission, wiring, suspension, brakes etc. And even those things can be handled without a complete tear down. I have not done a restoration, but reading the restoration stories of other Healey owners makes me realize how big an undertaking it is. I have a lot of respect for those who have done it successfully.

 

[BOBBYR]

Hi Guys,
I am alittle surprised at your answers.I thought everyone would be telling me to jump all over this rebuild.Every post makes alot of sense and I can see this is going to be a tougher decision than I thought.The one I liked was from Jody. I know a guy in Philadephia,that seems to have a pretty good supply of MG's.Interesting concept.
As for the frame on my A.H.,somewhere along the line,someone did a repair on the floors and it looks like his welding skills could have been better.He also made his own panels.Every time I get under the car and look up at those repairs,it lights my fuse.
Like I said,your answers really have me thinking now.I hope everyone is having as much fun with your cars as I am with mine.
Hope all are well,
Bobby R

 

[gblawson]

We live in interesting times!... I have seen lovely examples of 'concours' cars displayed at various shows and am amazed at how 'showroom' people can rebuild a vehicle... some down to the 'overspray' from various paint applications or undercoating, etc. I used to assume the car had been dragged out of a field, and the only way to get it in drivable condition was to do the total 'restoration'!
I then remember buying a brand new '60's British Car' and before driving out of the dealer's, one would visit the 'accessory' display and buy a wood shifter (all one could afford after 'signing' for the car). After a bit, one would get a wood wheel, and driving lights, and racing stripes, etc, etc. The car would now start to take on 'character'. Each owner would make 'personal' changes, and as the years went by, a certain 'Patina' would develop. These cars today, are 'jewels'.... they are over 50 years old, and with care and maintenance, run and give such joy! To lose that 'look', I feel is such a shame.
Unless 'all' the various systems on the car: drivetrain, frame, body, suspension, etc are having 'issues'... constantly letting you down, I'm all for the rolling restoration... drive them, fix what is needed when needed, and enjoy it! Choose one thing a winter to rebuild, and keep it on the road!

https://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/td.html

 

[Randy_Gay]

Repairing the floors would make a good winter project. On the right side you'll have to pull the battery cable and brake line, seat, tranny cover, and carpet. On the left is typically fuel and electrical (at least on my car), and the exhaust system. As long as it doesn't spread too far it's doable. You could even do one side at a time just in case it got a bit out of hand. I've been there where a 3 month project turned into 3 years. My vote, not that it counts, is to keep it on the road.

 

[Randy Harris]

Hey Bobby-
If your Healey cleaned up really nice why restore it at all? snip, snip..... Original is only original once. Patina is hard to fake.......snip, snip, snip

Look... I used to be one of those guys that had to have everything "perfect". I have had cars restored to concours and I've taken national prizes for the work done (by others). It's expensive as heck and the moment it's completed it is a pain keeping it that way. In fact I am sure that once that car was completed it wasn't me that owned it but rather it that owned me.
Matt-

Best and trueist post I've read in ages. I couldn't agree more with Matt. Do the floors if they're really hitting you over the head, but you don't have to do a complete tear down to fix them. Floors are a straight forward and common repair on Healeys. Take it one project at a time and before you know it the car will be the Healey of your dreams.
Cheers
Randy '66 BJ8

 

[judow]

My Agatha looks great and she was a frame-off restoration - not by choice as she was in various and sundry pieces. But and here's the important thing - she is first and foremost a driver as often as possible and yes she has a few bits of paint that has been chipped and she isn't like she was five years ago and that's fine with me and Agatha. The pure pleasure of driving her is beyond words. Life is fleeting and I intend to enjoy it to the max... So friend, !