during the upcoming winter I am planning to do an underhood restoration/detailing on my 49k unrestored original '76 Electra 225. My question is this: can it still be called unrestored, since all I will be doing, is giving the engine,and other components a fresh coat of paint. the rest of the car will not be touched. any thoughts??
Unrestored is exactly that.........unrestored. If you start cleaning up items, by repainting, replating, quote "freshing" things up, then the car can no longer be considered as a "surviver" car as far as judging is concerned. With survivor cars the Judges look at patinas on original parts etc. They don't care if there is some rust present etc, as long as it has not been replaced or repaired, and still has some of the painting/plating present then it is OK. Many owners of these "survivor" cars go to great lengths to find unrestored original parts that are in better condition to replace what they have. That way the cars still look un-molested and original. When you start replacing and or repainting parts the cars move from a survivor car to a "driver". I don't know what your intentions with the car are, but as far as "showing it" the above is how it is. Duane
here is a recent pic of the engine. I have done nothing to it, except clean some road grime off it. all color coded vacuum lines, and it has all the original date coded parts on it. it has a few minor paint chips, which I have left as is. I assume you can replace "routine maintenance" items, like belts, hoses,etc. should I make signage, stating that the car is a true survivor, and that it was left as is,to show it's originality?
JJ asks, "should I make signage, stating that the car is a true survivor, and that it was left as is,to show it's originality?" You can do whatever you want, like I said it all depends on what you intend to do with the car. If you want to keep it as a "survivor" then you shouldn't change anything. Including belts, hoses etc. Changing the "routine maintenance items" is the first thing the judges look for. If you want to "freshen" things up, so it is more dependable and make a "driver" out of it, then go for it. (Normally people have the most fun with this type of car anyway.) Personally I like totally restored cars, that look just like they rolled off the lot, including the factory "screw-ups". However, I do enjoy looking at the un-restored cars, so I know exactly how to build my restorations. (They are a great source of knowledge, and should be treated as such.) I believe there is room for everything from an unrestored car, to a Concours car, to a fully modified car, and a street racer to a full race car. It all depends on what you want to do. Duane
thanks for the info Duane. I think I'll just enjoy it for what it is, a low mile well preserved Buick since it sat for 10 years before I bought it, I deemed it necessary to replace the radiator and heater hoses for safety reasons. tires were replaced, with the same brand as it came with when new. I'm proud of how nice it looks for it's age, there aren't many cars like mine left anymore,thanks to demolition derbies.
