The Unrestored Car Appreciation Thread

[drhach]

Now we're getting somewhere. 

 

Great picutres so far. 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by drhach (see edit history)

[George K]

4 hours ago, edinmass said:

 

I think the term unrestored or maintained is a great title.......as "original" is over used, very abused, and often indicates poor restoration done years ago appearing as factory work. There are too many "original" cars that are past toilets that have been reworked upwards and improved to "original".

Here’s the book Simeone and Collier wrote regarding preservation. I see Collier has published another book recently on the topic. I will reserve commenting about them.

[Steve Braverman]

I like to think of my 1932 Franklin as “unrestored.” The paint seems original, according to my expert, parts may have been touched up. The wheels have been powder coated. I had the bottom of the front seat redone, but the rest is original. I rebuilt the engine a while back. I drive it a lot. 

[Steve Braverman]

My dad’s 1923 Franklin Demi-sedan has had work, but is unrestored. The black paint was redone in the early 60s. The green and interior are original. The engine was rebuilt in the 60s. It’s a very pristine example. 

[alsancle]

This has been in the family longer than me.   Definitely not restored, but not exactly a preservation car either.

 

 

[gossp]

This 15 Dodge Brothers has had a rough life, but a well documented one from new. Every panel on it has been in a collision of some kind at some point, but despite the dents, tears, and creases… is very solid. I don’t intend to ever restore or get rid of it. I often call it my first 15 Dodge… I don’t have a second… yet. 

[alsancle]

This is in the collection of a big time restorer.  I fell in love with it at Hershey a 4 or 5 years ago when it was for sale there.  I think it has something like 9k original miles on it.

 

https://lbilimited.com/offerings/167199/

 

[Matt Harwood]

58 minutes ago, alsancle said:

This is in the collection of a big time restorer.  I fell in love with it at Hershey a 4 or 5 years ago when it was for sale there.  I think it has something like 9k original miles on it.

 

https://lbilimited.com/offerings/167199/

 

 

His whole collection could be in this thread.

[Fargoguy]

Our 49 Kaiser traveller would satisfy this thread requirements. Known history since new, minor paint touch ups. 

[edinmass]

2 hours ago, alsancle said:

This has been in the family longer than me.   Definitely not restored, but not exactly a preservation car either.

 

 

That car is visually offensive……..like you mug. It’s old, worn, tired, and not particularly attractive……….let me guess, you bought it because it reminded you of your first girlfriend? 

[edk]

41 Saratoga.  Nicest original I’ve had.  Original paint and interior.  Break in sticker still on the windshield.  Just over 14,000 miles 

[alsancle]

5 hours ago, edk said:

41 Saratoga.  Nicest original I’ve had.  Original paint and interior.  Break in sticker still on the windshield.  Just over 14,000 miles 

Love it!

[Brass is Best]

7 hours ago, edk said:

41 Saratoga.  Nicest original I’ve had.  Original paint and interior.  Break in sticker still on the windshield.  Just over 14,000 miles 

That dashboard is art! Here is the one in our 47:

[philip roitman]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow some great and beautiful cars in this thread. Thanks for showing them.

This is my mostly all original, Mostly all (90+%) original SCO Paint, Zone Office ordered 1973 Stage1 Sun Coupe.

74,000 miles. All original interior, Engine compartment has been cleaned up. 2022 AACA Senior Grand National.

Numbers and info in my signature below.

The car has far exceeeded my expectations on the show field with AACA and a few Concours.

I drive the car all the time on tours/cruises, etc.

Edited January 27, 2023 by philip roitman (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

Not mine but nice survivors sold in farm auction 4 years ago, interiors were quite good no mice ,first sunshine they saw in maybe 75 years, I have seen two since driving untouched other than maintenance

[60FlatTop]

 

This image certainly caught my eye.

 

I had to roll it outside due to a new arrival and shortage of space. Mine is a long snout job, too. I'd bet that's about where the similarities end.

 

[arcticbuicks]

Chevy Nomad , 1980 with 34000 miles original I found last summer one owner , original wiper blades and two tires , it was for sale local for $3100. For a month and no one bought it so I took a chance , and i sold online to Paris France and got nearly $60k USD…….so I was a little bit satisfied

Edited January 27, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

@arcticbuicksI can smell the late 70s, 80s GM truck & Van interior from here.  I think it was combo of plastics and vinyls but they had a particular smell, our new 76 Chevy pick up had it as well as a few others I was in at the time.  Those vans were almost as cool as a vette when I was in school.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

Yes lol it had the plastic smell or whatever it is that is gassing off …….maybe not healthy , the Nomad vans were kind of factory to compete with customized vans and came with seat that made into bed and no rear side windows etc

[JerryKay]

My 1967 Mustang Unrestored.  New tires and new battery.

[1912Staver]

Years ago  { mid - later 1970's } I worked part time at a GM Truck dealer. Big volume of pickup and van sales. Being on the West Coast of Canada almost all of them were shipped out of GM's Ontario plant by rail. There was a substantial amount of freight damage repairs.  Lots of bumper and grill replacement. Both from damage and from customers wanting to switch the plain , base model painted bumpers and grills for the optional chrome. And quite a bit of repainting , everything from small touch ups to whole 1/4 panels. 

 Were these still original ? Brand new with 3 or 4 miles on the clock.

Also, although rare it was not unknown for either a engine or auto trans to have a major failure with perhaps as little as a few hundred miles of use. Warranty replacement units in a vehicle that most people would call brand new. Rarely abuse, just the odd one out of thousands that something went wrong with.

Edited January 27, 2023 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[JamesR]

Here's another picture of my '61 Mercury Monterey sedan. Original paint, upholstery interior and engine. Not perfect, but neither am I. It runs beautifully, though, and I love driving it. I bought it probably 18 years ago and have no plans to sell it.

[STEVE POLLARD]

 

 

 

 

I like seeing the old service stickers in the door jams...it just adds to the documentation to the vehicle !  I still have one on my '69 Impala from 1980 from the Dealership where it was purchase from new....

[coachJC]

Here is a pic of our 29 Model A. First pic is of when dad first bought it as was bringing it home in 1962. And the second is at hershey in 2017 going for it's HPOF. The engine has since been rebuilt as the babbitt was starting to fall out of the original engine.

[JamesR]

13 minutes ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

 

I like seeing the old service stickers in the door jams...it just adds to the documentation to the vehicle

 

When my old wagon got a driver quality repaint, I had them leave the jamb alone so that the documentation would remain intact. (There had been some bodywork done on the car so it wasn't an original untouched finish.) They tried to paint it as close to the previous color as possible so there wasn't a huge mismatch.

Edited January 27, 2023 by JamesR (see edit history)

[Brass is Best]

19 minutes ago, JamesR said:

 

When my old wagon got a driver quality repaint, I had them leave the jamb alone so that the documentation would remain intact. (There had been some bodywork done on the car so it wasn't an original untouched finish.) They tried to paint it as close to the previous color as possible so there wasn't a huge mismatch.

My 1956 Cadillac has some great service stickers:

[reoinwi]

I have a couple of REO's unrestored. A 1927 Flying Cloud that was made into a "parade car"  no interior left but complete otherwise.  The other is my 1931 Royale. All original paint, not sure if the interior was redone at some point or not.  Could be original to the car.  I am getting the Royale mechanically ready to drive and will leave it alone cosmetically. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by reoinwi (see edit history)

[Matt129]

My 1953 Studebaker Champion is completely unrestored, it has been partially repainted at some point, and the interior has been partly redone in the 1970s, but other than that nothing other than basic maintenance has been done to the car. Heck, it still has the original spark plug coil and it runs great 😂. I mean it needs some work, but it’s a solid car. 

[SC38dls]

Isn’t saying my car is partly original the same as saying I’m a little pregnant 😳

dave s

[Steve_Mack_CT]

1 hour ago, SC38dls said:

Isn’t saying my car is partly original the same as saying I’m a little pregnant 😳

dave s

Respectfully I don't think it is that simple Dave.  

If one changes rings and decarbons an old flathead, but paints nothing, did they restore the engine?  If so where is the line, anything past a tune up?

What about a mostly original paint car that had a parking lot fender bender and a fender was painted

And so on.

I think it is more like defining obscenity, you know it when you see it sort of thing.  

Otherwise, 1/2 or more of what has been posted here is not unrestored, I still think this thread nails it.  Maybe survivor is a better term or largely untouched.  

 

[SC38dls]

Steve, I agree with a lot of your reasoning but if a car has been wrecked and fixed even a fender bender it doesn’t fit the definition of original. Heck my 38 has original paint except where I repaired it. My headliner is original as are my door panels but I made new covers for the seats. Therefore my interior isn’t original. It’s partially original but that’s not this thread. Forget the repaint on my front end as I used laquear paint, forget the seats as I used period correct cloth. I did an engine rebuild, you can’t see any new part but it’s still been done! So it’s not original or as the title of this thread is 

“unrestored” it’s had restoration done to it. If you fix it isn’t that restoring it. Half the cars shown here should not be based on that fact. They even say what they fixed in many of the responses. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these cars are amazing saves and as you said maybe a better word would be survivor. Start a new thread call it survivor cars or minor modifications to exterior/interior cars. I know it’s silly to even say anything but sometimes it just gets to a guy. Sorry if I upset anyone about their mostly original out of the factory cars that aren’t really original. I’ll refrain from further comments and just enjoy the thread. 

dave s 

Edited January 27, 2023 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

13 minutes ago, SC38dls said:

Steve, I agree with a lot of your reasoning but if a car has been wrecked and fixed even a fender bender it doesn’t fit the definition of original. Heck my 38 has original paint except where I repaired it. My headliner is original as are my door panels but I made new covers for the seats. Therefore my interior isn’t original. It’s partially original but that’s not this thread. Forget the repaint on my front end as I used laquear paint, forget the seats as I used period correct cloth. I did an engine rebuild, you can’t see any new part but it’s still been done! So it’s not original or as the title of this thread is 

“unrestored” it’s had restoration done to it. If you fix it isn’t that restoring it. Half the cars shown here should not be based on that fact. They even say what they fixed in many of the responses. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these cars are amazing saves and as you said maybe a better word would be survivor. Start a new thread call it survivor cars or minor modifications to exterior/interior cars. I know it’s silly to even say anything but sometimes it just gets to a guy. Sorry if I upset anyone about their mostly original out of the factory cars that aren’t really original. I’ll refrain from further comments and just enjoy the thread. 

dave s 

I think you hit the nail on the head! Lots of beautiful, unique cars and every one better than mine! That is why I stated in my previous post that the idea is fantastic, however there needs to be a 'level of originality'. Much the same as cars are graded 1-5. IF 1 being as it left the factory to 5 being a complete repaint and numerous repairs made over the years. Dave for the sake of argument I would say your car is a -2. Being mostly original with the exception of the unfortunate fender bender.

[8E45E]

6 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

Yes lol it had the plastic smell or whatever it is that is gassing off …….maybe not healthy , the Nomad vans were kind of factory to compete with customized vans and came with seat that made into bed and no rear side windows etc

I thought that was the Chevrolet "Van Sport" and GMC "Gaucho" van, to compete with Dodge's "Street Van" and Ford's Econoline "Cruisin' Wagon".

[yachtflame]

A bit of a side tangent but I also restore mahogany speedboats from the 1920’s and ‘30’s. In that world there has been the ongoing argument of what is original and what is restored. If a 90 year old boat has had one plank replaced every year as opposed to replacing 90 planks at one time, is there a difference? I know of a professional restorer with good cred that had a boat lifted off the bottom of a lake after sitting there for 50 years. These boats have numbers stamped into most frames and braces. He took what was left of the boat and keeping several frames each, made three “original boats” from the carcass. He did let each buyer know exactly what the situation was but are there actually three “original” boats there?

 I don’t think these arguments are ever going to be decided to everyone’s satisfaction!

[8E45E]

4 hours ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

 

 

 

 

I like seeing the old service stickers in the door jams...it just adds to the documentation to the vehicle !  I still have one on my '69 Impala from 1980 from the Dealership where it was purchase from new....

 

I also like seeing the ORIGINAL dealer sticker on the back as well.

 

Craig

[SC38dls]

12 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

I think you hit the nail on the head! Lots of beautiful, unique cars and every one better than mine! That is why I stated in my previous post that the idea is fantastic, however there needs to be a 'level of originality'. Much the same as cars are graded 1-5. IF 1 being as it left the factory to 5 being a complete repaint and numerous repairs made over the years. Dave for the sake of argument I would say your car is a -2. Being mostly original with the exception of the unfortunate fender bender.

Thanks Kerry but a minus 2 is probably too high of a rating. Now a minus 22 would put it in the range of my body repair capability. That minus sign being lower than the 5 on you scale. 
dave s 

[Walt G]

Everyone has their definition of original, restored etc. If a car has had its tires replaced since new, new battery, new radiator hoses and belts brake jobs, even a front seat cushion bottom replaced due to wear is it restored or is that just maintenance. Every car has had to have some kind of "fix" to keep working due to deteriorating components that it had when it left the factory. There is no set of rules as to how much or how little. But there are a lot of opinions . Unlike doing research for history, if you go to the original publications, oral history of people who were there etc. that is as close as you get to fact. If you do not check the source and when what you read was written you may be reading and possibly believing what really is - myth. Sometimes intentional but sometimes not.  This happens in non automotive history as well , I have an interest in both and am involved or was heavily involved in local, state and national organizations or societies and the same situations exist. Maintenance to me to keep a car viable and working is not destroying the "originality". A repainted spot on a car body or fender is not making it no longer original or the right to claim that.

[Dave39MD]

My 1939 Chevrolet my grandparents bought new and gifted to me in 1972. It bears the scars of my grandmothers vision and my teenage driving. I wasn't trying to keep it original but rather just like they had it so I resisted the repaint and engine swap suggestions. Still runs good.  The 31 Buick has 44,000 miles and has had the hood repainted and other touch ups. 

 

Dave

[yachtflame]

19 hours ago, edinmass said:

That car is visually offensive……..like you mug. It’s old, worn, tired, and not particularly attractive……….let me guess, you bought it because it reminded you of your first girlfriend? 

Ohhh, that’s harsh!

[alsancle]

56 minutes ago, yachtflame said:

A bit of a side tangent but I also restore mahogany speedboats from the 1920’s and ‘30’s. In that world there has been the ongoing argument of what is original and what is restored. If a 90 year old boat has had one plank replaced every year as opposed to replacing 90 planks at one time, is there a difference? I know of a professional restorer with good cred that had a boat lifted off the bottom of a lake after sitting there for 50 years. These boats have numbers stamped into most frames and braces. He took what was left of the boat and keeping several frames each, made three “original boats” from the carcass. He did let each buyer know exactly what the situation was but are there actually three “original” boats there?

 I don’t think these arguments are ever going to be decided to everyone’s satisfaction!

 

Here is my unrestored race boat from the 1930s.  Let it go to a better home a few years ago.  Spent 15  years trying to identify the builder.