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How do you decide?

A

abrahamfh

Active Member
I have come to a fork in the road where I need to start going through what I have and deciding what can be salvaged and what needs to be replaced. I know that each individual item needs to be thought of individually for they all require different attention. In general, how do you decide what to restore and what to replace?

A few examples

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Good question. I have come to conclusion that I am going to try to salvage as much as possible. I am trying to get creative on some things so they don't look bad, but don't cost me an arm and a leg. My pocket book doesn't allow $300 and $400 items at a drop of the hat.
 
First I have to say wow what a cowl...... I'm to used to looking at N.Y. Cowl vents,or should I say the general area where they used to be. I'd look at how you're building the car and how you plan to use it. If you're going full blown trailered concours you'll be doing and spending alot more than if you were building a daily driver. I'd say that heater box looks good, I'd clean it up install a new seal kit,heater core,and plenum and you're good to go.
 
Abe, I have spent a lot of time and money going through my car and replacing repop crap with NOS parts where I can. It is expensive, but it has taught me what many already know. In most cases, repop = sh!t. If you can repair/salvage an original part, it will likely be better than a repop part. That is just my .02.
 
Abe,
How do you decide? Very simple. Once you have hot chicks and plenty of cold beer set up in the garage, you invite me over to help you decide.

But until hell freezes over, don't get to involved with too many items at this point. I believe your goal is to strip the car down to metal. Mentally focus on items such as the cowl, floors, etc. When you get bored and tired, then you can go back and go through the bolt on items.
 
Take a look at Charles Turners blog, his attention to detail is amazing, they way he restores a part to factory appearance is awe inspiring. For me, when I was putting the car together I knew what I wanted. If I could refinish it or make it look good enough I used it, if not I replaced it. My door panels are original to the car. The chrome trim is a little pitted, but I can live with that. My interior door handles are the same way, but my exterior handles are repops. Do I wish I had the extra coin laying around to have the originals rechromed, yup. Did I replace the faded original carpet with new, yup. Its all about your goal for the car and your budget. Make a list of stuff while your building that you want to some day replace, use it for your x-mas list. Every year my mom asks what I want and I send her a list of about a dozen small parts, door lock knobs, rubber grommets, window cranks, emblems, nut/bolt kits etc. These are the little things that add up really quick.
 
I would say that any original part that you can save you will thank yourself for later.

Some repop parts fit ok but I've come across a number of them that fit like crap.

I've carried on with original parts even though a few of mine have some minor pitting and things of that nature.

Under the hood very little is original and I don't care since that's the way I built it but on the interior, etc I would say go original whenever it's reasonable to do so.

By the way, your cowl looks amazingly clean / rust free compared to some I've seen.
 
I agree with the comments everyone has made. My car has original trim which isn't show quality but it fits. I do have a repop rear bumper and exterior door handles. My original bumper has been sandblasted and when I get around to welding the bolds in and painting it, I will put it back on. The door handles work but not like original handles. When I find some decent handles (not perfect but okay) I will swap out those too. Just like Ko67 says, I am getting rid of repop stuff when and where I can. If you don't mind the extra labor, use what you have until you find better and swap it later. They make fun weekend projects.
 
"tarafied1" said:
If you don't mind the extra labor, use what you have until you find better and swap it later. They make fun weekend projects.
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+1. I do not have the tools and skills to do many of the things that others here can do. However, I can take off and put on most of the " bolt on" parts of the car and so can you. Restore an original part if you can, replace it with a repop if you want to and replace it with better original part later if you want to. I am learning that these cars are never really done.
 
"rsalway" said:
Good question. I have come to conclusion that I am going to try to salvage as much as possible. I am trying to get creative on some things so they don't look bad, but don't cost me an arm and a leg. My pocket book doesn't allow $300 and $400 items at a drop of the hat.
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I hear ya, I would say I have a similar mindset, just wanted to make sure I was going about it in a balanced way.

"The Kid" said:
First I have to say wow what a cowl...... I'm to used to looking at N.Y. Cowl vents,or should I say the general area where they used to be. I'd look at how you're building the car and how you plan to use it. If you're going full blown trailered concours you'll be doing and spending alot more than if you were building a daily driver. I'd say that heater box looks good, I'd clean it up install a new seal kit,heater core,and plenum and you're good to go.
Click to expand...

My goal for the car is to have it become the official once a week or twice a week driver. No trailors for Fred, maybe even as much opentrack time my wallet can afford. Im glad to hear your thoughts on the cowl, I wasnt sure and am relieved.

"ko67" said:
Abe, I have spent a lot of time and money going through my car and replacing repop crap with NOS parts where I can. It is expensive, but it has taught me what many already know. In most cases, repop = sh!t. If you can repair/salvage an original part, it will likely be better than a repop part. That is just my .02.
Click to expand...

Repop equals Repoop, thanks Kevin. I havnt purchased anything at all for Fred yet, kind of feel bad but I dont think we are quite there yet. So repops are that bad? Yeesh, thanks for the heads up, so, not throwing anything away is key.

"cmayna" said:
Abe,
How do you decide? Very simple. Once you have hot chicks and plenty of cold beer set up in the garage, you invite me over to help you decide.

But until hell freezes over, don't get to involved with too many items at this point. I believe your goal is to strip the car down to metal. Mentally focus on items such as the cowl, floors, etc. When you get bored and tired, then you can go back and go through the bolt on items.
Click to expand...

No girls allowed in the garage. LoL! Thanks for the keeping the eye on the prize talk. I guess I do have a tendancy of getting a little overwhelmed and start freaking out a little. Once again thanks for slapping me back on track. I should really focus on planning Fred's floor surgery by outlining the bad metal and start cutting.

"Fast68back" said:
Take a look at Charles Turners blog, his attention to detail is amazing, they way he restores a part to factory appearance is awe inspiring. For me, when I was putting the car together I knew what I wanted. If I could refinish it or make it look good enough I used it, if not I replaced it. My door panels are original to the car. The chrome trim is a little pitted, but I can live with that. My interior door handles are the same way, but my exterior handles are repops. Do I wish I had the extra coin laying around to have the originals rechromed, yup. Did I replace the faded original carpet with new, yup. Its all about your goal for the car and your budget. Make a list of stuff while your building that you want to some day replace, use it for your x-mas list. Every year my mom asks what I want and I send her a list of about a dozen small parts, door lock knobs, rubber grommets, window cranks, emblems, nut/bolt kits etc. These are the little things that add up really quick.
Click to expand...

Where can I find Charles Turner's blog? Thank you for the words of wisdom, I do enjoy checking out photographs of your ride for inspiration. I appreciate you sharing the good info, and will keep it in mind for sure. I like that whole making a gift list. LoL

"RustyRed" said:
I would say that any original part that you can save you will thank yourself for later.

Some repop parts fit ok but I've come across a number of them that fit like crap.

I've carried on with original parts even though a few of mine have some minor pitting and things of that nature.

Under the hood very little is original and I don't care since that's the way I built it but on the interior, etc I would say go original whenever it's reasonable to do so.

By the way, your cowl looks amazingly clean / rust free compared to some I've seen.
Click to expand...

So it seems that if a original part can be salvaged someway somehow, DO IT. Thanks everyone for your great advice.
 
The answer depends on your personal expectations and how deep your pockets are. What level of fit, quality and functionality will make you happy and not break the bank? A lot of folks are content with a $99 Nordan bumper on their car. Others want the fit and quality of an OEM Ford part. It's simply choices that an owner has to make, there is no right or wrong.

If you'd like to know what my recommendations are, I would say restore as many original parts as possible. Don't get drawn into the temptation of ordering everything out of a catalog. With some legwork and leveraging resources, a high degree of original parts can be restored. A lot of times, the cost to restore parts can be less than an NOS replacement or maybe even an aftermarket replacement.

I would strongly encourage you to map out what you want your final goal to be and most importantly, figure out how much you want to spend. Having a defined goal and a path to get there will save you a lot of frustration later on.
 
you might be able to fix that cowl with some por-15. If I were you, get an inspection mirror and look at the 'valley' around the top side of the cowl hats. I did that with my car, and was satisfied it was ok (I should dig up pictures) and buried the cowl in 3m clear weatherstrip sealant. (my cowl looks new compared to yours).

I suspect budget will drive / limit your plans so good old manuel labore will find you learning more than paying. Do you have a spending plan?

The window stuff - keep it, save your bottles and cans and get it re-chromed at a reputable place, the rest are easier trade space....

I said lots of nothing but I bet you get the idea.
 
Abe,
As mentioned last night, contact GTSCODE as to how he prepared his cowl. Since you have those drain plugs on the side, I can envision you using a flexible wire/wand with a sponge or flat brush. Stick it through these drain plugs to coat the floor of the cowl. You would also come in via the top hats. As suggested above, you might get real good using Por15.

Patching in sheetmetal - Abe do you have 220v in the garage? Meaning a dryer outlet? Depending on if you reconsider the ban of hot chicks in the garage, I might be talked (persuaded) in bringing the welder over for some serious zappin'.
 
Craig, that is EXACTLY what I did - I fed a vacuum line zip tied to a coat hangar thru the access plugs on the sides of the cowl, to 'flow' the sealant across the cowl. The vacuum line was placed on the end of the tube of sealant.

I did a search and located the stuff I used to coat the cowl, and it's this.

mediawebserver


However, my cowl was pristine compared to the pics Abe shared. you're going to need to neutralize that corrosion prior to coating it.
 
"caspian65" said:
If you'd like to know what my recommendations are, I would say restore as many original parts as possible. Don't get drawn into the temptation of ordering everything out of a catalog. With some legwork and leveraging resources, a high degree of original parts can be restored. A lot of times, the cost to restore parts can be less than an NOS replacement or maybe even an aftermarket replacement.

I would strongly encourage you to map out what you want your final goal to be and most importantly, figure out how much you want to spend. Having a defined goal and a path to get there will save you a lot of frustration later on.
Click to expand...

Good advice, I will definitely try to salvage all that I can.

In regards to the budget, I kind of don't have one. I figured since I will be handing this car down to my son I would just take as long as it took to save up for whatever money the next step would require.
 
"cmayna" said:
Abe,
As mentioned last night, contact GTSCODE as to how he prepared his cowl. Since you have those drain plugs on the side, I can envision you using a flexible wire/wand with a sponge or flat brush. Stick it through these drain plugs to coat the floor of the cowl. You would also come in via the top hats. As suggested above, you might get real good using Por15.

Patching in sheetmetal - Abe do you have 220v in the garage? Meaning a dryer outlet? Depending on if you reconsider the ban of hot chicks in the garage, I might be talked (persuaded) in bringing the welder over for some serious zappin'.
Click to expand...

I updated my post to show how I did it. I still have some of the pieces if you want them Abe the scrapper and rod are yours!
 
Also don't throw anything away!!!! I agree with others nothing like restoring something to look awesome but not everything can be saved.
 
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