Here Here!

[Joloke]

There There!

[Rocket88]

Just after I've taken it to bits..................

[stripped fred]

Wise words there joloke. My mr2 is in pretty good nick but not perfect and i don't want it to be. It's still nice enough that I worry about parking it on the street oveenight so it spends a lot of time in the lockup which is not so convenient. I do try to use it when I can but it's not as stress free as driving my other car. Talking of the 406 I found a scrape on the front corner which must have happened in the last few days. As it already has a few battle scars I wasn't too concerned. A bit of t-cut and leave it at that. Much more stress free!

[dave21478]

.... floorless finish,

 

Mine are usually like that when I buy them.

[dollywobbler]

I had my 2CV restored to perfect condition in 2006. I was terrified of using it at first, as it was just too nice. I was actually happier when it went a bit crusty. Now I'm having it restored again, but perfection is not on the cards. I want to paint it with a brush. 

[mercrocker]

I love it when a car gets to that "comfortable shoe" level.   In many ways its actually harder keeping it like that than it is to do it all over again.  

 

Things I will never spend money on- 

 

Bare-metal respray.

Full interior re-trim. 

Re-chroming. 

 

I reckon that attitude alone has saved me thirty grand across my four cars.   Enough to keep me motoring in anti-consumerist style for the rest of my driving days.

[derskine]

I never go for perfection, I restore them to be structurally sound and rust free but don't spend too much time perfecting the finish.

Even still, I feel uneasy sometimes taking the Cortina out.

[nigel bickle]

My immaculate cars ( yes, I do have a few) are locked in the barn

 

The fun, everyday knockabout ones are out, in use.

 

I rarely restore to immaculate now. It's just not worth it

[HMC]

I do seem to prefer the " lived in" look lately. Sadly these days something that looks a bit rough round the edges avoids unwanted attention that mint stuff often attracts; it's certainly less stressful in day to day use.

[panhard65]

The first car I restored was my Jensen 541 back in 1998 it took 2 years and over £10k to do and did look the dogs danglies when finished. I drove it for a couple of years most weekends then noticed the paint starting to craze (They are fibreglass). I couldn't bear to watch it getting worse so I sold it and just about got my money back. Bloody thing would be worth 40 to 50k now if I had kept it !. Now I just buy something that looks presentable and get it solid and driving so I can enjoy it. I nearly got stuck into another full resto with the Renault Fregate Domaine I had. The car was too good not to do a proper job on, but all the bodyshops wanted stupid money to paint it so it got sold on as it was. All my current fleet need paintwork to make them perfect but I am happy to leave them for now unless they get so bad I have to gaffer tape holes up in the bodywork. If I still have the 204 in a years time then it might get done if I can find a couple of wings for it as 1 front and 1 rear are just starting to go through.

[Station]

 don't want floorless finish,you want imperfections.

 

 

 

 

That's how most of my cars end up.

[Captain Furious]

I don't restore bodywork, for two reasons really, primarily because I absolutely suck at it, but also because things that are too immaculate become stressful to use every day.  But I am a bit of a mechanical perfectionist, I like everything to be running tip top and tend to spend money replacing things to rectify minor faults where others would probably say "fuck all wrong with that mate"

 

Oh, and steering wheels, I have a thing about steering wheels, I had a fairly new modern a few years ago but it had done quite high mileage for its age, I sat in a much lower mileage example at a meet up and couldn't help but notice how much more beautiful their steering wheel was, being fresh matte leather compared to mine which was all shiny.  So I bought a new one at not inconsiderable expense.  Naturally my mates all thought I was a lunatic (and I don't blame them) but its the part of a car you interact with the most.

[mercrocker]

There was a bloke round our way, lived in a caravan and had one of those A35 vans with windows (not a proper Countryman - just a van with glazing).   He was always known to us as "10 coats O'Connor" because he brush painted it every two years.   He was a contractor around the local refinery and chemical plants and you could always tell where he was working by the company colour of his van....   

 

That old Austin seemed to last forever, when you looked up close you could see the wobbed up sills and if something electrical went wrong with it he used to just wire in a replacement, I think it had Mini back lights glassed into the rear wings at one point.   The driver's seat looked like it was out of a Princess 1100 but Mrs Ten Coats just used to wobble about on the knackered old van one.   

 

I think it must have finally dissolved because I saw him one day in a four year old Maxi but I had almost left school by then so he had a good few years out of that A35.  I often think of Ten Coats and his van when I tinker with the Cowley.   You don't see much of his kind these days but there are a few on here, I think!

[Bren]

My SD1 needed so much work that I had no choice but to go the whole hog - new sills meant that the front wings had to come off etc the whole thing escalates.

 

The car is now solid but will need repainting - sadly £1.5 - 2k seems to be the ball park figure. I cannot imagine how many hours I spent cutting and welding.

 

Would I do it again? No. Life is short and there is more enjoyment to be had driving than restoring. Plus I would rather spend time with my family.

 

My advice? Unless you are handy with a pot gun avoid anything that needs lots of paint as you will pay dearly nowadays - assuming you can find someone who just doesn't want to do smart repairs.

[jonny69]

Comfortable shoe is a good analogy to my cars too. Immaculate cars have their place but for everyday use you really want something with a bit of scruff on it so you don't have to worry about it. Particularly with interiors on older cars. Mine are both near 50 years old and I don't want the worry of really having to look after something that has survived in such good condition for so long. I'm going to wreck it eventually. As soon as you step into that territory the practicality of things starts to go out the window.

 

Edit: but on the original point, I spent years doing the work on my Anglia and I simply don't have that time any more. That's why I paid to get the bulk of the work done on the Ami and I can concentrate on driving and running maintenance and improvements.

[alf892]

I don't get that a restored car is show off or scene.........some right shit gets restored by determined or mad people just because they love the car. Your statement just smacks of the inverse snobbery I reckon.

 

And if we must classify surely autoshite is a scene too?

 

TLDR: Why the fuck does everyone have to pigeon hole everyone else's vehicle? Do your own thing and be happy

[Jifflemon]

I'm content to do both; I've a couple of dailys that i maintain, and I've a full blown restoration to complete.

 

However, once complete, I'll be more than happy to have it as a daily. If it gets a dent, so be it, if it gets scratched, so be it. Would I be annoyed? Probably, but they're cars, not some sort of precious ornament that you need to hide away.

 

As I mentioned in another post, I budget to run a car; My budget may be higher than someone elses, which means I can afford to do more than they can. That doesn't mean I should judge them for not maintaining their car to MY standard.

 

Just enjoy the damn things and stop worrying.

[sierraman]

I used to spend hours fixing tiny problems like s scuffed but of trim or replacing stuff like springs with OE parts. Now I just spend time and money making sure it's reliable and fairly presentable. On a £500 snotter I wouldn't fit a pair of Sachs springs for example I'd just chuck the cheapest ECP had to offer on.

[billyboy406v6]

My cars are mechanically sound and bodily challenged, they are there to be driven and earn money. I had a mint low miles Volvo V70 a while back and was paranoid about clean shoes and where to park etc, etc. I feel restoring a car and driving said car are two separate parts of the same hobby/pastime, each to their own.

[omegod]

I wouldn't have the finances to fully restore any car completely but have become quite skilled at refreshing a decent example with time and care you can source or repair all the niggly cosmetics on a budget. I do get a bit OCD but stop short of full blown paint jobs or retrim's. Last one was a neglected scirocco that I spun round in 4 weeks and managed to make a very healthy profit on. Looking for a 190e that's in the right price and condition range to wield my skills on next 

[danthecapriman]

Both is good with me.

 

I like old unrestored cars or old unrestored cars that have and show the signs of gradual repair (like mismatched paint and panels). My Granada comfortably sits in this category. I've considered doing a resto on it before, but I actually like it's old, worn and battered looks. Reminds me of the ones I saw when I was a kid!

 

But, there will inevitably come a point where a car is so worn and in desperate need of repair that you either have to do something to bring it back or get rid of it.

This is why I'm happy to have my Capri bare metalled and given the full treatment. It will wipe the slate clean again and the cars good to go for another 40 odd years, in theory!

For me, making a car mint again will require a lot of care and attention, but gradually over the years it will start to pick up scratches and bits of rust here and there again but it's unavoidable with old stuff.

Not only that, but I like working on my cars, it's all part of the fun for me. I enjoy making up little panels and welding and cutting out rust on the Granada, and Capri before I decided to get it restored fully. I also like doing my home camper conversion to my Transit.

[captain_70s]

I'll never restore a car properly, but it depends on the car.

 

I want cars that are usable, reliable (as possible) and safe (as possible). I give not a solitary shit about the appearance of my Dolly 1850, I want the 1300 to continue looking presentable but I'd not have it bare metal sprayed or anything, I'd just put a lot more time/effort in to DIYing it. If it got to the point where I needed to do so much bodywork it'd need shit tons of paint it may become worth the hassle of completely stripping it down though.

 

Hell, people at classic car shows are always pointing out the 1300's doors and wings aren't quite the same shade, there are dents in the doors and that the paint is quite thin in places etc and that's my "pretty" car!

[gordonbennet]

Its my Mrs who refuses to have the bumpers and lower door panels repainted where twunts have hit her Scooby Outback in various car parks, it now looks like the car you should avoid parking next to which suits here fine.

Off to Walsall monday to have a Stainless exhaust made and fitted at MIJ, sooner spend the money on keeping it reliable and running well than on prettying.

 

Spent far too much on the bloody Merc 124 coupe, had it around 14 years now and i daren't add up what its cost, certainly more than the £9k we paid for it at 6 years old, over £3k and probably knocking on 4 in the last 2 years alone...trouble is where do you stop.

[purplebargeken]

I agree with Jo to a point. It's nice to see a fully restored car and I am very keen to see how a certain blue Vauxhall on here turns out. I used to go overboard on all kinds of stuff. Only the other day I decided that I was just going to make the new Toledo nicer in some ways but leave the hell alone in many other ways. I spent too much time doing and not enough time driving. Enough is enough.

[cort16]

Life's to short to get them perfect as long as you can actually drive them now and again without them blowing up or you dropping through the floor who cares.  Saying that, I've not mastered that either.

[Parky]

I like to see a clean car in decent nick but am not obsessive like some of the Detailing World blokes. There will never be 57 coats of imported Peruvian Weasel wax on my car for example.

 

However if you like to keep your car in decent condition, it is downright impossible if you ever take it anywhere as so many people just don't give a shit about other people's property. Every mark and dent on mine can be traced to shit behaviour by other people, none of whom honestly gave a shit. And that's sad.

 

Ultimately they are bits of mass produced tin with a round bit of rubber in the corners so we shouldn't get too obsessed about them. Hard to be philosophical about it when your new car gets its first dent/scratch after a week though!

[doobietoo]

I just like cars.... older ones mainly but some moderns are ok too. My favorite ones are in the "why haven't you scrapped that yet"  category, Not bothered if they are shiny or dull but dull is easier to live with. Like many others on here my favorite way to go is to complete running gear and structural restoration but leave the body as it was bought... Oh and saying about that first dent/scratch I backed the latest PT into a pile of bricks backing it out of the drive of the house I bought it from ....

[Snipes]

I tried to do a Silvia S12 project in works car park over the course of a spring and summer. Poured loads of money and effort with various upgrades n what not only to loose my storage and run out of steam (financially and emotionally, not just with the car too). Sold it on at a loss and got away from cars for the past few years.

If I buy another project car it won't be until I've bought a house and have enough space to keep it off road and under cover and have another car as transport.

 

My girlfriend and I take each other to Michelin star restuarants for birthdays etc. We love it.