Patina and survivors

A good discussion of patina and survivor and original cars is in this month CMS. I would think that very very few collector automobiles are sufficiently preserved and important to be in the high value survivor category. Those that garner the big bucks more than likely deserve to be there. Most other collector cars don't and a correct restoration is appropriate. I look at my Fiat. It was painted and repaired 15 years and 50,000 miles ago. I preserve it. It still drives well with regular maintenance and is perfect for me. But... I won't expect $48,000 for it as a survivor, either. That is for sure.

Cheers Ron

Thanks, Ron. There was also quite a, um, lively discussion about this over on the GRM board a week or so ago: linky. It is a subject that inspires passion, to say the least.

Margie

Yeah I liked Tim's take on patina in the CM article, I thought his reasoning and justification were perfect. My simple opinion on leaving patina in its place, the car has to be so special and rare it's like the Mona Lisa where you don't want anyone except Da Vinci himself touching it. Most of those cars belong in an art museum. Who knows, maybe some day I can go see a Delahaye at the Louvre after I stop by the Mona Lisa...

This is something that I've been in a dilemma about for 15 years, and the article was very useful in helping me with that. My Mustang has the original paint, but it is thin and worn through in some places. Pretty good patina, except for some unsightly dents and scratches.
The car was totally original when I bought it, but I was more of a hot rodder back then and quickly made mechanical mods and sold the old parts, so now the car itself is far away from being stock and original. It's not a special car, other than being a very early '65 A-code fastback with power steering, brakes and A/C. It's kind of rare as far as '65 Mustangs go, but since they made so many of them, it's not rare at all. My thinking lately is that since I've upgraded and refreshed almost every other part of the car, a good respray is probably in order. But it's gonna hurt a little bit...

In your case, I'd probably go to one of the big national Mustang shows and talk to a few dealers to get a feel for how a respray may affect value. I could see it going either way. Might depend on how easily the car could be returned to 100% stock even if they aren't the stock parts it originally came with.

Patina and others opinions...... why I moved away from the Mustang/Shelby/MCA/SAAC

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

Yeah, it's only the Mustang people that care about that stuff.