crazy question well kinda

For the past 2 months I've been pondering whether to fully restore my 73 or leave it with its battle wounds that it has gathered over the years . I guess my main thing is the cars original paint while not in pristine condition it does give it a certain type of aura. What are the thoughts out there on this

Okay... I'll stick my neck out here. I would say let's take this one step at a time. first clean her up real good

second... 2000 grit sand paper and water...wet sand it

third ....polish and buff it out.

fourth clean the wheels and tires NO NOT THE ETCHING stuff because your too lazy to polish them....:s

Then lets' evaluate what she looks like. I did that to my 67 and been driving it for 7 years as a survivor. She looks dang good until you get 5-10 feet.

If it runs, and you can/want to drive it - drive it!

Tackle the mechanical restoration stuff a sub-project at a time (to minimize down time) and drive it a bit here and there. When it's time to paint it, then be prepared to not be able to drive it for quite awhile.

If you're wanting to do a full-on, tear it all apart and replace everything that's wrong with it including sheet metal, then do yourself a favor and tear it down to absolutely nothing, media blast it and coat with epoxy primer, keep & catalog the good parts (or the ones that need minor restoration and/or are irreplaceable), make a list of the new stuff you'll need, and begin with rust abatement. Be prepared to have a long process of simply working on the car, though.

Don't do a 'phased' approach like I did - you'll find things that need attention as you go along, which will slow down the process when it would've been smarter to just tear the whole thing apart and concentrate on one thing at a time.

Whatever you decide, take your time and have fun. ::thumb::

When I put my 73 convert back on the road in 2005 I left the paint original while I went through it mechanically. I cleaned it up as much as possible and enjoyed driving it. I still got a lot of nice comments and thumbs up driving down the road. By 2009 I had the funds for body work and a great paint job. So clean your up as good as possible and enjoy driving it around for a while.

There are a ton of benefits to cleaning her up really nice and driving, doing the mechanical work as you go along.

a) you as you clean it, you'll find spots that need attention

B) as you drive it you'll discover mechanical issues that need attention

C) you can make a list

D) you can research products

E) you can research prices

F) you can research techniques

G) you can form a budget

HHhhhhhhh you can enjoy as you go along!!!!

If it drives and can be cleaned up I would enjoy it. As long as it doesn't look like a mullet is a per-requisite to owning and driving it. A majority of the these cars I have seen restored ended up sold later and the return on investment was no where near the break even point. We own these cars because we love them and enjoy them. It is easy to lose interest in a project car that takes to long to finish with out the gratification that comes with accomplishment.

Same thing I am doing slowly to my stang. Little bits to improve it and make it run better. Biggest thing I still get to drive and enjoy the quirks that make our cars so special.

Sorry guys but I gotta disagree...you can still get enamel and paint it as original and have a beautiful ride. If the body and paint is not perfect then your only increasing it's value. I personally like 2 stage myself, but if your a purist then you gotta go with single stage. Now if it was a shelby europa, or a boss, that would be different but it's not so make it as nice as you want and enjoy it to the fullest.

Get it running, drive it, paint it when you can. No matter how you look at it you are driving a 40 year old car, that makes it awesome.

When you are inside you can't see the paint.

That's why I like asking questions on this forums. People do respond back . I appreciate all the feedback . I have driven the car and am in the processing of rebuilding the original engine. Right now I have a correct 351 cj engine in it . That runs . I have redone the floor on the drivers side . But not sure where I want to go with it .