To Resto or not, How do you decide?

[Bud69]

When trying to decide if a Resto is the best option for your car, excluding personal preference what are some of the factors you use to make that determination? I have a 69 Superbee 383 post car originally blue/blue that has a lot of great qualities and wouldn't take a lot if you wanted to take it to an original car but it's lacking the original motor and fender tag. Currently it has a 383 from a 69 Charger in it and I also have a 69 440 orginal from intake to oil pan with high flow manifolds that I could also power it with. I love the idea of a Resto with modern powerplants but, is there a point where you got to look at the car and say this restoration would be of more value and sense if it was an original restoration? Torn on direction, any advice or wisdom would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[RemCharger]

I would go original. Not only cheaper, but better. IMO

 

[TorRed]

I'm struggling with the same decision, for years I planned on a high performance build, now that the cars 54 years old with all of it's original drivetrain (but no fender tag like yours), I keep thinking how cool would it be to put back to 'mostly' original. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Kern Dog]

I don't look at these cars as investments.
Maybe that is influenced by the fact that I've never owned a rare performance model. If I had some low production model with a rare color and option list, I would have probably sold it to buy something cheaper to build the way that I wanted with no regard toward resale value.
When stock, these cars were reasonably quick, fast and fun but they didn't handle or brake as well as I liked. I prefer a car that is well rounded which includes acceleration, braking and handling on par with modern cars. You can't get there with .90 torsion bars, oil filled shocks and 6" wide tires.

 

[gtx6970]

Really comes down to what will make you happy with it once done

No numbers engine and no tag will take it off the list for most upper money level buyers

I personally like to walk up to an old muscle car and find its now modern hemi , OD trans etc etc etc. To me its the best of both worlds.


That said, to walk up and see basically nothing but an altered shell of an old car dropped on a modern chassis. Not so much

 

[70chall440]

This is all personal preference to be sure as one person will always default to a "as built" restoration whereas others prefer various levels of hotrodding up to and including full blown restomods.

I think to make this discussion better we need to settle on on definitions; a restoration is rebuilding the car back to "as built condition" whereas a restomod is a car that looks like a stock or restored car but has an improved drive train, typically an EFI equipped engine or most notable a modern engine. There is a wide array of vehicles types between restored and restomod not to mention the survivors and full blown customs/mods.

This said, IMO I think that "significant" cars are better restoration projects by which I mean of course Hemi and 6-pack cars but also very odd and unique cars (highly optioned, no options, etc.). The problem is that when it comes to Mopars they are all unique but some are more than others.

Also it comes down to what you like/want. If you grew up lusting after a 69 Superbee then regardless of what it was built as it should be restored to satisfy the desire.

IMO a restomod is the best of all worlds as you get the looks of the car that you love but the drivability of a modern car. I know there will a wide variety of opinions on this subject.

 

[gtx6970]

I don't look at these cars as investments.
Maybe that is influenced by the fact that I've never owned a rare performance model. If I had some low production model with a rare color and option list, I would have probably sold it to buy something cheaper to build the way that I wanted with no regard toward resale value.
When stock, these cars were reasonably quick, fast and fun but they didn't handle or brake as well as I liked. I prefer a car that is well rounded which includes acceleration, braking and handling on par with modern cars. You can't get there with .90 torsion bars, oil filled shocks and 6" wide tires.

You have a car I would love to take a lap in at Willow Springs next year.

 

[Kern Dog]

That was my goal...

 

[gkent]

"resto"s are usually worth far less than the investment. And people will always turn their noses up at anything that's not "numbers matching". So my opinion is to build the car to your liking and your budget - whether it be somewhat original or a full-blown hot rod. If you're wondering why there are so many "patina" cars running around these days, just price a decent paint job !!!

 

[Darter6]

your liking and your budget

When these questions arise BUDGET is the first thing that pops into my head.
Next is "Am I planning to keep the car ?" If so than build what you want.

 

[Runcharger]

It's ownerr's taste really. If the car is a real musclecar (super bee, R/T, R.R. GTX etc.) I like to see them done to mostly stock configuration, meaning original style engine, trans. etc. The less rare of those I'm good with Wheel, header, intake etc. upgrades. I think if you want a newer style engine, seats etc. in a classic car it's better to start with less significant example like a base Satellite, Coronet or similar.
To me matching #'s doesn't have to be a factor, that's GM stuff and I don't care about it, I like to see a Hemi in a Hemi car, I don't even care about date codes but I like the stock components.
On the other hand if a Super Bee comes back from the dead with new sheetmetal over 75% of it's body and the owner chooses to install a 5.7 Hemi and 6 speed into it, well it's better driving around like that rather than sitting in a grassfield returning to earth.

 

[WileE]

It seems it's coming down to one of two choices. A) a somewhat rare, high-dollar, original, numbers-matching, tag & sheet, desirable model. Or, B) everything else. If it's "B" do as your heart pleases.

 

[diesel_lv]

It's all personal preference. Also budget, do you want to daily it, show it, weekend cars n coffee, make a profit, pass it down etc..... my '67 was my great grandmother's car. I wanted it from the 1st time I drove it. Then my grandmother got it and then gave it to me when I was 30. Had it 28yrs now. I daily it, original engine/trans w performance upgrades, modern a/c, discs up front, firmer torsion bars n rear springs, bilstien shocks, throttle body fuel injection etc.... it starts n drives reliably. Stays cool in 125° weather and can tow my jet boat 100+ miles through mtns to Parker AZ in the summer w no issue. So.... it all depends on what "you" want to do with it.

 

[torredcuda]

My Barracuda is a `72 BH car that came with a 318/904 so it`s nothing special and not a factory high performance model so I had no problem modifying it with 340/4 speed, upgraded suspension and other mods. My `70 road runner is a real RM vin with it`s matching 383, came FC7 In-Violet, I have the fender tag but no broadcast sheet but IMO it deserves to be restored at least close to original with the 383/727 bench seat etc.. Seeing yours is a real Bee with a nice blue/blue combo it would be nice restored but missing the fender tag and broadcast sheet makes it kind of a toss up. What I think I would do would be to keep the blue/blue and restore mostly stock but go ahead and put in the 440 and maybe some other tastefull mods.

 

[70chall440]

It also has to do with whether or not you can do you own work. If you are building the car via a checkbook/CC then it doesn't matter all that much which way you are going to go although I'd say going restomod (G3 Hemi, etc.) is probably a quicker way to go as you are not concerned with how things were done originally. A real restoration takes a long time and is very expensive.

Personally I would walk past 50 restored cars to look at 1 restomod at a show. I know what they looked like when new or near new and it is boring. Those are into restored cars typically spend most of their time at a show criticizing everyone else's cars whereas the hotrodder/restomod people are talking about performance, the car actually starts and runs, etc.

Again, totally your car and your call but if you restore it there will be yet one more restored Superbee on the planet, however if you restomod it you will enjoy it far more and have something that is a rolling conversation piece.

Also, restomod'ing it does not mean destroying it, if the fad wears off it can always restored back to an as built condition plus you would have a kick *** drive train to put into something else... LOL

 

[RemCharger]

I think as time moves on there will be less real cars and more hackjobs. Restoration parts will die out.
Ex; if you were a model T guy, would you want a real one or one with an 86 2.3L turbo mustang motor

 

[Kern Dog]

It also has to do with whether or not you can do you own work.

Those are into restored cars typically spend most of their time at a show criticizing everyone else's cars

whereas the hotrodder/restomod people are talking about performance, the car actually starts and runs, etc.

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

It seems it's coming down to one of two choices. A) a somewhat rare, high-dollar, original, numbers-matching, tag & sheet, desirable model. Or, B) everything else. If it's "B" do as your heart pleases.

Nothing rare about my 70 RR but I did her stock appearing but mod original driveline ( high compression big cam head work ) kid in the 80’s and that’s how we built them

 

[blue69runner]

Ok so my runner would have been a bench seat car no console. I wanted bucket seats and console so went with that. It was an original four speed car. 383 motor rebuilt it with a little more hp. 8 3/4 rear end and want to upgrade to 742 one which I have the chunk to do that. Now Bought the car for 7 thou. Lot of sheet metal and other parts bought. Like grill and head light bezels. New side markers. Had to have a new hood. Inner fender wells. Rear outer tubs. The list went on and on. Painted myself and had almost 3 grand in the paint for the car. Mine also no finder tag and had MMC repro. one done for 400 bucks just to fill that hole. Added aftermarket AC. When said and done around 30 to bring the car back to life. Oh also put six leaf 2 and 1/2 recurve spring on the rear so did not have to use air shock to lift the car or shackles. Good luck on the build and sure no matter what you want or do will be your car.

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

Ok so my runner would have been a bench seat car no console. I wanted bucket seats and console so went with that. It was an original four speed car. 383 motor rebuilt it with a little more hp. 8 3/4 rear end and want to upgrade to 742 one which I have the chunk to do that. Now Bought the car for 7 thou. Lot of sheet metal and other parts bought. Like grill and head light bezels. New side markers. Had to have a new hood. Inner fender wells. Rear outer tubs. The list went on and on. Painted myself and had almost 3 grand in the paint for the car. Mine also no finder tag and had MMC repro. one done for 400 bucks just to fill that hole. Added aftermarket AC. When said and done around 30 to bring the car back to life. Oh also put six leaf 2 and 1/2 recurve spring on the rear so did not have to use air shock to lift the car or shackles. Good luck on the build and sure no matter what you want or do will be your car.

Your car your rules I say