>Concentrate first on getting your car on the road, not concours. My
>snake sat in the garage for about ten years while I put off starting a
>ground-up restoration. It was only after a complete brake failure made
>the car undrivable that I discovered the wisdom of this approach. At
>that point I decided that the time had come so I started ordering parts
>and began restoring pieces related to the brake rebuild. $1000 worth
>brake parts and a year later I realized what a mammoth and expensive
>undertaking a complete restoration was going to be. Life is too short
>and, if you're like me, you have lots of other commitments, timewise,
>that can't be ignored. Getting my car back on the road has been the
>most effective incentive I've had since I first starting thinking about
>restoration. You'll have the pleasure of driving your in the meantime,
>yet have a constant reminder of things that need to be done. Your
>priority list will evolve naturally. Don't get caught up in
>shipwright's disease or you'll be discouraged to the point of giving up.
>There's nothing wrong with disassembling again later to take care of
>things you would like to have done the first time around that weren't
>show stoppers.
>
>Hang in there!
>
>Roland Dudley
Excellent advice and I might add that there have been too many folks
that start the ground-up restoration project on a usable/drivable
car and end up several years later selling it as a "basket case."
If it is usable/drivable when you first get it, then do so and you
just might be more than happy doing repairs and restorations on the
vehicle one section at a time while getting all the joys of ownership
AND use.
Cheers,
Bill
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