It is interesting that there seems to be 2 schools of thought as to wwhich
way to look at these old beasts.
Example: I have a Devin special that was raced extensively in the SF region
in the early 60's..It won a bunch of races too. I have the trophys. It won
the 1964 regional championship in D modified. It was then parked by the
builder-driver, Roy Domke. It sat for 30 years and then I bought it. I've
done all the safety stuff. Magnaflux things, upgrade the belts, fuel cell
etc. But cosmeticaly I have left it alone. And here is where it gets
interesting. Half the folks that see the car say " what ever you do don't
paint it. It has so much patina and really looks like an old race car". The
other halfs says "when are you going to paint that thing?"........
Now for sure the paint is old and tired and it sure would look good with a
bright and shiney new paint job.But it also would loose something. The "old
worrier" look. All the old battle scars would be gone. And once patina and
originality is gone you can't put it back.
There seems to be a growing interest in Preservation rather than
Restoration....
I can see both sides too, which is why some days I think about having it
painted, but most other days I'm convinced I should leave it alone...
Jerry Burr
57 Devin Special. The black one in need of a paint job at Monterey this August
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