Page 24 - Aug 2022

Fact oid: Paul Russell and Co., t he rest orat ion firm wit h
more concours wins t han any ot her firm in t he world,
recent ly released t he est imat e of labor cost s t o rest ore a
Are You Really Ready for a Project ? MBZ 300SL. The job t akes a minimum of 3,500 hours or

$280,000 in labor alone- not hing else included. Concours
ribbons don't come cheap. This is a mult i-year project .
Momma Cass may have passed from the planet in
1974 yet one of her best known hits, Dream a Little
Dream of Me, could be the unofficial anthem of
anyone who has ever had stars in his or her eyes
when the barn find before him or her is
re-imagined as the dream car it could be.
Welcome to the world of restoration, where the
costs, the pitfalls, the disappointments and the
surprises, not to mention the time it takes, may or
may not in the end be worth the money and time
you've spent . It is acknowledged that there is no
price that can be put on personal satisfaction and if
you don't believe that ask any plastic surgeon that
specializes in elective procedures designed to take
your perfectly good original nose, made for
breathing, and turn it into the nose of your favorite
star for looks.

Let's put the stardust and the rose colored glasses
collector's car? Should the time come to
aside and look at restoration with clear vision. You
sell, do you want to make back whatever
bought a project; what are you going to do with it
you put into restoring it, plus make a little
and why--in other words, what's your motive?
profit? Will you be content with breaking
- First , evaluate your own skill levels and the even or losing some money?
skill levels of your friends. Include in this first - Sixt h, how do you plan to use your car in
question do you have a place to do the work the future--the operative word being use. A
or will you need facilities beyond your home car, after restoration sitting on a battery
garage? keeper is not in use and inactivity is actually
- Second, when your skill levels let you down harmful to its long term well -being, unless
and your friends have moved on, do you you just want to look at it.
have the resources to bring in the
Let's Start with What 's Available. There are
professionals to finish the job or clean up
essentially four levels of Classic Car Restoration
what you've already begun?
with commonly understood meanings:
- Third, do you have the patience to see the
job through, whether you're doing it or 1. Restored to Driving Condition
paying someone else to do it. 2. Restored to Street Show Condition
- Fourt h, what's your purpose in restoring the 3. Restored to Show Car Condition
car? Do you want to go to Pebble Beach or 4. Restored to Concours d'elegance Condition
turn a few heads at Cars & Coffee? Do you
Concours condition means that the car is being
plan to actually drive the car or just go out
returned to its original condition as intended by
and admire it in climate controlled storage?
its maker during the year that it was produced.
- Fift h, is your project a potential investment
Modern parts may be used to replace failing or
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