Page 25 - 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
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 .

Above: A Concours d'elegance qualtiy Rolls Royce

unavailable parts, while a premium is placed on
locating and using original parts whenever possible.
There is a second category of "limited restoration"
available. Preservat ion is the act of maintaining a
car over the years so it remains as good as new. You
can relive the Golden Age of the car you bought as a
project, presuming that it is already in a good state
of repair, by tweaking it to pristine condition.
A third category, and one growing in popularity , is Above: NBCC member Dr. Stickley has an excellent
the level known as Survivor condition or hold the example of a preservation car in his classic Volvo.
line. Here, there is no attempt to bring a project
car brought back to its original condition, because
the car has already fallen below what would be
expected of a car in the preservation category. A
survivor is held in its present state of condition with
emphasis placed on safety and driveability .

A survivor shows its years and usage proudly but
can still be on the road and enjoyed because it is
mechanically sound and dependable to drive. It will
never look any better; it will never look any worse; it
can always be driven and enjoyed. continues on p. 26
Above: NBCC member Mike Long shows what a
survivor is capable of with his 1937 Riley on the road.
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