Patina

[P50]

Mr Rodd mentioned on the Frisky thread about how things are better left alone.

Trouble is at what point do you restore?  I know it's a matter of taste.   My Trident had the original gellcoat. But is was scratched, cracked, faded and had osmosis.  It looked utterly horrid.  Do it had to be done.  Likewise my P50 has had a very poor resto so is being done again.

My Scootacar when removed from a chicken shed was an utter wreck.. 

But the KR is largely original as in interior and alloy trim etc.  It's had one not bad paint in the 80's and is now showing plenty of blemishes.  I think I prefer that condition the best.  Plus you're not afraid to use it!

Original is king but in 2011 finding a usuable original car is pretty much impossible. Micros were built to be used and were cheap and the new finish was I suspect not A1.

I have an original Trobike and that will never be restored!

             

[Rob Dobie]

"PATINA"
Isn't that a Peel P50 with a Triumph scooter engine in it? 

[richard]

i have never had the pleasure of buying a car with any originality left , when i restore i intend to add some of that period feel - whether i do or not remains to be seen   that doesnt mean just adding every period accessory though it is tempting .
sympathetic materials and paint  can really help. some paints are just wrong . red vinyl i find very hard to get correct ,i woldnt use most that are available , being a cherry red rather than the original 50's 60's red which is quite orangey. again ray dilks has got that right, his paint and vinyl on the scootacar look just right . did anyone take a photo at NEC

[Stuart Cyphus]

 Not at the NEC, but here it is at Malvern...

[daughter of bamby]

we get a lot of cars through our workshop that were never that great a fit and finish when new. customers tend to want a restoration that is far better than when the vehicles were factory fresh. while i am happy to carry that out, i often get vehicles in that i feel should be recommissioned rather than "over restored", each to there own but it is only original once!!!!!

[g-o-g-g-o]

Hi
    I noticed my "numbers Trojan " in the back of Stewarts photo of the Frisky, although it was painted in the seventies I have tried to restore it the first day it was painted - it has taken me a lot of time and effort to get it right - and the people at Homebase - they matched up the paint for me - it is not perfect but's that's the way that I like it - It has had all new lights windows and rebuilt engine and brakes but that's just for GO and not SHOW.
  I also have an original Velam Isetta and a completely original Grey Trojan - which is used almost every day.
                                                                                                                                                                     Mike

[Bob Purton]

The three cars I restored were all wrecks so I didn't have to make any difficult decisions about painting them. Still the other way of looking at it is that a restored car will  get its own patina ten or twenty years later, something to look forward to! One thing I cant understand is why people feel obliged to preserve modifications done to vehicles even when its a simple thing to put back to correct spec, they often say because its part of its history, I guess we are all different.

[richard]

know what you mean. g-o-g-g-o-s car was different -so completely wacky and it would have been stupid to waste that .

going back to my previous mention of original materials . i am informed by my family that its a very good job my car will be rebuilt as an open two seater rather than replicating the missing hardtop. overnight the ancient roll of felt backed vinyl ,that i intend to line the sides of the car with , has been left in the kitchen and my god it smells awful ! but i feel sure its an original flavoured awful anyway 

[Big Al]

Trouble is at what point do you restore?  I know it's a matter of taste.   My Trident had the original gellcoat. But is was scratched, cracked, faded and had osmosis.  It looked utterly horrid.  Do it had to be done.  Likewise my P50 has had a very poor resto so is being done again.   

Could have bought an Andy Carter shell for the rebuild. When do you restore and when does that restoration become non-original!

'It can only be original once' is most appropriate. Only the owner can decide but having done so has to accept the result of the efforts will pass general scrutiny up to and including sale. This was the problem with the old way concourse was done. An expert in the marque would pick the best, most original car. The amount of bitching, cheating and general kerfuffle this caused meant it was dropped in favour of things like the peoples choice. A pretty meaningless trophy other than the pleasure of ones peers adulation of a nice car, original or otherwise. However once again it is a move away from the purity of the early scene at events to the blurred edged world of today and tends to promote inaccuracy in restoration. Is that a problem, being a purist yes, but again I think I am in a minority.

[Bob Purton]

know what you mean. g-o-g-g-o-s car was different -so completely wacky and it would have been stupid to waste that .

going back to my previous mention of original materials . i am informed by my family that its a very good job my car will be rebuilt as an open two seater rather than replicating the missing hardtop. overnight the ancient roll of felt backed vinyl ,that i intend to line the sides of the car with , has been left in the kitchen and my god it smells awful ! but i feel sure its an original flavoured awful anyway  

I wasnt actually thinking of that car but I agree, a true taste of the swinging sixties and well worth preserving.

[AndrewG]

we get a lot of cars through our workshop that were never that great a fit and finish when new.

Mark you, we forget about the transition from handbuilding to real mass production, plus the huge strides in production accuracy that the Japanese taught everyone else.

I was in my local ultra high quality auto trimmer a while back and he was showing me the spectacular mohair hood he had just made for a prewar Alvis.  He knew my interest in things technical and made me measure the length of the doors - more than 1" difference between nearside and offside!  With everything handmade, it wasn't the least apparent, and the doors clicked shut like a Swiss watch, but it was a reminder of what quality did and didn't mean back then.