A true barn find?
- Thread starter karasmer
- Start date
Y-Blockhead
Well-known member
Pictures would be nice...
Brother Hesekiel
Senior Member
I think I'm envying you for having scored this one. I would prefer a body with that patina over one that has won Fine Points scoring. I would refurbish the mechanicals, the interior as needed, put a new top on, and drive the wheels off it until I die.
1930artdeco
Well-known member
Sure looks like a barn find. Good luck and good find.
Mike
Mike
charles in east texas
Senior Member
That would be a cardinal sin to restore that car. Get it running, mend the brakes and throw an old quilt over the seat and drive it till you die as Brother H. said. Nerver, never do anything more. Charles
BlueSunoco
Well-known member
I'd do the same as Charles and Brother Hezek. That way you could also 'ease' into the hobby and still have fun.
If at some later date you wanted to do a total resto you're already half way there.
If at some later date you wanted to do a total resto you're already half way there.
Joe K
Well-known member
It depends. The measure is "can it be registered." Do NOTHING, replace nothing that doesn't need doing - unless you need it for a registration.
Well, there is an active trade in "unrestored seat cushions." It's hard to sit on a moving blanket and drive the car. One hopes for "original but presentable" in this case.
One respondent along these lines back at the old Ahooga board bought a roadster door from Brookville - since he couldn't find any original door suitable and would meet inspection - and then "aged" it by paint to look like the original door minus the damage.
Mechanically do what you will - but don't touch that patina. Take pix before and after to verify you haven't changed anything visually but restored the operability.
Patina is HISTORY. Once removed, it can never be put back.
Joe K
Well, there is an active trade in "unrestored seat cushions." It's hard to sit on a moving blanket and drive the car. One hopes for "original but presentable" in this case.
One respondent along these lines back at the old Ahooga board bought a roadster door from Brookville - since he couldn't find any original door suitable and would meet inspection - and then "aged" it by paint to look like the original door minus the damage.
Mechanically do what you will - but don't touch that patina. Take pix before and after to verify you haven't changed anything visually but restored the operability.
Patina is HISTORY. Once removed, it can never be put back.
Joe K
45GPW
Member
Those exposed seat springs might need more than just an old quilt over them, unless you've got lots of padding of your own.
I'd replace a few things so you can use it comfortably, like the seat cushions--maybe look for a used seat, like Joe K said, with still-serviceable upholstery.
I'd probably replace the running boards, unless you think you and your passengers can get in/out without stepping on or (more likely) through them.
And along with going through the mechanicals to make sure it's safe to drive, I'd drop the oil pan and take the 61+/- year old sludge out of the engine too.
Nice find.
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
This is not aimed at any one person but think this through. What is the attraction for some people that want to own/drive a worn-out, ratted-out, clapped-out pile of sheetmetal that is passed off as an all original barn find? If you must go thru it to restore the poor braking system, rebuild the tired 'down on power' engine, rebuild the 'ditch-to-ditch steering, and do all these other things to make it safe & reliable, then is it truly a "survivor car" --or isn't really a car that is being used to deceive people as we try to pass it off as something it truly isn't? Now don't get me wrong, I have a true fondness for the truly original Model-As like Tom Boston's Coupe, the late Steve Cicallones' Coupe or Davey Lopes' Fordor that have been cleaned & detailed, but I kinda struggle with how some of the cars are being passed off to the general public as an all original unmolested "barn find" when nothing could be further from the truth. Do we really feel this kind of deception is good for the hobby? What am I missing??
armchair67
Senior Member
I agree with the guys saying go through the mechanicals so it's safe and reliable, maybe some used but good condition seat/top, and drive the wheels off of it. Neat find!
RandyinUtah
Senior Member
I agree with what Brent Terry has said. If you start replacing and fixing things on the car it is NOT the way you found it in the barn.
Brother Hesekiel
Senior Member
As the Harley Davidson slogan goes: "if we have to explain, you wouldn't understand."
The patina on this car is something only time can create. We are talking 80 year or more. If you have money and 80 years of time, you may be able to duplicate it. Most of us don't. Money can create a fine points car or a sure-fire show winner, but not a car like that. You can have a million dollars to burn, you won't be able to create a car like this. You'd have to find one, and convince the owner to part with it.
No, it won't be totally original, but what matters most is that the car won't be painted, ever. Even if the owner chooses to bring the mechanicals up to snuff, redo the seats, and put a new top on it, the main impact of the car won't change. People will look at it in awe, and ask questions, but the owner won't have to explain. It's the real thing, something, as I stated before, only time can create, and time isn't always gentle. In case of a Model A, it had to survive a world war, a depression, the prohibition, and generations of well-meaning but clueless as well as don't-care, don't give a hoot folks. Few have survived so much sh*t, and that makes 'em truly special. Again, I would buy this body for the same money I'd had to pay for a new Brookville body, and I would have an erection every night even thinking about it. Pure Model A **** in my book.