[tom s]

For the quality of work you have done to the car under the hood,if mine it would be in for paint in a NY second.My 63 Lemans always gets noticed and gets many trophy's as the judges have never seen one before. Tom

[misterp266]

Originally Posted by tom s

For the quality of work you have done to the car under the hood,if mine it would be in for paint in a NY second.My 63 Lemans always gets noticed and gets many trophy's as the judges have never seen one before. Tom

While I agree with Tom on the excellent work you’ve done, I disagree on painting it. I would never paint it! I think it looks perfect as is.
Of course it only matters what you want to do with it. Don’t forget, it’s not about winning that trophy (or maybe it is), it’s about enjoying your car that you built.
JMHO

[b-man]

Cars in nice original condition with a somewhat aged look to them are few and far between and should be preserved and celebrated.

Cars that have seen a full restoration or a nice complete paint job are very nice of course. But they’re also a dime a dozen.

Sure they’re beautiful to look at and most show the owner’s dedication to the restoring every detail to make them look just like or even better than new. However there’s something about original unrestored cars that have been detailed nicely that no restored car can match.

The show judges missed the mark by not judging this beautiful wagon, at the very least it should have been judged in a separate Survivor category.

They’re only original once.

[cleveweld]

Originally Posted by tom s

For the quality of work you have done to the car under the hood,if mine it would be in for paint in a NY second.My 63 Lemans always gets noticed and gets many trophy's as the judges have never seen one before. Tom

The original plan was to do the body work and paint the car. I restored the entire car and was going to do paint last. I had been collecting new trim pieces to put on after it was painted. But now I'm leaning towards leaving it alone.

[cleveweld]

Originally Posted by misterp266

While I agree with Tom on the excellent work you’ve done, I disagree on painting it. I would never paint it! I think it looks perfect as is.
Of course it only matters what you want to do with it. Don’t forget, it’s not about winning that trophy (or maybe it is), it’s about enjoying your car that you built.
JMHO

If it were about winning trophies I would paint the car. It is about enjoying the car and being able to share it with others. A lot of people really enjoyed seeing the Tempest at the show and thanked me for bringing it.

[cleveweld]

Originally Posted by b-man

Cars in nice original condition with a somewhat aged look to them are few and far between and should be preserved and celebrated.

Cars that have seen a full restoration or a nice complete paint job are very nice of course. But they’re also a dime a dozen.

Sure they’re beautiful to look at and most show the owner’s dedication to the restoring every detail to make them look just like or even better than new. However there’s something about original unrestored cars that have been detailed nicely that no restored car can match.

The show judges missed the mark by not judging this beautiful wagon, at the very least it should have been judged in a separate Survivor category.

They’re only original once.

B-Man, I totally agree. How many original paint first gen Tempests are on the road today? Not many. Most have had a repaint sometime during the last 60+ years.

My car doesn't really fit in a survivor category because most of car is restored except paint. Going down the road it looks like a survivor.
The judges had no clue that my Tempest was one of the rarest and most unusual cars at the show. It was the only car there with half a V-8 and a trans-axle with independent rear suspension.