[bird72]

Originally Posted by Stuart

If you think about it, the old car hobby has to be one of the few where people worry about trying to get their money back...other people golf, or go skiing, or travel or whatever, and there's no way to make a profit on those activities.

Nail on head, exactly. I know avid hunters, fishermen, snowmobilers and such. Outdoorsman stuff. They never talk about what they spend, but love what they do. It dawned on me they spend a lot. Like car stuff, none of that stuff is cheap. Gear costs. Outings cost. Old cars should be looked at as use of disposable income. Even if resto cars turn a profit, it is peanuts per hours spent.

Regarding OP topic, I think it is great nut and bolt restos get done. Examples of history. My only gripe on "Over The Top" is incorrect by way of Too Nice. Over crayoned. Over shiny underside. Over perfection. I remember them new and they were nice underside and hood, but not dazzling and radiant looking. And since they didn't have clear coat magic, they had surface corrosion on non painted underside parts already. Has a resto ever been done with correct corrosion from the air? What is bad is concours judging is actually judging a New Reality. Old one is gone. Awards seem to be for super done perfection. Even survivor judging is getting weird. How do 40K survivor cars have extreme perfect engine paint? Rant over.