[dataway]

I just got in a $50 positive battery cable correct for my 68 GTO ... and it got me thinking. I noticed it has to be used on a battery with proper size old school Delco terminals ... so things progressive start to spiral.

So I wanted some opinions. My 68 is a Verdora green - Ivy Gold int, hardtop, auto, standard YS engine, open diff, AC, PS, PB, tinted glass ... in other words about the most common 68 GTO made. It has it's original engine, frame, trans, almost all sheet metal, interior etc. But obviously there are hard limits on the value of this car considering there is nothing special about it.

I've owned it since 1976 .... I am trying to restore it original ... I had dreams of Concours .. but I just don't think this model warrants that kind of investment. It's 90% there ... but you know how expensive that last 10% can be.

I seriously doubt I will ever install a proper reproduction battery, which means my nice reproduction cable may or may not work and I want to install one at the starter before I put the engine in the chassis ...

So this situation, very soon, will snowball in many ways when it comes time to decide what parts I want to use as I go forward, I'm sure there will be plenty of places where if I install the proper reproduction or NOS part it will require an ever increasing number of other proper parts. Which in some cases might make the car less of a driver, or perhaps even less reliable than a modern equivalent ... which could possibly make the car less attractive to a buyer considering this is not some rare model.

I'm not looking to squeeze every penny out of this car when it comes time to sell, but I'm also not in the financial position to not care at all. So I'm looking for a generalized best bang for my buck.

So ... from a cost benefit analysis ... on a GTO like mine, is it really worth spending the extra several thousand to make it absolutely correct. I mean it's not even a convertible or a four speed. And it's not like I'm fooling anyone ... it's a frame off restoration ... no one is going to think these common parts are original or even NOS.