Restore It? Or Not!
By David Burroughs
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Restore it? Or Not! By David Burroughs |
The question “when to restore a Collector Car versus leaving it alone” elicits different answers from people with different missions. Here are 3 points of view: 1. Bloomington Gold’s mission is to preserve the historic accuracy of factory production cars. Therefore, we recognize and inspire collectors to preserve cars in or restore them to typical factory production…no better, no worse, no different. But make no mistake, our first goal is to preserve whenever possible. We suggest restoration only if the car is already restored (altered) or has deteriorated to a point where finishes such as paint, fabrics, or plating are no longer useful as references. In short, our philosophy is the same as the Smithsonian Institute: Do no harm to historically accurate artifacts. Period.
2. In contrast, a Restoration Shop’s mission is (generally) to restore things. Otherwise they’d be called Preservation Shops. In their defense, they don’t make money until someone wants something restored. Not only that, many restoration shops simply lack the knowledge or motive to advise a novice owner or collector when to “leave it alone.” So, their answer when to restore is normally far less conservative than Bloomington Gold’s.
3. Finally, the Car Owner’s mission is usually to receive recognition. Historically, that equates to making it “shiny and perfect,” because neighbors and fans at the local car show normally don’t ooh and aah over dulled paint and a slight tear in a seat cover. Even if it’s on low mileage SURVIVOR® or BENCHMARK® cars. It is tragic how many wonderfully preserved (and valuable) cars’ DNAs have been “destroyed” by cosmetic restorations in order to win a $25 trophy or the praise of an oblivious next door neighbor. Like it or not, there will always be these last two segments of the collector car industry exerting pressure away from historic perfection and toward cosmetic perfection. It’s just human nature.
All that said, Bloomington Gold has been remarkably successful inspiring more and more people to appreciate the value and rarity of authentic unrestored originals...and it appears to be gaining some ground. First, notice the difference between cars restored in 1978 vs. 2008. Although most restorations today are “over the top,” they are still far more accurate than they were 30 years ago when Bloomington Gold began moving the industry in this direction. Second, notice the broad use of the term “survivor” by people trying to add value to the cars they are marketing. Until Bloomington Gold introduced the world to SURVIVOR® in 1990, no one described cars that way. Today, people are becoming proud of it. A few character marks and patina have become badges of honor and certainly help document a car’s authenticity compared to a restored one. Bloomington Gold’s vision has come true in large part and people are following it. |
In fact, a collector just paid a cool $1.65 million for a 1911 Oldsmobile that doesn’t quite yet meet SURVIVOR Standards (because it can’t pass the road test part of SURVIVOR Certification). Why pay so much for a car that doesn’t run? The owner was wise enough to understand its significance and rarity as is. Although it may be a long time before the majority of collectors figure this out, a rapidly growing segment of the collector car market is beginning to realize the benefits, rarity, and prestige of owning these type cars. Once restored, there is one less. Run a want ad looking for a beautifully restored Corvette, Ferrari, Mopar, or some other highly sought after collector car. Responses will come out of the woodwork. Good ones, too. Then run an identical want ad except change the wording from beautifully restored to “nearly show room new unrestored original.” Then wait. Then wait some more. Then think about what this means. It means that highly unrestored original cars are by definition much more rare than restored ones. Therefore, Bloomington Gold is confident that more and more people will become increasingly aware of the key ingredients that drive up the desirability and value of most collectibles:
Likewise, we urge owners/collectors to consider the following facts and to think twice before moving toward cosmetic restorations on really good original unrestored cars. |
Fact #1: In the collector world (other than cars), restoration and refinishing drives value down.Within the great collections of antiques, toys, firearms, timepieces, furniture, paintings, coins, and other historic pieces or fine art, the unrestored item is the most desirable and prestigious to collect. In fact, some would argue that refinishing or restoring a fine original piece is equivalent to an act of vandalism. In the long run, why will car collecting be any different?
Fact #2: Like vandalism, restorations can be repaired; however, they can never be reversed.
Fact #3: Simply refinishing (or repainting) is equivalent to restoration in termsof irreversibility. |
What’s wrong with this picture?
We are aware of several owners who purchased BENCHMARK Certified Corvettes and restored them to make them cosmetically perfect. Ironically, they ended up “stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.” They started with a car that had already achieved the most prestigious award; then spent over $100,000 more to make it cosmetically perfect, and ended up rendering the car capable of only attaining a Gold Certificate and never again being able to qualify for the much more prestigious BENCHMARK. How’s that for going backwards? And paying for it to boot!
In conclusion, here is our advice to our friends in the collector car industry:
• Ones that have already been restored. • Others that have deteriorated clearly past the point of preservation. • Still others that are historically important but are in pieces. For more information about: • Becoming SURVIVOR® or BENCHMARK® Certified • Becoming a Certified SURVIVOR® Judge • How SURVIVOR and BENCHMARK trademarks help the industry • Criteria for SURVIVOR and BENCHMARK • The important differences between being unrestored and Certified • Preservation Techniques • How to determine what you have Contact: David Burroughs 309-888-2588 david@BloomingtonGold.com |
