Readers Rides
Resto Mod Or Stock Original?
By Mark Weisseg
The age old question remains today and I will bet for years to come. Should I restore a car back to original status or resto mod it to today’s standards?
Now the decision making process begins and let’s face it, decisions are made based on how much money is available to you.
The obvious reasons to resto mod the Mustang seems easy. Better braking, better steering, creature comforts galore and so on. But does it hurt the resale value? Possibly, depending on what the next owner desires.
Or, if you are an original type of person, you restore to the day it was built. Some may gawk at the car when done and exclaim you must have had it in a time capsule. When you sell it down the line some will love the fact that it is original while others will prefer the modern updates.
You are never going to please everyone and you should not be thinking about resale value when you are building your car. I hope when you are rebuilding a car, you are focused on doing it right and keeping it a good length of time.
When I was a working class guy I had a customer who desired a 69 Camaro Z28 for years. He looked everywhere because he wanted the real deal ( no clones) and he wanted a certain color with certain options.
He was very picky about finding the right one and he finally found one down in North Carolina. He was overjoyed when it arrived a few weeks later and after having a zillion pictures taken of himself standing next to it, he started to drive it.
The car was his pride and joy and he kept it in the garage all the time. He never drove it in rain or snow of course and treasured the car. I get to his place one afternoon and he invites me up to the special garage to see his baby. He pulls the car out and I admit I was awe struck. The engine had a rumble to it that made me shiver. I studied the car up and down, in and out and declared it a huge win for him.
He beamed with pride and joy like a baby was born. I was so jealous and told him so. Then, with a deadpan expression he said, “Mark, I cannot drive this car more than two hours”. Gulp. I was stunned and stood there in the sunshine and squinted at him in amazement. He proceeds to tell me his body is now 52 years old and his weight gain from when he was a young man until now has increased more than he expected. Hence, the car is not very comfortable to drive any longer distance.
If he drives longer than that his back hurts, his neck hurts and he becomes grumpier than normal. So, I immediately without missing a beat asked him to sell it to me! I figured if he is unhappy with it and now he can say he bought and had his dream car, so now he can sell it and be complete. He declined and said he will never sell it. He had to have it in his stable to relive his youth even if he could not drive it for more than two hours.
I get it and of course if he would have resto moded the car the situation would have been fixed, but then it would not be the car he longed for.
So, full circle here and the answer is easy. Follow your heart and buy and restore your dream car and do not worry about the future. The future is now.
More Muscle Cars For Sale – http://fastmusclecar.com/muscle-car-for-sale/
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