What is a "Restoration?"

[Discseven]

"Restoration" (restored) seems as though it should be a highly defining word... yet it has diverse meanings based on who's using it. Some say a painted car with some engine work is a "restoration." Others will not say a car is "restored" unless it's been completely dismantled, stripped, primed and repainted to original spec color, and all bits being replaced in the car must be genuine Porsche... even OEM parts do not cut it. Ultimately a "restoration" represents a car just as it was when it departed the showroom.

Do we accept diverse meanings or is there a singular definition we want to arrive at for what a "restoration" is?

[Otter74]

It is an imprecise word with no single meaning. Some people talk of a "cosmetic restoration" or a "mechanical restoration" or such to denote certain kinds of work in particular. Many people say just "restoration" but mean wildly different things, from a body-off, ground-up rebuild of a car to a tune-up, upholstery job and re-paint.

[Tippy]

To me, restoration means complete refurbishment or new replacement of an entire car. Anything less is not a restoration.

Concourse restoration to me is making a vehicle correct to the way it left the factory including every technique of assembly, coatings, welds, brazing, markings, proper over and underspray, labels, and stickers.

[Tidybuoy]

I think there are varying degrees of restoration and if you want a completely restored car, it should be clarified.

I just restored my headlights
My car has restored chrome bumpers
I've restored the entire suspension
I bought a set of restored calipers

Obviously, none of the above imply a completely restored car but the word restore is being used correctly, in my opinion.

[ROW911SC]

Originally Posted by tippy

to me, restoration means complete refurbishment or new replacement of an entire car. Anything less is not a restoration.

Concourse restoration to me is making a vehicle correct to the way it left the factory including every technique of assembly, coatings, welds, brazing, markings, proper over and underspray, labels, and stickers.

+1

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Some how the boffo phrase 'semantical slag' could enter into this discussion. The word 'restoration' with respect to our avocation & for the most part is connotative at best. A concours restoration is a whole different beast.

Cheers
JB

[RichardNew]

I love this topic. I'm working on a column now about just this topic.

LenS has one approach. Returning the car to the way it left the factory is a widely appreciated approach.

I'm going to throw an alternative idea.

Restoration is the exact opposite of conservation. A restoration is the act of permanently changing the artifact or car. When you replace significant parts, whether original to the period or not, you’re altering the historical integrity of the artifact, or car. The original manufacturer’s work is no longer intact and the research value of the artifact, or car, has been reduced.

If you ascribe to this approach the restoring a car is a very serious decision. It's basically the position of The Simeone Foundation and the Revs Institute. Both museums would agree that there are times when a car is so far gone that restoration is the only alternative.

I also know that the Revs Institute believes that there are times when you can restore just components.

This should be an interesting discussion. I love it.

Richard Newton

[Otter74]

I was writing my own reply to make the same point, but you made it better than I could have. My girlfriend works as an academic librarian and she is well versed in digital and paper archiving and preservation, and I've learned a fair bit about this subject about her, and it is fundamentally little different when applied to a car. At one time certain kinds of restorations were in style that involved more maximal part replacement and refinishing and repainting. Now, a more...archival? style of restoration seems to be more common with high-value cars.

The Revs Institute is, from what I recall (a single visit as a kid to the museum under its old name) a neat place. The father of a good friend of mine volunteers there.

Originally Posted by RichardNew

I love this topic. I'm working on a column now about just this topic.

LenS has one approach. Returning the car to the way it left the factory is a widely appreciated approach.

I'm going to throw an alternative idea.

Restoration is the exact opposite of conservation. A restoration is the act of permanently changing the artifact or car. When you replace significant parts, whether original to the period or not, you’re altering the historical integrity of the artifact, or car. The original manufacturer’s work is no longer intact and the research value of the artifact, or car, has been reduced.

If you ascribe to this approach the restoring a car is a very serious decision. It's basically the position of The Simeone Foundation and the Revs Institute. Both museums would agree that there are times when a car is so far gone that restoration is the only alternative.

I also know that the Revs Institute believes that there are times when you can restore just components.

This should be an interesting discussion. I love it.

Richard Newton

[steely]

Great question - I too have wondered. Now I know it isn't just a dollar thing, but even though I've spent over $11K and countless hours (granted over 8 years), I was never comfortable describing was I was doing as a restoration. I never tore the whole thing apart in one sitting, but I have done so for parts of the car, one system at a time. But I still wasn't sure what to call it and don't want to sound like a poser.

[bobrestore]

I think a lot of people with money and the power to persuade have spread some disease around about the subject.... For instance a deep pocket flipper picks up a run down speedster, Now, is he going to sink big dollars and time into the car to find a ready buyer, or is he going to say "the paint is a 30 year old repaint but it has great patina" and make up some b.s. as to why its worth 3x what he just paid for it?.... Another funny one is these hillbillies that take a rusted 1965 pickup truck and artificially make it look even more rusty and then clear coat it LOL......... In the old days a concourse car was one that was in original condition, perfect with no flaws, preferably,... this later devolved into accepting cars that were repainted, even color changed and "made better" than original...... sorry .... I've got to run .... got to restore the air pressure in my tires.........
bob

[LakeCleElum]

I like it when they say "Frame off Restoration" when the car doesn't have a frame....

[Discseven]

To keep track of where we’re at, I’ll consolidate thread’s input to a LOG that will be updated on occasion.

LOG #1

"Restoration:"

• Refers to the process of preserving a car as the factory originally created it. This means parts, fasteners, torque settings, coatings, welds, brazing, markings, over and underspray, labels, stickers, etc. are applied and assembled according to factory techniques and specifications.
  
• May attend a part or cover an area. In this case, defining the part(s) or area “restored” is integral to that restoration’s accurate description. This is called a “restoration in part.”
  
• Has departments such as “cosmetic,” “mechanical,” “electrical,” etc. Departmental attention is a “restoration in part.”
  
• Can be a “conservation restoration.” This means the historical reference---originally created by the factory---is preserved intact. At the highest level, this process is a cleaning of a factory-original part or assembly. A notch down is the adjustment of a factory-original part or assembly in order to restore original specification and/or performance. At a “conservation restoration” level, the use of new or even refurbished parts do not constitute “conservation” because the historical reference to the factory’s original assembly is lost. “Conservation” is the highest form of restoration.
  
• There is no such thing as a “frame-off” restoration where a 911-style monocoque body is concerned.

Open questions:

1. Do OEM parts qualify to the exact same degree as “genuine” Porsche parts?
2. Does using aftermarket parts negate ability to refer to work preformed as a restoration? (Seems it must since the factory does not use aftermarket parts.)
3. Should there be defined restoration levels or should it be black and white? Perhaps levels add more confusion.
4. If work serving to preserve a car is not a qualified “restoration,” what shall it be called?


.

[RichardNew]

I think we need to separate the terms restoration and conservation. They're really two very different things.

Conservation is an effort to retain the history of the car. It's process whereby the car is cleaned and stabilized to ensure it's survival without removing the history of the car. Any conservation effort should retain the history of the object.

Restoration is the opposite of conservation. The original manufacturer's work is destroyed. It can be replaced by something very similar but it's still not the same as being original.

Otter74 hit on it with the term archival. Librarians and art collectors are into this big time. I had to learn the difference between a librarian and and archivist a few years back. They're very different things as Otter74 knows.

Richard Newton

[DanielDudley]

We don't use the word refurbished. But people do restore to ''better than new'', and I think that making the assumption that keeping every example of every car in some kind of archival state of perfection is a desirable thing is false. Certain cars will always have value because of what they are, restored, refurbished or whatever, say a Ferrari GTO. Other cars will never have a fantastic value because of what they are, unless they have some sort of distinction that makes them stand out from the masses, like being the very first Miata off the production line, or being the prototype TR2. Some cars will be accepted for having ''period correct'' modifications. Some will find favor as being currently eligible for certain competition groups.

Others will be valued as Outlaws, or branded types. Think Emory, Singer, or Magnus Walker. In short, as long as there is money to spend on old cars, and one can drive them, there will be an ass for every seat, at least in our lifetimes. The idea that every car needs to be factory correct is probably false, at least in terms of restoration. The idea that pristine cars should remain low miles and pristine to hold value however, is probably correct - as long as they remain driveable.

When I realized that people were not washing or cleaning barn find cars to preserve the wonderful patina of being stored in a chicken coop, that was when I started to see the emperors new clothes mentality in the upper end of the old car ''movement''. In the end, it is you and your car. What you do with it and to it is up to you.

If you are looking to fall into a financial niche with it, have a rationale, and knock yourself out.

[RichardNew]

We have to be very careful with the value questions. I like to take money totally out of this discussion. The dollar value of the car has very little to do the question as to what constitutes a restoration. Even more interesting is that recently restored cars are now worth less than a preserved car. No one said this was going to be easy.

I don't mean to use restoration as a pejorative here. I think of it more as a descriptive term.

Miles Collier and Fred Simeone use the term "Historical Fiction" when referencing some restorations. These restorations are similar to how colonial life is depicted in Williamsburg Va. Williamsburg is a wonderful place. It's just not an accurate reproduction of how people lived in that era. It's just too clean and perfect.

We see these fictional cars at PCA events. They're beautiful. The problem is they're far better than anything that left the factory.

As far as restoration being destruction I think we would all agree if I scraped all of the paint off of a Monet it would be destruction. The fact I then replicated the painting with extremely accurate colors and matched the original brushstrokes wouldn't alter the fact I destroyed the original.

There are times when a restoration is necessary (and a good thing) and other times when a car should never be totally restored.

BTW - Don't get me started on Barn Finds lol

Richard Newton

[Jonesy78]

Originally Posted by Discseven

• There is no such thing as a “frame-off” restoration where a 911-style monocoque body is concerned. “Frame-off” does apply to 356-style bodies with tubular frames.

356's had "tubular frames" ??

[RichardNew]

We've never been very good with our terms

I'm thinking in terms of 3 different approaches to a car.

Restoration - A restoration is the act of permanently changing the artifact or car. It's usually done in a effort to return the car to a previous condition.

Conservation - This is the process whereby objects are cleaned and stabilized to ensure their survival without removing the evidence of their past life.

Preservation - This is the practice of maintaining a car by providing a stable environment in order to prevent further damage or deterioration.

I'm starting to think that conservation and preservation may be the same thing. Or, they're similar.

Richard Newton

[Fixer]

Originally Posted by RichardNew

I think we need to separate the terms restoration and conservation. They're really two very different things.

Conservation is an effort to retain the history of the car. It's process whereby the car is cleaned and stabilized to ensure it's survival without removing the history of the car. Any conservation effort should retain the history of the object.

Restoration is the opposite of conservation. The original manufacturer's work is destroyed. It can be replaced by something very similar but it's still not the same as being original.

Otter74 hit on it with the term archival. Librarians and art collectors are into this big time. I had to learn the difference between a librarian and and archivist a few years back. They're very different things as Otter74 knows.

Richard Newton

When bringing new life to an old car you always conserve and restore. How far you want to take it depends on how much time and or patience you have, forget the money for now.

You can ALWAYS do a panel or part just a little better with more time no matter how well it turns out. This idea of when you're really done always hangs in my head when working. It can really be unhealthy.

Generally speaking, I've sort of 'hated' every car I've restored for about 6 months after i've 'finished' even as friends ooh'd and ahh'd the work. Little flaws in the paint upset me to no end and there are always tiny flaws. It's just a matter of: How close do you want to look? With every project you get a little better but your expectations also go up.
So you're never going to be satisfied.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

This is a subject dear to my heart. My perspective is to restore parts to as close to the original look as possible given the available resources of today. For me, the challenge is the factory correct surface finish vs. factory correct appearance. I use a lot of cadmium plating for my customers in place of zinc because it looks closer to original zinc when processed using various techniques. I use Cerakote or 2-part paint instead of powder coating which can go on too thick and give a jell bean look...engine tin is famous for this. I try to source the correct bolts with appropriate head markings for customers with hardware that is too far gone.

MFI lines remain a challenge but I am getting closer to the original factory look. They were clear zinc chromate which was a light silver grey originally, and trended toward satin more than gloss. Today, clear zinc is rather blue and bright. Instead of satin, it trends toward frosted. I've been working on getting the the color and finish for months now.


Typical lines off a car. Highly oxidized, the chromate is pretty much gone. There's even a little rust here and there.






Stripped and processed, ready for plating






Done in clear cadmium. Pretty, but overall too silver and too bright.








Latest testing and comparison, top is zinc, middle is cadmium and bottom is a custom plating process. the color is correct, I now need to get more of a satin finish.

[Discseven]

^^^ Wonderful to see a genuine quest to achieve a specific color & finish.