I've noticed a lot of people have very different opinions on what they consider "restored" when referring to Corvettes, so I wanted to get some clarification from the pros.

To me, "restored" means that you're essentially looking at a "NEW" classic car - meaning if you put a trailer hitch on the DeLorean, loaded your vette on it, went back to 19XX, parked your vette beside a brand new one of the same year sitting on the dealer's lot, and opened the doors and popped the hood, no one would be able to tell the difference between yours and the brand new one (tires excluded). Your paint is as good as the factory paint, all rubber on the car is new, etc. The body had to come off of the car to do it and every piece that had any visible wear to it, or was performing at less than factory specs was either replaced or rebuilt and repainted. When they took it for a test drive, it would feel and drive the same as the brand new ones (maybe even a little better since we have better shocks and suspension components today).

That's what restored means to me. My 68 is restored. My 81 has new suspension, paint, exhaust, rebuilt motor, interior, rebuilt transmission, new radiator, water pump, all new brakes/brake lines, new rubber everywhere there is rubber (hoses, seals, and so on) and a bunch of other needed replacements under the hood. I don't consider it "restored" because the body never came off the car, frame was never sandblasted, etc. ... I consider it "updated".

Yet I've seen people do even less than I've done to my 81, like throwing on a paint job, new interior, rebuilding the motor, and calling it "restored".

So what's the right answer here? To me that's just 'freshening up' ... Where do you (meaning industry professionals, not personal opinion) draw the line between "restored" and "updated/upgraded/freshened up/etc"?

 

Two answers I suspect.
One, as you alluded to, the definition is not concrete. One man's restoration is another mans maintenance.
Two, lack of knowledge. It sounds like a good thing to put in the for sale ad.
Just my observation
David

 

How long is a piece of string?

 

Two things....when I read a description and it says frame on restored that to me can mean almost anything and doesn't hold a lot of weight....but when it says frame off restored I assume it had a nut & bolt restore.....but as always seeing is believing.

 

I think the word "restored" alone is not enough. Threre is a factory type restoration (NCRS, Bloomington) and the resto-mod route as well. when I hear restored, I think like you that it is like it came from the factory!

But....If we went strictly by this definition, then your 68 would not be restored because the valve covers do not appear to be OEM type. (If that is the car you are talking about in your avatar). Some would even argue that the tires and suspension should be as they were in the year of manufacture.

I think people do tend to over use the word, a paint job is not a restoration, new suspension is not either. Frame on restoration in my opinion means they achieved the above without taking the body and frame apart. I beleive some have top flighted without a frame off but I could be wrong.

I personally think it's like homes, there are restorations of historical homes and renovations. Both get you a new product but one maintains period correctness and the other whatever you want out of it!!

 

back to original.

 

This ad was in Hemmings. Restored original Corvette.
Candy apple red paint
Tuck and pleat interior
Engine all chrome
Chassis and under body blacked out

Not my idea of original

 

I say it means a going thru of the car. All parts are returned to a premium operating order and finish. As some have mentioned you can have a body off restored which should be a more incompassing or completed repair of the entire vehicle. This could be a NCRS resto or a resto mod, with new updated parts or custom items. For the non-body off resto almost everything can be done with the exception of the fuel lines, and a complete refinishing of the frame.

My first resto of my 71 was a non-body off job. I repainted the car back to original. Replaced the entire interior with new or refinished parts. Completely redid all the suspension components that required work.

My current resto is a body off with a complete refinishing of the frame, and I plan on replacing all vehicle wiring. Katrina is forcing me to replace numerous parts due to water damage and I will be redoing the interior again. I will however be making some mod changes to items such as the engine.

 

I guess that's one way of looking at it ... You're correct, those are not OEM. I've found a little bit of chrome dresses things up for the shows (as long as it's not overdone ... doing the master cyl, alternator, etc. is overdoing it to me) but it had the originals on it when I bought it and I did keep them. I have a couple other little personal touches like that just to make it stand out - for example the seats with headrests were not a standard option on this car. They were an option, but THIS car didn't have them on it when it was bought new. But since it's not an item that's listed on the documentation anyway, no one would ever really know if it came with them or not. If I ever went to a car show where originality was judged, it would only take a few minutes to to take my less-than-a-handful of changes off, so I usually just keep it how I like it. It's a garage queen anyway :P

But thats along the lines of what I mean by finding a definition ... a restored vehicle could technically still have aftermarket parts in it, if those parts were added after the restoration, could it not? For example if I were to add air conditioning, it's still a fully restored vette - it just happened to be modified after it was restored. This is different from a vette where A/C was added that had never been restored prior to doing so.

Half of the Corvettes I see advertised say they've been restored, but as gq82 said, if it wasn't body off (or frame off depending on how you say it) then it was just updated/freshened up/upgraded ... not restored.

Or am I wrong? Not that I really care to get in with the NCRS, but do they ever consider it a restoration if the body never leaves the frame? There has to be some definitive criteria that can make someone say "this car has been restored, this one has not".

 

To me, restored means just that, it has been restored to factory spec. Anything else is a resto-mod (which mine is). Thats why my sig says, "Body off repairs completed", not restored.
When I am at shows I like to see a good mix of both.

 

NCRS judges originallity, ie numbers matching. Restoring may be as simple as replacing non original parts and a lot of cleaning.

 

According to Mr Webster...
see #3

Main Entry: re·store
Pronunciation: ri-'stor
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): re·stored; re·stor·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French restorer, from Latin restaurare to renew, rebuild, alteration of instaurare to renew
1 : GIVE BACK, RETURN
2 : to put or bring back into existence or use
3 : to bring back to or put back into a former or original state : RENEW
4 : to put again in possession of something
synonym see RENEW
- re·stor·er noun

I think what MOST of us do is a PARTIAL resto, a resto-mod or at best..RENEW our cars, since a TRUE restoration is probably beyond the capabilities (meaning $$, time, and space ) of most folks, me included! The term, "restore" is probably often incorrectly used, but I dont think to be purposely misleading...

 

I consider mine a resto/mod
It is also my opinion that if the body was not pulled, then in no way should it be called a 'restoration'. Those that have done a body-off will understand and those that want to call body-on repair a 'restoration' will not.

Craig

 

I refer to mine as "restified"

 

I refer to mine as improved, and as work still in progress.

To me restored means 100% clean looking, free of rust and working as it did when new ore better.

 

I think in todays terms, the word "restored" doesn't mean much by it's self.
I really think it should be followed by frame off/frame on, NCRS correct, factory correct... ect.

Restored is more of a generalization, and doesn't really reflect as to what/who's standards the resto was done.





Tom

 

I will say this, it is only original once.
Example, if only routine maintenance has been done and all the OEM parts/paint (it had when leaving the factory) is still present.
Sure there may be rust, tattered interior, faded/peeling/cracking paint, etc...but it's 'truely original'.

You can restore everything to it's previous original 'appearance', but not to it's 'absolute originality'.

The term 'restored' is simply semantics, open to interpretation, with variations of 'to what extent' was it restored.

'Restored' loosely translates into: parts and equipment that were returned to at least factory quality and won't need replaced or reconditioned for a while, prolonging the life of the vette.

You could even subclass 'restored' into mechanical and cosmetic.
As in, is or was there a 'need' for the restoration, besides appearance.
Removing the body, taking it down to a bare frame, and 'restoring' all the components will prolong the life longer and would be more mechanically sound.

On a side note, some/many of the reproduction parts and equipment available today are poor quality, appearance, and fitment compared to OEM. So 'restored' is often better than 'replaced'.

You would find a completely restored vette would look better than a brand new one, as quality control was horrible back then.

 

The word 'restored' means to make like new. That doesn't necessarily mean like 'original'.

I would tend to use the word 'refurbished' when talking about a car that has been refreshed with replacement components of worn out/broken parts.

 

I love it when they refer by percentages............. "It's 90% Restored" What does that mean?

 

I might say specific parts of mine were restored, but I wouldn't call the whole car restored. For instance, mine has new paint, new interior, rebuilt front suspension, and a rebuilt engine. I might say the parts listed above were restored, except for the engine which is not stock (but is numbers matching). I refer to the engine as rebuilt. I would say a restored car doesn't necessarily have to be a body off car, but a nut and bolt body off car would be restored. I have seen some very nice restored non body off cars. I know a guy who recently completed a body on resto of a 62 409/409 bubbletop Bel Air. It was done to stock and I would definitely call it restored.