When "Completely Original"...or "Just as it left the factory" really screws you...

Like I said in the last post I talk to a lot of people who, after making a sizable investment in restoring a car-are often disappointed. In the last post-I talked about people being general and not specific on their expectations-"I want as much power as possible" then when the shop builds them a fire-breathing monster-their upset because it has a rough idle,gets 5-8 mpg, pings on cheap gas, etc. The other way people screw themselves is when they say they want a car "Absolutely Original". They say this because they think it's what they should say. Especially if your restoring some generic car. Let me explain-if your restoring a Boss 302 Mustang or an LS6 Chevelle or a Six-Pack Road Runner-I fully understand wanting to keep it as original as possible. It will be worth much more if you ever decide to sell it if it's not extensively modified. But there are a lot people who restore base-model Chevelles,Camaros,Challengers,Fairlanes,Mustangs,Satellites,Torinos,LeMans,etc,etc. Does it really matter if a 289 powered '67 Mustang has a 600 cfm Holley or Edelbrock carb on it instead of the awful 470 cfm Autolite 4bbl?  Is a '68 327 / 4-speed Camaro "ruined" because it has a Hurst Competition Plus shifter in place of the awful,constantly binding up factory Muncie shifter? Have you "butchered" a '66 Gran Prix because you replaced the 4bbl on the 389 with a Tri-Power setup?  No, of course not!!  Often, subtle upgrades can really increase the performance and driving pleasure of a car without adversely affecting it's potential resale value. Here's a big one-a lot of '60's and early '70's cars had inadequate 4-wheel drum brake systems. In a car with a lot of power-this can be scary. If you have for a example a '64-72 GM "A" body-Chevelle,LeMans,Cutlass,Skylark-'70-81 Camaro / Firebird front spindles wil fit. Which will allow you to install the 11" rotors,calipers and master cylinder / booster. Having front disc brakes will greatly reduce your stopping distance and they won't fade like the 9.5 inch drums! I seriously doubt if any potential buyer will gripe about having an upgraded brake system-everyone wants to be safe. I speak from experience-I had a '68 SS396 El Camino that was awful fast-and it had 9.5 inch drum brakes at all 4-corners. It would stop from high speed-100 mph+ one time. If you didn't let the brakes cool off for ten minutes between runs-the pedal would go to the floor and you would suck the bench seat up your ass while you prayed to God it would stop. The other is induction. believe it or not-there are a lot of base-model cars out there with 2bbl carburation. I've even seen Mach 1 Mustangs with spoilers, blacked-out trim,Magnum 500 wheels,etc-and a 2bbl 351 under the hood! I've seen Chargers with 2bbls on 383 / 400s, Fairlanes with 2bbl 390s,and Firebirds with 2bbl 350s and 400s. Adding a factory or aftermarket 4bbl carb and intake isn't going to hurt the value of the car, it'll increase it because of the improved performance and gas mileage. Another is transmissions. Two-speed automatics and three-speed sticks aren't collectible, their just weird. If you have a pre-68 GM car with a Powerglide / ST300 you can get a tremendous boost in performance by switching to a TH350. They are the same length as a "Powerslide" and use the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke. It's a bolt-in swap,and the difference in performance will be amazing. You can even use the stock shifter. The only downside is you won't be able to manually engage low gear, but if you have a good B&M or TransGo shift kit, you won't need to. Ditto for 3-speed sticks. If you swap the 3-speed in your Nova, Camaro or Duster for a 4-speed,your not only increasing the performance, your increasing the value to 99.9% of the population. Do you really think someone who wants to buy the car is going to check the numbers on your nice, 340, 4-speed Duster and say-"Damn! I really wish it still had the 3-speed in it!" "Sorry, I'm going to have to pass."  No!!!!  Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I know two guys that were customers of mine for years. One of them bought a '64 Olds Cutlass convertible and the other bought a '64 Buick Skylark convertible. They both wanted to restore them as summer cruisers for Hot August Nights. Not drag racers, just nice,comfortable, cool-looking cruisers. The Buick guy went "Just as it left the factory" crazy. 300 V8 / ST300,drum brakes, even using E70-14 bias-ply tires!!  I convinced the Olds guy to make a few subtle upgrades. One was swapping the 330 2bbl V8 / ST300 powertrain for a 403 4bbl / TH350 out of a wrecked Firebird. The second was upgrading to Firebird spindles and power front disc brakes. The third was upgrading the steering box from the 17.5:1 ratio stocker to a 12.7:1 out of an '80's Trans-Am. ( This box will fit most GM  A,F and X bodies from '64-77, as well as F bodies from '82-92 and G bodies from '78-88. They were also used in '80's Monte Carlo SS's,IROC-Z Camaros and Olds 442s ) The fourth was using Torq-Thrust mags which were period correct, but shod with 225/60VR15 Goodyear Gatorbacks. When the cars were done they showed them to each other and took them for a spin. The Buick guy was amazed at the awesome performance of the Cutlass. "My God." he said. "Your car has twice the power, stops on a dime, handles like a slot car, and still looks original." "Mine's a slug,corners like the "Queen Mary" and the brakes fade on the Mount Rose Highway." "How did you do it?" The Olds guy brought the Buick guy to my shop and I explained the simple changes we had made. The Buick guy immediately commissioned us to swap the 300 / ST300 powertrain for a 350 Buick / TH350 setup,install front disc brakes and the quick ratio steering box. He was amazed and exsctatic over the drastic improvement in his car's performance. "I should have listened to Bob when he told me what you guys were doing with his car." "What a difference." "It cost me a few grand, but it's a lesson I'm glad I learned." "Thanks a lot." "Next time I restore a car I'll talk to you guys before I start writing checks."  I was happy to help-both for the money I made and a job well done, and a satisfied customer. So think hard and talk to other people who have restored similar cars and get some ideas on what you really want. Sometimes a few minor tweaks can make a HUGE difference, without compromising the future resale value. Mastermind