In 1987 my brother, due to reasons unimportant here, parked his '73 BB, with 33,700 miles, in a garage with a solid door...no UV exposure at all. Until last week, after having the motor pulled and gone through, the car hadn't been started/run/driven, going on 18 years.
We're in the process of getting it back on the road.
Except for one "minor" exception, the car is completely original. The interior finishes and surfaces have no fading, cracking, or deterioration - the leather seats et al appear at this time to be as they were when parked. All instruments, including the clock :-), work.
While redoing the motor, the accessories were rebuilt, not replaced...the A/C compressor was rebuilt, for example, but not refinished and still has the orignal sticker. In the process, the front end was rebuilt with new bushings....my one problem with the job was that the a-arms were cleaned and painted contrary to my instructions.
The paint is in very good shape and polishes out with no problem. The car still has the original ralley wheels.
In a nutshell, the car could be a really good original car.
Except for the one "exception". In 1977 my brother "tossed" the original BB and had installed a LS6 short block (less solid lifter cam) along with the open chamber service heads ('77 date code) and an L88 intake under an L88 style hood. The car was't otherwise altered.
So, finally, my question is....is worrying about "originality" at this point - other than the motor - worth it other than for our own satisfaction? As near as I can tell for judging purposes, the engine swap pretty much knocks it out of any contention. My inclination is, regardless, to maintain the originality in the rest of the car...but am I being too anal about the whole thing? I'd welcome comments from others and apologize for the length of this disertation.
We're in the process of getting it back on the road.
Except for one "minor" exception, the car is completely original. The interior finishes and surfaces have no fading, cracking, or deterioration - the leather seats et al appear at this time to be as they were when parked. All instruments, including the clock :-), work.
While redoing the motor, the accessories were rebuilt, not replaced...the A/C compressor was rebuilt, for example, but not refinished and still has the orignal sticker. In the process, the front end was rebuilt with new bushings....my one problem with the job was that the a-arms were cleaned and painted contrary to my instructions.
The paint is in very good shape and polishes out with no problem. The car still has the original ralley wheels.
In a nutshell, the car could be a really good original car.
Except for the one "exception". In 1977 my brother "tossed" the original BB and had installed a LS6 short block (less solid lifter cam) along with the open chamber service heads ('77 date code) and an L88 intake under an L88 style hood. The car was't otherwise altered.
So, finally, my question is....is worrying about "originality" at this point - other than the motor - worth it other than for our own satisfaction? As near as I can tell for judging purposes, the engine swap pretty much knocks it out of any contention. My inclination is, regardless, to maintain the originality in the rest of the car...but am I being too anal about the whole thing? I'd welcome comments from others and apologize for the length of this disertation.
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