Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 10:15:30 -0500
Reply-To: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject: Re: The price of living on the East Coast (restorations)
In-Reply-To: <000101c52c26$56908b60$6400a8c0@masterpc>
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I could have said "restoration", rather than restoration. Essentially,
the amount of body work, treatment for rust and such is a restoration
project as far as body shops are concerned. This is not accident damage
(very few dings on the Goldbrick.)
The person I talked with was very comfortable with the concept of where
I'm going. There is still quite of bit of work involved here (as the
seam rust has to be dealt with on the doors, as well as panels. In some
places, he'll cut out the section and replace it with new, in others,
just dig out the surface rust.
He's not doing the interior, or wiring. I'll have the interior done
elsewhere (as I have done with my Westy.) The Tiico may eventually get
replaced with a subaru 3.0 (The GoldBrick is a Syncro after all, and I
like the power the 3.3 gives the Westy Syncro.)
And yes, I know what true restorations are, and I want the body work to
be essentially of that quality of work, and it WILL cost a lotl (more
than the price of this, or another syncro). But its the GoldBrick...and
that name DOES have two meanings....The color is only one of them.
On Mar 18, 2005, at 8:52 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Do you really want a restoration or a good paint job? True restorations
> are to bring vehicles to as new condition and are really for
> show/collectable vehicles. If originality is a goal, so much for the
> Tiico. If you plan to continue using the van, you want to stay with the
> paint and rust control concept and even this properly done will exceed
> the value of the van if you are paying to have it done.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Kim Brennan
> Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 5:16 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: The price of living on the East Coast (restorations)
>
> So, I finally have gotten serious about doing a real big restoration
> job on the GoldBrick (my 7 passenger Syncro, w/Tiico engine currently).
> Since I originally bought it on the West Coast, I've abused it far too
> much, and it shows in the dings, dents, and rust. Of course some of the
> rust issues probably predate my purchase, but it's definitely
> progressed since my original purchase.
>
> So my first stop was to find a place that can do a restoration that was
> "reasonably" close by. My first choice (Master Crafters in Rockville
> Maryland) no longer does restorations as they simply are too back
> logged with accident repairs, and don't have the facilities to work on
> a long term project that a proper restoration takes. They recommended
> a place in Frederick Maryland.
>
> So I wander up there today. Talked with the owner and he acknowledged
> that I have a good candidate without any major issues to deal with,
> just lots of time to deal with the various rusty spots, dents and such
> (no rust throughs that he saw...) Unfortunately, he's got a 3 year
> backlog to BEGIN a restoration job. He figures it would probably take
> 6-8 months of work to deal with mine (at the pace they work on them.)
>
> So I put my name down. In the meantime, I'll be working on various
> parts, trying to put a hold on the major rust spots.
>
> I asked him about what I can do to assist in the meantime and he
> mentioned putting POR-15 into the doors. Thought the rest of you would
> be amused/interested to hear that a professional uses and recommends
> it.
>
> Here in the Mid-Atlantic, there just aren't that many places that will
> do restoration work. Next nearest place I heard of was down in North
> Carolina. And I figure there have to be some places up in NewJersey or
> New York. It's times like this when I was I was in Southern California
> where restoration shops seem to be a dime a dozen.
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