Just a question for the day.Does anybody really get into,or care about restoring a car 100% OE correct or is "close" good enough? On one hand,if somebody mentions about ponying up some huge bucks for a NOS/OE part you always get some comments about who cares and should have just bought a repop part.Yet when someone post about the value of a car,many are quick to mention and point out everything the is "incorrect" about the car.I've never watched the juding at the Nats for OE,but just wonder if there are still a lot of people doing this or are they just not posting anything here.Or being NOS parts and fewer and fewer each year,is the end of this type of restoration over?

This is a very good question and will probably get alot of answers. When I look at a high priced or high end car I find myself looking for anything incorrect first. It's a vicious cycle and I don't think I can be fixed!

I've owned racecars, clones and Matching # cars. I always gravitate to the OE type car but in my life I wouldn't ever be able to own a 100% perfect ride. I've had as close as possible type cars and spent more money than brains on certain parts for them too.

So I guess put me in the close as possible category but it must have attention to detail and fit and finish for me.
Ron

I have to agree with you Ron. Take my Dad's 1969 GTX vert for example. I am doing it as close to OE as I can but I know it will never be that 100% as Dad plans on driving it. Cars that are 100% are cars that are restored and then never driven again or loaded into and out of trailers. Just my opinion.

The only one who probably "really" cares is the owner and that's not set in stone !

At the end of the day build the car to what you want since it's your car.

Do what ever it is that you can enjoy the car.

I think you do the best you can with the funds you have available. Most don't have the funds to pay 400k in parts for a 100k car. Though I find it disturbing how many members will ridicule people for one item and yet other areas they are more than content to vary from OE.

I'd be willing to bet that most OE cars have a few re-pop parts, perhaps modified to fool the masses.

My personal preference is a good quality stock appearing car with good attention to all detail, whether or not it has true OE tires, hoses, . . . doesn't mean so much to me.

As mentioned, it all depends on your personal goals and desires as to how "correct" you want your car and what you plan on doing with it. The term "O.E" gets tossed around a lot to describe parts and restoration techniques but it's pretty well known that a truly "O.E." car is not a very common build, a VERY small percentage of our cars are of that level (O.E. Bronze/Silver/Gold) but if you do plan on getting your car judged in O.E. it can take A LOAD of $, many years of parts hunting, plus the know how and skill to build the car to achieve O.E.

On the other hand, there are far more people that like the overall "O.E" appearances and try to build an authentic looking "factory" car as affordable, at least in the easier to recognize areas. Most of these builders stop short of buying a set of NOS shocks that might cost $2,000.00 when a set of 4 generic black gas shocks work better, look 90% original, and cost $100.00. This applies especially to those who plan on driving their cars as it doesn't make much sense to spend thousands for NOS suspension parts or other wear items that will degrade as soon as you drive the car.

As far as people ridiculing other peoples cars? I don't see that very often on Moparts. I think a lot gets lost in translation when words are typed on the internet. Also, if someone claims their car is restored to O.E. and it isn't or lacks correct details, sure, they are probably going to receive some criticism accordingly.

So, to rephrase your question:

Is the O.E. appearance type restoration popular?

My answer; A resounding yes! But so are other styles of build so it's not the only choice, just one of them.

Personally, I like the OE look. The Duster I am restoring now will have an OE look. It will fool most people. This is all I can afford. I do admire the work that top notch resto people do. Even though I like this look it doesn't mean I look down on people that restore cars other ways. We all need each other in this hobby. I appreciate people like Scott that are a little anal on details. They give me a lot of info that I can't find just anywhere. Everybody enjoy!

Different strokes for different folks. I installed the seats in my Challenger today and after tightening up the seat bolts I just stared at the primered belly with orange overspray blown in at the sides, appreciated that I had the correct seat nuts plated, seat frames correctly restored including the little springs repainted correct yellow. It all pleased me and that's what it's all about. Having said that I also added PS and disc brakes to the car and am powering it up. However all that stuff can be undone in a weekend.
If the owner loves what he's done to the car that's all that matters. However when a guy is asking $72k for a purportedly totally stock and correctly restored, 383 Super Bee, he can expect Moparts guys to find flaws if there are any and he should not feel any animosity because of that.
One other thing that I've said for years is that an original car is always in style, modified styles come and they go. So if you choose to modify a Mopar just be aware it might look dated five or ten years down the road.

Sheldon

I know it sounds crazy, but when I go to shows, I almost never walk over to look at a stock appearing car, unless it belongs to someone I know. This is probably most true for me in the case of a12 package cars. I've seen so many that look the same to me that I can't even tell them apart anymore unless they have some sort of super rare color combo. It is what it is... different strokes for different folks.

I have gone from Day 2 mods to full race and ultimately to conservative customizing including a Hemi engine swap. It's easy to modify a car and takes a lot less effort than a total nuts and bolts restoration. It takes a lot of know-how, experience, research and real dedication to get a modified car back to the original configuration and running condition or better. I have never been more satisfied or had a greater sense of accomplishment with my first car (an A12 that I owned for 24 years) until I got it back to original. Until you've been thru it, it's hard to appreciate the cars that have been restored to some level of originality. I like to look at these cars and compare them to my efforts. I admire the car owners who have the desire to bring their cars back to the way they were. Other than wheels and tires and internal engine mods to increase the performance, I would never consider customizing an original muscle car again. I have a hard time taking a second look at a chromed out engine compartment and cars with interior modifications like steering wheels, gauges and seats unless it is truly customized show car or has at least 500 hp. I know not everyone has the wherewithall to do it but you have to appreciate the one's that do.

No matter how you slice it OE stock/modified driver/race car still beats sitting under a tree rotting away with "I'm going to restore it one day" as the excuse.

Thanks for all the replies.I maybe should have reworded my original post as to "Is anybody doing a true OE restoration for Nats Judging".Just wondering if this is still a factor.Or is this type of restoration a thing of the past.I heard thru the grapevine that they are not sure who is going to be doing the judging this year(Nats OE) as Frank and/or Paul are not going to be?

If there is no O.E. judging at the Nats this year it's not due to lack of interest in O.E. I won't go into detail about it here but in brief, blame the show owner/organizer for screwing the pooch on that deal.

Scott is exactly right. It is June 9 and I haven't heard much about who will step up to Judge OE other than one conversation with Dave Wise.
The entire Nats Judging is a WHOLE lot a work and pressure and Paul did a fantastic job and after two years he walked away and he had good reason to do so. Too bad since I was sure that with Paul at the wheel the Judging at the Nats was going to go in the right direction. Now

Probably best explained by one of the judges inolved and not from a third party.

Scott and Sheldon hit the nail on the head IMO.

O.E. look? Absolutely! I don't care for modified stuff with the exception of some day 2 items. Fads come and go but the O.E. look is always in style

O.E. meaning the ultra high end, date code and paint drip restos? I like them and appreciate them but couldn't justify date coded NOS shocks and exhaust for my car...especially since I built it to run.

If this is in relation to the $72k BIN on the 383 'Bee, I'd agree that the price puts the car in the range where perfection should be expected (and then some). ...still a nice car though and a resto can still be of high quality without being 100% dead-nuts correct.


Dave