I realize this is up to the individual but I'm curious as to how people decide whether to paint a part with it's original paint or not. I've read here many times it's only original once. The parts I have pics of are my shaker parts that have never been repainted. They've been on my car since it was built. Take a look at let me know what you think. I know that these parts are never seen but still... I drive the cars to local shows and I cleaned these parts with 409. They show wear.Thanks.
Terry

The bottom side of the baseplate.

The air cleaner lid.

Carb side of the air cleaner lid.

Personally I'd rather see an original part with minimal damage than a restored part any day. It illustrates that the car/part is used and is taken care of.

Hell, any fool can have a restored part but nice originals are hard to come by!

Ask yourself this: if you found a complete car in the same overall condition as your air cleaner, would you restore it?

Those look very nice. I would leave them alone. They are clearly original parts. Restored vs. repro looks pretty similar. Original parts will stick out (in a good way).

I vote to leave them original.

my vote is to leave them alone in that condition!
Scott - I sent you a message on a duster you might be interested in. it's a 70 though....

+They look great, leave them that way! single choice
	I agree!
Votes accepted starting: 03/10/15 04:51 PM
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I plan on leaving these parts in their original paint as you see them. At shows, I hear the comments like how much better it would look if parts were painted and hoses replaced. A couple of weeks ago, I posted some pics of the KV hoses on the valve cover breather to carb and shaker to breather hoses which are original and you can see the difference compared to the new hoses I've put in. Here's an engine pic with some things replaced and some original - I do keep the removed original parts. It doesn't do well at shows, but I don't care.
Terry

Are these going on a restored car or a survivor? If the rest of the car is restored, I wouldn't want chipped up parts on it. I'd consider trying to find a replacement set that is in worse shape. I don't know how hard those parts are to find though.

So, my vote is to keep those parts original but try and find replacements that you won't feel guilty about repainting.

The white nylon wire straps are yellowed and the plug wires valve cover clips have yellowed, but they're original. I have replacements ( white wiring straps) but haven't put them in.

This Challenger is driven to shows and never been trailered. It's been repainted due to an accident - my motorcycle fell over against it - but it's not restored. It shows it's age well and I'll always drive it. It still has dual points, etc. but I'm considering electronic ignition. It's getting too difficult for me to do the dual points thing ( removing shaker) and I won't take it to a garage. It still has the original grille and bezels although I have NOS ones. I'm slowly changing parts back to original that I changed years ago.

Another pic.

Mike, I never got your message about a Duster?

They look great the way they are, leave them alone.

I'd leave them alone, BUT would avoid using a harsh chemical like 409.
The original paint is likely hardened to the point where it won't etch like new paint, but you should treat those parts like any other old paint. Clean carefully, feed it and protect it.
Take a look at the autogeeks site about this, it's good info for all old paint.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-...age-paints.html

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It doesn't do well at shows

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So if you "restored" those parts would it do better? Likely not unless you do a complete resto. My opinion, if they're charging to enter the show, don't enter. If you do go in the show, leave the hood closed - keep them curious. If someone wants to see, tell them ahead of time its "original" so they're prepared to see "less than perfect" and you know want, you'll get a lot more positive comments because it will now exceed their expectations. Ya have to work the audience!! Be proud of what you have and enjoy it. You're probably getting way more pleasure out of your car than some guy who's spent $100k !!!

I wouldn't let car shows affect the decisions you make on your car. Few will recognize or appreciate the significance of an original car vs. a show pony. No, you won't win a bunch of trophies, but you'll still have the best car. If you do decide the trophies are important to you buy a new reproduction setup and stash those nice original parts, IMO re-painting them would be a detriment.

Depends on the car...Is it restored or survivor.

Think about it in the way you would the exterior of the car. Few question the way the exterior of a car is painted.

Are you using enamel paint getting the correct amount of factory orange peel? Probably not. Its generally accepted that the exterior of a car be flawless with BC/CC paint that has been buffed to perfection. The body and paint never looked that good from the factory.

Is it wrong to apply that level of attention to the air cleaner or any part for that matter.