round nose

Hey guys... I need some advice please. I have purchased an absolutely beautiful and original 67 442 coupe. This car is a survivor in every sense of the word. The exhaust manifolds are not even rusty. My question is how much cleaning do i do to the engine compartment? Do i make it look like new or leave patina? Once i clean it all up there is no putting it back. Since it always was a northern car, it was undercoated at some time although there is no way it ever seen salt. Should i leave that on?? I just dont want to do something that will devalue the originality. Never wrecked and never had a paint gun on it. Odometer reads 13721 and talking to the two owners, that number is correct. Car sat in a garage for nearly 40 years! Had the occasional drive around town. They are only original once.....so any advice from you pros would be great!! Thanks in advance Mark

MDchanic

PICTURES!!!!


As for my advice, I'd say clean it gently and leave it essentially as is it.
I think that remedying significant surface rust and paint failures can be excused (like, if there were places that the paint completely missed on brackets, etc.), but avoid it if you can.

You said it yourself: It's only original once.

- Eric

oldcutlass

Congrats on your finding a car that you like. Lets see what it looks like, post some pictures when you get a chance. Tough call on how far to go on cleaning as I hate filth.

Oldsmaniac

Its all about what you want to represent the car as.... Do you want to have it look as found or as it left the factory or dealership? Undercoat should stay. The rest is up to you. If you go to the OCA Oldsmobile Club of America site they give a breif outline on what a car is allowed in the unrestored class. I see no problem in painting brackets etc. Trouble with engine and valve cover touchup is that its hard to get it to match so sometimes better to leave alone.

round nose

Thanks for the input guys.....im not much of a computer guy as far as pictures but maybe my teenage son can figure it out. The car is E code midnight with a black interior. Also has hurst 4 speed with a muncie. It wasnt cheap....thats why im asking questions here. There is zero rust on this car , a chip here and there. It does not have a vinayl top,just one solid color with a white pin stripe and a chrome strip above the doors. Again guys thanks and ill see about the pictures.

droldsmorland

Get on board with the NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) and OCA (Olds Club of America) guys. They both have a wide web of experienced guys on their sites that have dealt with their survivor class cars. The NCRS guys are a serious bunch. Several publications are published on this subject, Tech articles, how to's, dos & donts, what products work the best etc...Id follow their procedures for how to correctly clean and detail a survivor. You may wipe off something without realizing its value. Or if something is disturbed during the detail process they will also know where to go with that.
Hell if the manifolds aren't even rusty you may have a one that needs very little. The undercoating removal is a choice. Its a royal PITA to remove but can be done. The results when you are done with the caliber of survivor like you describe you have will produce a factory fresh well preserved undercarriage. But again its a royal pain. Believe it or not the NCRS guys have had to remove undercoating from some of their plastic fantastics, as some were actually undercoated(the frames).
Ive heard kerosene and a tooth brush work. But there are several products you will need not just kero.
Glad to see your gona study up before doing anything. PICTURES many many Pictures for your reference and for others who restore a 67 to concourse specs.
Log on to the sites below and look for the forms section and sign up similar to how you did for this site.
www.ncrs.org
www.oldsmobileclub.org

Sampson

First welcome to the site! Second, congrats on what sounds like a very nice car. 3rd we need to see the pics! Love those origional cars.