If you do a PERFECT frame off resto , you won't want to drive it . If you enjoy driving it , just make it nice enough for your tastes. You could always make it perfect at a later date.

 

Have you thought about restoring the chassis and leaving the body as is? If you want your car to be nicer to drive but not so perfect that you won't (or can't) drive it then why not do a chassis restoration? If the frame is nice except for a few places then have those areas addressed and replace the lines and bushings. You have a really cool car that needs to be driven.

 

Ryan,

Yes, that idea is very much on my mind. My conflict though is this. My car is one of 264 W-30 convertibles in 1970. Even more rare is that it is a special order paint. Even in a bad state of maintenance it is still quite a valuable and an expensive automobile.

I do get a great deal of pleasure driving it and certainly enjoy the attention - particularily from those in the know about Oldsmobiles. Everywhere I go I hoots and hollers on the road. I admit I like it

However, at the same time this car does have a considerable value. Driving it does put it at risk....though I am insured (in fact so much insurance that if it were totaled I would make a profit)! So, sometimes I think a concourse restoration would just lock in the value.........though I now have second thoughts on that plan after all these comments.

So that brings me back to what you are suggesting. As a mechanic and body man I am actually pretty good. It is not my profession (far from it), but I am pretty darn good. I can replace bushings....I can clean and probably restore the frame as well as any professional.....and I know for sure I can do just about any maintenance on the motor (trans are a bit too much for me and way too messy though). Body work? Well yea sure I've done it, but it is in my opinion the most difficult task to undertake. So....bottom line.....yea I am thinking very hard about a "hands on restoration". Perhaps though the biggest issue with that is the committment of time.

 

Bob, All of your early posts said you really would like a frame off and you don't mind paying for . so, I say let the guy be happy , it's his money.

Then in a recent post you said that you like to do some car work.
I think you would feel real good by doing the work yourself.
Pick an area for the winter , like front end rebuild and do it right yourself.

Still your choice , just make sure it is what YOU want to do. Ya gotta be happy in the end.

 

It's a special order paint, or is it one of the 4 extra cost paints?

Because if it's one of the latter, it's not much rarer than any other color aside of the usual reds, greens, blues, and golds. If it's a desirable color, it will be worth more no matter how rare it is.

 

i agree with what many have said here that if you go with the restoration then the top dollar you fetch will be right after it comes from the shop. i have seen some of thortons work and it is top notch
if you drive the car then the details of the high end restoration will somewhat deteriorate and affect the value. the 70 w-30 convertible is a very desirable car but you are subject to what the market will pay when you want to sell so there is a great deal of risk there.
you and i both play the stock market so we both know how that works.

you are mechanically inclined and like working on the car so fix the things that you are not satisfied with and continue to drive and enjoy it. use the extra money and buy a z06 corvette ...or i hear they are coming out with a camaro convert for 2011

 

The paint is one of the special order extra cost paints of 1970.

Body 51......interesting you say that. I have in fact been looking that the ZR1 Vette. Though that is considerably more then the restoration cost!!! The Camaro however doesn't interest me.

At this point I must admit I lean toward doing some work over the winter myself. I think I am capable of mechanical restoration that would be equal to a concourse type restoration. By summer of 11 I feel I still might lean toward Thornton doing the major body work.

But folks please continue to comment. Your thoughts and recommendations are all interesting and great data points.

 

To clarify, yes it is one of the 4 extra cost paints. But in '70, these 4 were specifically called "special order" paints too.
Only 2 of the 4 (Rally Red and Sebring Yellow) were exclusive to the intermediates.

 

I infer "Special order" to be something that wasn't in the car's palette.