I had a Black GTE dropped off at my shop last week to do an assessment. This car has been owned by the current owner for decades and was originally sent to my friend Mark Barton at the Panel Shop in CT. The car had a poorly repaired floor pan from years ago, and was affecting a new exhaust the owner had purchased for his car. He asked Mark to assess the repairs needed on the floor pans and perhaps consider restoring the rest of the car. I was brought in to help make the assessment, but started to get concerned this project was going to spiral out of control, beyond the owner’s desires and budget.

Since the car had not been run in a few years, I asked the car be sent to me so I could get it running and I could make a mechanical assessment before helping the owner decide how far he should go towards a restoration.

The compression numbers turned out decent, and I got the car started and drove it for about 30 minutes listening and feeling how the car performed. The floors on this car along with a poorly fitting exhaust system needed to addressed, but I wanted to convince the owner to reconsider doing the rest of the car. Bodywork, paint, chrome, and labor rates in general have all increased in the last few years, and it’s making it hard to justify it on a car that still has some life in her. Some cars are too far gone to keep running, but I didn’t think this car was one of them. My advice was to repair what was necessary to make the car safe and drive the car for a few years. If he felt after this period, he still wanted to have the car restored, then fine, but jumping into a restoration that could take a few years might not be the best decision.

Here’s a video of my assessment and thought process to advise the owner on the direction of this car. The comment section on the video is also interesting, and worth reading. Let me know what you think.