That's why you do research on what you've got before you go stupid on it!

 

When it comes to which way you should go with any antique restoration,,, and I am talking Guns, Jeeps, Old Cars or Boats and list goes on,,, research as to what you have actually got is a key function in your preparation..

 

I have done all of the above and the two main considerations must always be,,, Actual rarity of the item, and condition. Super rare goes back stock unless irreparable modification has been done.  Resto mod is next, and full custom follows. Note: I did not say "hack it up and make A POS out of it."  There must be improvement made or your just ruining something for no good reason.

 

Lots of times stupid kids are given priceless treasures by their grand parents, and then proceed to try to turn them into what they think is cool. This ultimately shows lack of parenting! , as any kid who is not taught what is cool by his parents usually grows up to be patently stupid and we've got plenty of them already,,, Mainly cuz their parents were stupid too?

 

I once saw a kid who had been given an essentially NIB 1953 CJ3B (with <5000 miles on it in 2005!!!) and turn it into a beat up Rock Crawler!  This Jeep needed tires and a battery and had been driven to town a couple of miles away every week for 52 years for groceries.  It was garage kept, taken care of, and nearly perfect!  It was also the most pristine example of a CJ3B that anyone had ever seen at the time and was valued at nearly $50K! After he got done with it, and ran it thru a few rock trails it was essentially worthless. Took less than 6 months for him to work his magic on this poor Jeep. After he showed his accomplishments on a CJ3B website, he was chastised by so many people, that I think he locked himself in the basement and is still there as far as I know.

 

 I have also seen virtually every other level of usage for those Jeeps from leaving them completely stock and running them until they are completely used up, to 100 point Military Restos (M606) to full custom jeeps that anyone would be proud to own and drive.  Look at all the Hotrods out there, some are complete restos some are Resto mods.  Whatever is appropriate for a given vehicle is the name of the game.

 

Guns are more of the same,  but with guns, condition is my primary factor.  Most of the guns I see or get ahold of were made in the Millions. The likelihood of finding a Real Rare One is slim since there were so many made, and collectors got to all the really good ones along time ago.  So I research what I've got and then decide what to do with it.  I'm not a big fan of Military style battle rifles. but if a  pristine one came my way I certainly wouldn't be hacking it up to make a Sporter out of it. It has more value as an original. Ultimately end value is the biggest consideration we all have to consider.

 

However another example would be the #4 Mk1 I bought a couple of months ago.  The metal was all there and in good shape. The wood had been "sporterized" and looked bad.  I had no intention of returning it to full wood and in fact had the picture of an L42A1 or L39A1 in mind from the start,  so that's what I went for.

 

 I wanted a shooter, and that was my purpose for buying the thing in the first place. Mind you I have made no permanent modification to the gun and it could easily be returned to milspec just by replacing the wood. But they made millions of these and there are plenty out there for us to play with, in fact I could buy three more like it today if I chose.

 

Now if the barrel had been cut off it's fate would have been sealed by the previous owner and there would be no speculation on what to do with it. it's a Sporter.

 

I wanted something else, so I went the Target Rifle route,,, but at the end of the day it is MY gun to do with as I see fit, and this also applies to everyone else's guns ( and Jeeps) as well.

 

here's what I started with,,,

 

here's what I ended up with,,,

 

There has to be improvement you are wasting your time and money.

 

I think this one is worth more than the $200 I paid for it?

 

Randy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eggy:  I had a  1966 Matchless Typhoon 600cc single when I was 18 years old in 1968.  Paid $350 for it and sold it a year later for $500.  The bike was complete and the only mod was a disgusting Green metal flake paint job and a Bates Megaphone.

 

I painted it black and replaced the Bates mega phone with a proper megaphone that would literally blow your ears out. The stock pipe was long gone. 

 

Got numerous noise tickets and would just reinstall the Bates pipe and get it signed off, and then go back to the real megaphone. I was well known by the cops in my town.

 

That bike would easily bring $15K here now.  The Typhoons were a little more rare than the G50's over here but neither one was something you saw every day.   Most ended up at Ascot on the half mile track racing BSA Gold Stars. Or in the desert racing Hare and Hound.  They were highly modified by that time. By 1970 both were obsolete as the tuners had figured out how to make Triumph 500 Twins go faster, and 650 TR6's ruled the desert.  The Jap bikes took over by 1972 and the English bikes faded into history.

 

Randy

$1500