Restore ? OR RESTORED

DO YOU DREAM OF ENJOYING A CLASSIC? SHOULD YOU RESTORE, OR BUY ONE READY TO ENJOY? HERE IS A LITTLE ADVICE.

- LES. HUGHES

MOST OF US HAVE GONE TO SOME TYPE OF CAR DISPLAY and been smitten with the sight of row after row of immaculate gleaming classic cars. It is possible that experience might have even planted a deeply rooted desire to one day own one of them, and add your car to such a line-up.

That is often how it begins, and if you are yet to fulfill that ambition, reading this feature might just be your saviour from years of heartache and financial stress. We want you to succeed with your desire, but you need to go about it with loads of information to avoid making incorrect choices when you are in the heat of auto passion and flush with a pocket full of money!

FIRST DECISION

The first major thing you need to decide is whether you will buy a car fully restored and ready to enjoy, or if a portion of your enjoyment will come from restoring a classic yourself, or overseeing its evolution back to life.

Please though be realistic about whether you really have the genuine desire to undertake a restoration. It can be long, painful and expensive - you will almost certainly exceed your budget. You will also need the correct facility to work in, the equipment including a full-sized hoist - and most of all - the skills it takes.

If you are already daunted, go to a specialist business who has all of the above, years of knowledge, the necessary craftsmen or craftswomen, and has access to the correct parts and skills to fit them without having to go back over their work.