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"Original" is synonymous to "restored" in my opinion. You are putting the car back to the shape/condition as it was when it came new from the dealership. You are putting the car back to its original condition (as close as can be)...you are restoring it. Same difference. Whether custom or restored, it's gonna cost money if you do everything correctly. Both are challenging. If you stay stock you really can't go wrong should you ever want to sell the car because it will be in good shape and in a condition in which maintenance and repair will be made easy since a mechanic can use a standard shop manual to fix it. Nothing new or exotic to try and understand. And it is possible to perform custom work to the car that is reversible, thus allowing the car to be returned to stock should the desire ever come -- this is pretty much what I've been doing with my Jetta...my Squareback is drowning in the murky sludge of the DarkSide so she doesn't really have a chance :) Custom is tricky because the car is designed to the tastes of the owner. And not everyone has the same tastes (I wonder if some people have any taste... :) Selling it can be a little more difficult. If you mess with the drivetrain and sell the car, be sure to do the buyer a favor by WRITING DOWN all changes made so when it comes their time to adjust this or fix that they won't screw things up. Don't expect to turn a profit, either. Just because you sink $10K into a custom car (well, even stock) doesn't mean you will get at least that amount back! When in doubt, get it appraised. I've sunk over $10K in my baby but she's currently appraised at $8K for insurance purposes and that would probably be the most I could think of getting if I wanted to sell her right now (if I ever became delusional, insane AND stupid all at the same time). Although, once I get the body-off paint and black leather interior done some day... Be wary of after-market parts, especially 'custom' stuff. A lot is of questionable nature. Try to stick with original stuff - NOS - and German parts as much as possible, even if you go custom. Toby Erkson air_cooled_nut@pobox.com '72 VW Squareback 1.6L bored and stroked to 2.0L, Berg five-speed '95 VW Jetta III GL 2.0L, P-Chipped, Jamex sport suspension Portland, Oregon, http://www.icbm.org/ >-----Original Message----- >... > My question is perhaps a matter of taste. First, what is >the definition >of "original" when it comes to restoring older cars? Second, >after talking >to my father in law, who restores old fords into custom hotrods, I'm >debating whether I would be better off customizing my 68 or >attempting to >keep to it original... ------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe? mailto:type3-request@vwtype3.org, Subject: unsubscribe