Preservation class show entry-discussion on how and what

[conkitchen]

So there I was, planning a welfare trip to see my 92 year old Godmother-long story there but I thought since I am going that distance why not look for a car. Bamn! a 74 tii pops up. So I made the plan to see it before furthering down the road to my relative.  Needles to say I bought it and hauled the some bitch back on a trailer thinking the whole time what have I done? 

 

I am not going into a ton of details about the car right now other than it's a one owner car that has been off the road since 1990. Once I started looking in detail I came to the realization it's a pretty good example of a time capsule. I mean it still has the as born with fluted rubber fuel lines, albeit hard as a rock and cracked. Many of the telltale OEM fiddly bits are present like the Verboten screw cap and metal fuel line clip that hangs off the pump. Rims; wearing ancient Michelin XAS 165's are date stamped 10/73 which for a 74 is correct. Why it even has the factory installed muffler which is stamped with the BMW roundel.  You get the point.  

 

Anyway, 

 

After telling a good friend about it, they kinda talked me into maybe going for next year's preservation class submission at Legend's in Monterey. 

 

OK to my point of all this. 

 

Anyone have sage-advice on what should and should not be done to make an entry. I get the basic idea of don't go and paint it or start adding all kinds of new stuff. Currently it does not run-sitting a long time. I will endeavor to get it running and driving with not too much attempt at replacing what's original. However there are things like the window seals that are completely toasted with gaps and missing sections. Would something like this be a smart or dumb move to replace? If replacing would it be best to use a good used one (if such a thing exists) or go with new and chalk that up for safety and take the points hit at judging. 

 

Re-stuffing the seats, good idea or Bad? 

Leave the oxidized aluminum intake all chalky or just gently clean of the dust and scale? 

Surface rust in the paint, polish it back to more smoother look or leave as heavy scale.  

 

These kind of questions I seek to discuss here.  

 

I know the first questions are pictures and VIN# that I am not ready to disclose. It's more about entering any car to a show and not just my car. 

 

Thanks for understanding, I will in the near future share the car in question-just not now.  

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by conkitchen

[JohnS]

Stoked for you.  Can I ask what color?

[conkitchen]

Just now, JohnS said:

Stoked for you.  Can I ask what color?

One of the more boring pedestrian shades 🙂 

[JohnS]

21 minutes ago, conkitchen said:

One of the more boring pedestrian shades 🙂 

After enduring years and years of people coming up to me with the "Oooh  Cool Car", "What year", etc.  when I drive my Inka car, I can appreciate the pedestrian shades.  That's why I drive my fjord (mostly gray primer) car the majority of the time.  It's undercover and I like it that way.  Best wishes, I'm sure you'll do that car proud.

[conkitchen]

Couldn't resist a lil teaser

 

 

[2002Scoob]

🍿

[HBChris]

Having been a judge at Legends and other CCA events I will tell you that the preservation class is still a Clean Car contest.  You would not be marked down for replacing normal usage and safety items like coolant and fuel hoses or tires.  It needs to be safe to drive after all.  In my mind restuffing a seat makes sense as it will still have the original covers.  I would clean everything in the engine bay, removing the scale that ends up on the coolant pipes for instance but reuse the original hose clamps.  Polishing the paint makes sense too as that is a normal part of maintaining a car. I would also replace the windshield seal as well.  My 2800 was entered into the first Legends Preservation class in 2017 and it took first place.  The interior, rubber seals, fuzzy door trim, dash and carpets almost looked brand new as it had been locked in a garage since 1981 and I bought it in 2015 with around 51K original miles.  It had been repainted most likely due to clear coat failure but that was very hard to tell and the hood had surface rust and to this day it has not been repainted but that will happen soon.  The motor was seized and I rebuilt every mechanical component on the car and replated everything but kept all items looking as it had when it left the factory.  And that is the judging goal, “how did it look when it left the factory.”  A competitor with the same vehicle who recovered the seats, painted the car, chromed the bumpers would be marked down but if their car were extremely clean and yours it not they could win.  Remember, you might be competing against a 1989 e24 with under 100K miles and everything is original.  You would get an age credit and a mileage credit but only if the mileage can be verified and is not just a hunch that it hasn’t rolled over.  One owner had a much newer and fairly clean car but the engine bay was swimming in ArmorAll and he complained that he should have won.

 

[conkitchen]

That 2800 looks really nice, I doubt I can get the car I have to that level but maybe close with a lot of special care. Not so certain it's worth it just to receive a crystal cheese plate.  But I always need a winter project to get me out of the house.  

[HBChris]

I replated, painted and powder coated items in the engine bay to recreate the original finishes and rewraped the wiring. Everything doesn’t need to be original. 

[conkitchen]

13 hours ago, HBChris said:

I replated, painted and powder coated items in the engine bay to recreate the original finishes and rewraped the wiring. Everything doesn’t need to be original. 

Soooo; what you are really saying is on top of being really clean, a preservation class car is a partial restored car where no one can tell.  

[HBChris]

I did little things but most everything there was still original, all the stickers and such.  It was obvious the paint was very old and chrome was original.  Same with the interior, bone stock.  You can be marked down for a repaint or recovered seats but cleanliness still rules.

[conkitchen]

9 minutes ago, HBChris said:

I did little things but most everything there was still original, all the stickers and such.  It was obvious the paint was very old and chrome was original.  Same with the interior, bone stock.  You can be marked down for a repaint or recovered seats but cleanliness still rules.

Understood, easier that way for a judge to see what's what. I was of the mindset that OEM originality ruled the day, things like that as born with muffler and date matching rims, date stamped radiator, plus the fiddly bits that go missing over the years.  Obviously they all contribute, but sounds like it's more about house keeping than provenance and survivorship.  

 

Sounds like I can remove the engine and trans and to repaint the block and polish the aluminum and that is acceptable? 

Edited June 5 by conkitchen

[HBChris]

It is impossible to find date codes and judges don’t have that much time, maybe 10-15 minutes on each one.  You can paint the block, it is pretty easy for the judges to tell what is original and they love to hear the car’s story as well.  Polishing trim is a normal part of maintenance, and normal wear and tear is not marked down nor are rock chips but an owner who touches up those chips shows attention to detail.

[conkitchen]

5 minutes ago, HBChris said:

It is impossible to find date codes and judges don’t have that much time, maybe 10-15 minutes on each one.  

To that point, I was thinking "what if I made a legend sheet with pictures (no pun intended) so a judge can quick reference those notable areas.  

 

Couldn't hurt right? 

Edited June 5 by conkitchen

[HBChris]

The judges will trust what you share with them, they will know if they are being played!