If it's reverse-able, mods are no issue to me at all for my personal stuff. Cutting a car or not, and modding it or not, to what you want your car to be is a choice. It's like anything else, some decisions you can't go back once you go. Some you can. Either way, your name on the title and you're name is on the check, you get to choose.
I still will argue it's overall tougher to restore something to factory fresh than it is to modify one. Either way it's a ton of work. But with a factory stock resto, you're boxed in with limitations of your canvas and "have to's" when restoring to factory stock. With aftermarket, you can change your mind or opt to do something wild if you want or change a vendor in the middle of something. Sky's the limit. But if you're restoring a 79
Hurst/Olds and want to do it as close to factory as possible? You MUST use the gold/black "
H/O" emblems. Anything else and you can't do it correctly. Although apparently there were some white slashed emblems out there...but not factory. And then the real issue comes with FINDING the correct parts, not the "almost correct" parts, let alone NOS ones. Another example- many factory A-arms were dip painted with the ball joint ends of them left bare. Most people give up and paint everything black. Or, you love that blue color that the new Challenger has and want to paint your car that color? Nope- factory fresh means your choice of colors comes off the SPID or body plate stuck to your car. Another thing that you have to do as well is when the NOS replacement part actually looks different than the original part or has a superseded part number for the original part, you'll have to document that to show to any judge to show it is the correct part number or supersession, yet the appearance looks a little different (The last available 307 oil dipsticks, for one. Same p/n as the round head handle, but it's a yellow T-handle. Luckily I have a factory correct round headed NOS one.)
Even in restoration, I have no real issues with a structural or cosmetic upgrade that looks stock but fixes factory "fugg ups" when done. Or having to paint something to look plated, because you can't afford to actually plate a piece economically because you're not plating 50,000 units for $0.20 each. Or, like fixing underhood corner braces that have no drain holes. For example, drill a small hole in the corner that's barely visible, 99% of the time a judge wouldn't even know that it wasn't supposed to be there. Plus you get the benefit of no more rust because water won't build up and sit. Or add a bushing or something where there wasn't one, and it ends up hidden. If it makes you happier, do it.
Rktpwrd 's car is a great example. His car is going to have the "stock-ish" like external appearance, but with many upgrades to paint and bodywork and some structural upgrades as well that makes him happy. It's a nice balance of a build that everyone seems to relate to in some ways if not most ways. It's going to be an extremely nice example of a car being restored with quality in mind, even though it has personal touches that aren't stock, but could or should have been. He's fixing the factory shortcomings as he goes, like that stupid sunroof contraption and leveling those fender fiber optic lamp monitor housings. Same could be said with
Injectedcutty 's and
oldsofb 's. And many others' cars here. Amazing work.
I'm going to attempt a factory-ish restoration with my 85 442. It's taken me over 30 years of research and amassing most of the parts. The goal is to be stock again, as close as I can get to rolling off the end of the assembly line again (except fixing their mistakes). I probably won't be able to get it exact, but I'm going to shoot for that goal. But it will be stock. I like it that way. I have other cars for power. Olds built this car for me because I asked them to. And I'm going to try and keep it that way.
