tpelle
Member
Don't "restore" it! Every detail that you "fix" is history lost!
Related story:
My wife's uncle Carl, who never married and lived pretty much as a recluse, lived on the old family farm. In one of the barns on the farm there was an old Model-T touring car. This car was originally purchased by Carl's father, and was used as daily transportation until some major repair was required, then Carl's dad just parked it in this shed and went out and bought a new car.
Several antique car collectors had approached Carl over the years about buying the Model-T, but he would never sell. Finally one collector caught him at the right moment, and became the new owner. He replaced the tires and battery, made a few other minor repairs to get it running, and took it to a few antique car meets.
He started to talk about restoring it, but was discouraged from doing so. It seemed that this Model-T was the most complete car of its vintage that had been found, literally in a barn, in many years. It had the original upholstery, folding top - even the paint still shined!
Eventually he sold the car as-is to a collector in Los Angeles, who still drives and shows the car today in its "as-found" condition! This very Model-T has its own chapter in this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Ford-Model-Th...=UTF8&qid=1389360256&sr=1-19&keywords=model-t
Ask yourself this question: Is this rifle more valuable to you as a shooter (with the very parts that your great-grandfather actually held in his hands), or as a relic of family history?
Related story:
My wife's uncle Carl, who never married and lived pretty much as a recluse, lived on the old family farm. In one of the barns on the farm there was an old Model-T touring car. This car was originally purchased by Carl's father, and was used as daily transportation until some major repair was required, then Carl's dad just parked it in this shed and went out and bought a new car.
Several antique car collectors had approached Carl over the years about buying the Model-T, but he would never sell. Finally one collector caught him at the right moment, and became the new owner. He replaced the tires and battery, made a few other minor repairs to get it running, and took it to a few antique car meets.
He started to talk about restoring it, but was discouraged from doing so. It seemed that this Model-T was the most complete car of its vintage that had been found, literally in a barn, in many years. It had the original upholstery, folding top - even the paint still shined!
Eventually he sold the car as-is to a collector in Los Angeles, who still drives and shows the car today in its "as-found" condition! This very Model-T has its own chapter in this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Ford-Model-Th...=UTF8&qid=1389360256&sr=1-19&keywords=model-t
Ask yourself this question: Is this rifle more valuable to you as a shooter (with the very parts that your great-grandfather actually held in his hands), or as a relic of family history?
