[Steve_Mack_CT]

Keep us posted vespaholic.

On the patina question, I see it all the time with Model As. By now the restorations on many of these cars can be 30, 40, 50 years old. I know on the tudor I had the guy did the work over a couple years finishing in '73. A decent job, painted frame, pro paint, etc. but at some point in his 30 years of ownership it moved lower on the priority list and was stored outside long enough to lead to the top drying out and cracking. Stuff happens.

In terms of locating an original car needing a restoration it is not always the best choice. A car needing everything is fine for the right person as is a high point full restoration on the other end of the spectrum. In thinking about this, I think each situation is individual but governed by the same few basics, which can differ with the car being considered as well as the owner.

What are one's mechanical abilities/desire to do some, all or none of the work the car may need.

How much time does one have (good to be realistic about this one) to devote to the hobby

How much money does one have/want to devote to the hobby?

Also, what's the end goal of the car. With the Tudor I had, I didn't have a lot of money to buy a fully restored car but I had enough to justify paying someone to do some heavy lifting as time was not as plentiful. High point car, heck no, but we put a lot of miles on it. I note that because if you are considering having the shop or another one do the work for you, you might be in the same situation now. I can see the logic of negotiating some or all of the work. Not to worry, there is always some little task to do on a Model A!

Having had a couple of show cars one thing I love about older restorations is the freedom of worrying about any little catastrophe like a stone chip or kid climbing up on the runningboard.