QuestionI bought my Grandmother's '57 210 Sport Sedan. It has 29000 original miles on it and the interior looks nearly new. However, it came from the midwest and there is a lot of rust on the underside. If you raised the car in the air all you would see is rust. The only rust visible just walking around the car is just a little along the bottom of the fenders. Can I fix the rust underneath and keep the car in the unrestored category? Is it a plus to keep my car unrestored? What would you do? Thanks!
AnswerUnrestored means just that, as it left the factory. You can clean, you can polish, you can even use a little touch up paint, but any refinishing is "restoring" that part of the car.
If you are asking how much you can do to the car and still show it as unrestored in competition, that depends on the show. In my shows, unrestored is just that. ANY change from factory other than normal wear/tear is a deduction. But look at it this way. If the underside is in bad shape, you won't get any points there anyway, might as well at least clean it up and protect it. I will talk about going farthur later.
But first you must asses how bad the rust is. If there are major holes and pieces are weak, then repair/replacement is the best thing for it.
If the metal is still solid (push gently on the panels, take a small hammer to the frame and other thicker parts, find the weak spots if any) then I would wire brush it and treat it with POR-15 (just google the word), at the very least. If the entire topside remains factory, then you have stopped the rust for now, and can always fix it better later. Total cost might be $50-$100 or so.
If originality is important, try not to cover up any marks on things like the frame or driveshaft etc. If there are any paper tags on things like the springs, then try to preserve them too. (I have seen this on lots of unrestored cars, these things can somehow survive for decades!).k
As to the fenders, if it is typical rust through, then I would say, that the car will be worth more in the long run fixed rather than letting the rust still be visible. If the rust on the bottom of the fenders is surface only, again, treat it so it won't get worse (if you have totally dry indoor storage and the car won't see wild temp swings and won't get wet, you could delay this a little as rust won't get worse if properly stored).
It is a little hard to tell exactly what version you have, but I would guess you have the 4 door hardtop? These are hard to tell from a 2-door hardtop from a distance.
The 57 Chevy is a popular car, and getting parts is pretty easy, the aftermarket for the car is huge. Although the Bel Air is the most desireable, the 210 and even 150 models are still very collectible. With the low miles and originality, I would try to keep the car as original as possible. It may even be worth really refinishing the underside of the car to show specifications,but that would require taking the body off the frame, and once you start down that slippery slope, then parts of the topside start to look shabby in comparison, then you do more, then the interior needs "freshening" and before you know it, you have $30,000 invested in a $15,000-20,000 car!
Depending on your goals and needs, you can just fix up and preserve it as it is, and enjoy it. You can always go ahead and do more, but if you start a major project now, you can't go back!
Don
