To Restore or Not Restore

摘要

"I just pulled a Jeep out of a barn where it sat since 1945 and want to restore it, what should I do?" This is a question that I hear about once a year. Each time, I know the answer the caller wants to hear has something to do with restoring the Jeep to its "former glory," but that isn't the advice I am likely to give. WHAT'S THE GOAL? Often, a person who finds an untouched relic, whether it's a WWII Jeep, a Civil War musket or anything between, hasn't really set out to collect that particular item. They haven't really considered the scarcity of an unrestored, unmolested example until it is too late. The "rush to restore" has affected many hobbies: Classic cars, vintage tractors, antique furniture, and yes, historic military vehicles and militaria. The motives are simple and quite understandable. The new caretaker of the particular object of history thinks it would be desirable to restore the item to how it looked when it was manufactured.