Sunday, April 11, 2010

Patina

I'm spending so much time restoring my old Citroen car recently (see my other blog) that I don't get to post on this one too often. Having spent hundreds of hours bringing an old rusty car back to life, it's a little ironic that here I post a similar car in the sort of condition mine started out as!

Is this car patinated, or is it just plain rusty? There are certain types of cars that can carry this look well, the Citroen above, or a beat up VW Beetle (Bug) can look quite cool in this natural, weather worn state of preservation. Unfortunately my car had rusted through in several places of the structure, so it no was longer safe enough to leave it as it was, the result is that I've rebuilt it and it's almost finished. (below)

In just a few more weeks I'll be using her as my daily driver, but then I'll be looking for another rusty and forlorn car to rescue. It's at times like these when I wish that I lived in the U.S. There are so many old cars out there in good solid condition just begging to be brought back to life! I agonise over some of that stuff, and when I see a car like the Buick below I don't see a rusty hulk, I see a gleaming two tone and chrome prize winner. All it takes is a little work, those things should be saved.

4 comments:

PTA Transit Authority said...

I see these old wrecks on a weekly basis, going down the highway on flatbeds to the scrapper. A real shame. Beautiful resto job!

The Old Nail said...

Thanks Richard. I really do wish that I could buy something like a '49 Chevy, Oldsmobile, Buick, Packard or whatever from a nice dry state so that it would be pretty solid to begin with. There's just too much water between us to make it practical.

Summerwheels said...

My mum used to drive one of those
(2cv). A blue one but without the big chrome things on the front bumper....

The Old Nail said...

They are great cars! Even today their charms are appreciated by a dedicated band of owners that keep them alive. The French equivalent of the VW Beetle/bug.