to restore or preserve

[salvtec]

hello
I am new to the forum so hello all.

my question is: to preserve or restore?
I have a small flock of 102's and all are what I would call preserved, I don't polish or bling up but love the
years of hard earned petina on them, as I feel all dings scratches all have a story, my point is, its nice to see a restored
engine but some I see are just gleaming paint and brass polished to the max, a good conditioned old engine is better in my view preserved and not all the hard earned years polished away.

I would be interested in your own views.

also thanks for a great and informative forum.

[AusAnzani]

Restore, renovate or service? All are subjective terms in my view.

My definitions.

Restore - Bringing something back to original condition, with or without a little bit of bling.
Renovate - Improving function and cosmetics, in other words, modifying something.
Service - Leaving as is cosmetically and putting back to good running order.

I tend to work at all ends of the scale depending on the item.

Importantly, I don't judge others. We are all individuals and will do what suits us best.

[salvtec]

Importantly, I don't judge others. We are all individuals and will do what suits us best.[/quote]

fine point indeed!
but It was the difference between restoration ie wire brushing, painting, polishing etc and not just cleaning and preserving
the aesthetics of a sometimes 50+ year old working engine, also being able to look and wonder just where and what it has done.

these wee engines have a character as far as i am concerned no other engine has, I still have my first one i was given as a non runner when I was 12 by my dads friend, my father and myself got it running and it still runs to this day 35 years later.
it still bears all its character and scars after all this time and i can look at it and remember all those days gone by, and that is my point.

there was no judgments made insinuated or implied, i just was curious as to other peoples views.

[Keith.P]

Every one has their own opinion on the subject, so it will always be down to the owner to do as he wishes.
My seagulls have no previous sentimental history to me, so I fix them and get them running, just tart them up, so to speak.
Would I leave a motor as I found it, not knowing the history, probably not.

[Horsley-Anarak]

It is a case of each to their own.

I can see the attraction of the american highly polished engines, most seagulls are plentiful so do as you like, if you want a pink one paint it pink.

My view on pre-war motors is to clean and not over polish, if they have original paint try and keep it, same with decals.

I preserved the original bits of this, but restored the missing bits.

Some say I should have just wiped it with an oily rag and left it, but I was happier making it look better.

256x256_fit_one_bestfit (38).jpg (20.93 KiB) Viewed 1452 times

H-A

[phil]

To me, restored means the level of finish the motor left the factory with, no more, no less. Time and model appropriate parts.

Personally, I do not care for highly polished motors, or tarted up motors as some refer to them.

As said previously, I agree it does not matter much where there are lots of one model available. If there are less than 6 or even 12 known motors of a given type or configuration then it would be sad to see them mishandled by rough and expedient means of cleaning. However in the end, you buy it, you do what you want.

[headdownarseup]

SALVTEC
i like your way of thinking
i sort of agree with you!
i dont like to see a motor "overdone" either. i like to see a bit of petina, it adds character i think.
but as mentioned before, it is very much up to the individual how they want to proceed with restorations/preservations/refurbishment.

if only dents and scratches could talk eh.

that's a LOT of painstaking work in that tank H-A. very well done, and on a marston tank as well. i take my hat off to you sir

its always going to be a difficult one to answer this. does restoration mean (or should mean) return back to factory fresh condition? dont know!

does refurbish mean replace all worn parts with new to bring back to "original as new" condition ?

does preservation mean wipe with an oily rag and a quick squirt of oil on any moving parts?

each to their own, you own it, you do what your gut tells you!

i think perhaps with a MARSTON realistically most motors are for display purposes, only coming out for very special occasions,and maybe a short run on the back of an old clinker dinghy (just imagine that!) some people actively use them, and why not, keep them going whatever it takes.

i've always been a bit of a rebel!
i do what i want, not what is regarded as normal?

jon

[Horsley-Anarak]

i think perhaps with a MARSTON realistically most motors are for display purposes, only coming out for very special occasions,and maybe a short run on the back of an old clinker dinghy (just imagine that!) some people actively use them, and why not, keep them going whatever it takes.

Jon you had better pop over to Cholsey, when we have a "run what you brung" do, then you can see a Marston run reliably

H-A

[headdownarseup]

i'd love to, just waiting for a pm to confirm when it is. rwyb does that include D,C,AC,AD models as well?
no disrespect intended with the marstons. i'm sure they run great. and i'd love to see one close up.

my boat is ready and waiting to go, just tell me when and where (preferably a weekend) and i'll bring down some of my geriatric seagulls.

jon

[salvtec]

(quote)that's a LOT of painstaking work in that tank H-A. very well done, and on a marston tank as well. i take my hat off to you sir

i must agree with you, H-A that tank is nice.



(quote)i think perhaps with a MARSTON realistically most motors are for display purposes, only coming out for very special occasions,and maybe a short run on the back of an old clinker dinghy (just imagine that!) some people actively use them, and why not, keep them going whatever it takes.


as you say, each to their own, but for me a gull with years of wear and tear preserved says it all.
tonight i have just acquired two more, an sdp and an ac, both with their own unique patina, i shall post some pics on another thread soon, but if they
could talk indeed, especially the sdp as it dates to 42/43, it needs a lot of work but its all there.

[Oyster 49]

Whats the number of the SDP? I have only seen SDP with high (10,000 ish) numbers...

[salvtec]

Whats the number of the SDP? I have only seen SDP with high (10,000 ish) numbers...

hi oyster

i have sent you a pm