big willie daytona, looking for original pictures

[cudacorey]

I'm looking for any original pictures for the big willie daytona , how it looked in its prime before it sat outside and faded away and before the paint was sprayed on the quarters, Ive looked everywhere and cannot find any pictures or it, or does anyone know how to get ahold a Gary french, I know he was a huge big willie fan and might have pictures of the car, I'm having a hard time deciding on how the car should be fixed,

1. leave it as it is

2. i can do the metal repair, and do a scan of the faded paint, when i paint it i can put a flatner in it and age the paint to make the car more driveable. leaving it the way it looks.

3. do all the metal, body, and paint it white , taking paying very close attention to detail to the stickers and hand painted lettering and duplicating it so it looks new when they first did it.

4. make it look like the king or queen daytona.


I'm having a hard time with this , i don't want to wreck a piece of history.

[Aero426]

I'm looking for any original pictures for the big willie daytona , how it looked in its prime before it sat outside and faded away and before the paint was sprayed on the quarters, Ive looked everywhere and cannot find any pictures or it, or does anyone know how to get ahold a Gary french, I know he was a huge big willie fan and might have pictures of the car, I'm having a hard time deciding on how the car should be fixed,

1. leave it as it is

2. i can do the metal repair, and do a scan of the faded paint, when i paint it i can put a flatner in it and age the paint to make the car more driveable. leaving it the way it looks.

3. do all the metal, body, and paint it white , taking paying very close attention to detail to the stickers and hand painted lettering and duplicating it so it looks new when they first did it.

4. make it look like the king or queen daytona.


I'm having a hard time with this , i don't want to wreck a piece of history.

Of all of them, #4 is what you DON'T want to do.    Why make the car something it is definitely not?

I would be inclined to just leave it alone.  There is no question about what the car is, and the car tells a nice story as it is.       

[Arnie Cunningham]

How about this?

1) Stop any corrosion.  Rust never sleeps.  Preserving a piece of history has to start with preventing it from evaporating.  No one is going to fault you for patching the quarters to keep rust from consuming the whole car.

2) Clean the car thoroughly.  Leave the patina.  The black spray paint may come off with a warm pressure washer and/or light buffing - I took the "C and K Pet Shop" off the doors of my Bird at the carwash.

3) Make the car mechanically sound enough to move under its own power.

4) Leave the rest alone.

If you decide to restore it completely later you can.  But you can't un-restore it once you've restored it.

True enthusiasts appreciate cars in any condition.  Look at some of the stuff we all have dragged home over the years.  I know if I was to see this car at a show, I would much rather see it as it is now rather than restored.  My girlfriend would probably not "get it" but that is fine - to each their own.

[superbirdtom]

that car is so immortalized I would not even clean the interior . leave it exactly like it is and trailer it to car shows. The people that don't get it don't matter

[dpm68]

I can't say for sure but I just mentally compared it to my '78 Fender P-bass, which is 100% original down to the cracks, fading finish and certain other worn areas, and my girlfriend offering to have repainted. I almost died right there...

[elacruze]

You can't keep the historical impact unless you keep it what it is.

Anybody could clone it in perfection. Nobody can duplicate what you have now.

I'm all for securing the deterioration and keeping it as close as possible to how BW left it.

[C500]

I would keep it the way it is, but remove any rust issues as Arnie says, and the quarter spray paint. A car with old faded paint is sooo much more thought provoking than a nice new shiny paint job. I just love it the way it looks now.

[TiMopar]

Wow Corey, what a dilemma to have!!! Who am I to give advice, but I say; stop stressing and enjoy possessing such a great car and LEAVE IT EXACTLY as it is.... WE LOVE IT!

[tan top]

yep , i think it sould be left as is also ,  fix the rust , chat to a good restoshop about doing any paint , to match the faded yellow ,  can be done with tinting the formula & adding  a matting aditive , even in the old single stage air dry paint 

[Aero426]

To quote a wise old Detroit pimp, "Let a hoe  be a hoe".    

The guitar analogy is good.    There just are some cars out there that do not lend themselves to a complete restoration.   If you look at the Big Willie car from a financial picture, I do not think there is an upside to restoring it.

The thing is, if you start doing a whole lot of clean up, where do you stop?     

[tan top]

To quote a wise old Detroit pimp, "Let a hoe  be a hoe".    

The guitar analogy is good.    There just are some cars out there that do not lend themselves to a complete restoration.   If you look at the Big Willie car from a financial picture, I do not think there is an upside to restoring it.

The thing is, if you start doing a whole lot of clean up, where do you stop?      

yeah thats true  also !! where do you stop once you start !!

[Ghoste]

Not at all unlike the Ernie Derr Charger.  Remember when Ernie's condition of sale was that it be restored and everyone was so publicly in support of it being left in it's final as raced condition?  I believe common sense finally prevailed in that case and the car remains as raced.

[Aero426]

Not at all unlike the Ernie Derr Charger.  Remember when Ernie's condition of sale was that it be restored and everyone was so publicly in support of it being left in it's final as raced condition?  I believe common sense finally prevailed in that case and the car remains as raced.

Ernie's condition of sale was that the Charger NOT be restored.    Ernie sold all his stuff (car, hauler, etc) in one sale to John Johnson in Iowa.   

[tan top]

Not at all unlike the Ernie Derr Charger.  Remember when Ernie's condition of sale was that it be restored and everyone was so publicly in support of it being left in it's final as raced condition?  I believe common sense finally prevailed in that case and the car remains as raced.

yeah i remember that !!  is there any recent pictures of the car or just the ones in a mopar mag a good few years back 

[moparstuart]

I'm looking for any original pictures for the big willie daytona , how it looked in its prime before it sat outside and faded away and before the paint was sprayed on the quarters, Ive looked everywhere and cannot find any pictures or it, or does anyone know how to get ahold a Gary french, I know he was a huge big willie fan and might have pictures of the car, I'm having a hard time deciding on how the car should be fixed,

1. leave it as it is

2. i can do the metal repair, and do a scan of the faded paint, when i paint it i can put a flatner in it and age the paint to make the car more driveable. leaving it the way it looks.

3. do all the metal, body, and paint it white , taking paying very close attention to detail to the stickers and hand painted lettering and duplicating it so it looks new when they first did it.

4. make it look like the king or queen daytona.


I'm having a hard time with this , i don't want to wreck a piece of history.

Of all of them, #4 is what you DON'T want to do.    Why make the car something it is definitely not?

I would be inclined to just leave it alone.  There is no question about what the car is, and the car tells a nice story as it is.       

I totally agree leave it as is  at least as long as you can without it falling apart

[Aero426]

yeah i remember that !!  is there any recent pictures of the car or just the ones in a mopar mag a good few years back 

This is from the Keokuk Racers Reunion in 2006.    The next Keokuk event will be on June 19th of this year.

[Redbird]

Not mentioned, the worst possible option, restore it to bone stock and display old pictures next to the freshly painted car.

My  stabilize it, clean it up, keep it as it is, if you can get the spray paint off as earlier suggested-so much the better. Right now you have a genuine piece of time travel history.

[FJ5WING]

The thing is, if you start doing a whole lot of clean up, where do you stop?     

wiser words were never written, (in our hobby context anyway...you guys know what I mean!)

Ask me how I know the answer to that question!

[tan top]

yeah i remember that !!  is there any recent pictures of the car or just the ones in a mopar mag a good few years back 

This is from the Keokuk Racers Reunion in 2006.    The next Keokuk event will be on June 19th of this year.

oh right     thanks for the picture appreciated   

[Ghoste]

Not at all unlike the Ernie Derr Charger.  Remember when Ernie's condition of sale was that it be restored and everyone was so publicly in support of it being left in it's final as raced condition?  I believe common sense finally prevailed in that case and the car remains as raced.

Ernie's condition of sale was that the Charger NOT be restored.    Ernie sold all his stuff (car, hauler, etc) in one sale to John Johnson in Iowa.   

Well there were several reports of the exact opposite situation then.  Either way, it's a good thing that it remains as raced.

[nascarxx29]

Try on page 14 for pictures
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,14491.260.html

[Redbird]

The April 2010 issue of "Sports Car Market" magazine has an article on the restoration of the Ford Model A that John Dillinger stole, got into gun fights with, and then abandoned. It sat blood and all for 50 years and then was restored. The article is none too shy in opinion saying "...the ill-considered restoration, which effectively scrubbed it's history clean. It has no soul and precious little historical significance."

I remember as a kid when the real "Bonnie and Clyde" death car made the rounds at the State Fair at the time of the movie in '67 or so. Folks wanted to see that car, with the holes. We all knew it was a memorable part of American history, good and bad. I think even as a kid I understood that if you could see a part of history you could understand the past better.

The more you keep it as it originally is, I believe, you have something very important as something of it's time and something to be proud to show.

[C5X DAYTONA]

It's your car.  If you can stomach driving it like that.     Not saying restore it to STOCK but like Willie had it before time got to it.  And the sprinklers in his back yard.    Willie used to take that car to muscle beach in Vinace CA and work out in the 70s.