by "mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
Published 11/09/2017 at 09:51
by "mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
Published 11/09/2017 at 09:51
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STARS: 1
The inspection results from the TA indicated brakes and suspension components (due to bad bushings). This car is a survivor. My goal was to keep it absolutely as close to original as possible to retain survivor status and hopefully keep value high. So, the question becomes: upgrade or not?
Brakes: I’m replacing soft lines, calipers, rotors, and pads. Basically a full overhaul minus the master. Stick with oem, or upgrade?
Control arms: same question: oem or upgrade?
My primary concern is NOT about performance, it’s about retaining or increasing value.
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/09/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 1
I would upgrade only whatever is easily reversible. Don’t go cutting and hacking at parts and then keep your original parts in storage.
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
11/09/2017 at 10:01, STARS: 6
Easy one.
Don’t mess with it. Replace everything that can be seen with OEM or OEM looking parts. Keep things like rubber brake hoses and rubber bushings but upgrade your brake pad compound (for example). Wouldn’t hurt to use name brand wheel bearings vs. cheapos. It is no longer a survivor if upgrades are obvious.
Currently survivors are gaining value faster than restored stuff.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
11/09/2017 at 10:05, STARS: 4
On the suspension, poly bushings, etc. would *probably* not increase value, and there are a lot of poly bushings out there that don’t work quite as they’re intended and put unnecessary strain on things. Go back with premium rubber for the same cost.
If you have a clear bolt-on upgrade for brakes that’s recognized as a go-to by people who would be buying, and will improve your driving experience in the meantime... eh, maybe. Otherwise, go with boring quality stuff and good grade expendables. OEM calipers, Centric rotors, good pads, etc.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
11/09/2017 at 10:16, STARS: 2
My $0.02 is that I’d stick with OEM as long as it’s available somehow and can be made safe (safety more of an issue with cars much older than this one). If it was restored, I’d probably answer differently - but a car is only a survivor once, and anyone buying a survivor will want it as original as possible, warts and all.
For easy bolt ons (brakes) you could easily upgrade and then revert back to OEM when you sell, but if the originals are really shot, that means buying twice as many parts, so there’s little point to that.
These changes are small enough that I don’t think it would destroy the survivor value, but it certainly wouldn’t help it.
"Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2" (pompei426)
11/09/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 1
No one is going to complain about better brakes and a fresh suspension. I’d recommend looking up what parts are commonly upgraded. A nice original car is nice, but working out the bugs with a few upgrades is much more appealing. Every old car has its inherent flaws. As others have mentioned, only make upgrades that are bolt on, so to speak.
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
11/09/2017 at 10:41, STARS: 1
Rear drums or discs? I’d go to rear discs if you’re replacing drums.
(If you can fit bigger brakes in the stock wheels I might do that. I’m considering upgrading to C5 brakes on my TA since they’ll fit WS6 wheels, but then I couldn’t put my non-WS6 back on for winter)
I’d probably go oem for suspension.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
11/09/2017 at 10:55, STARS: 1
Anything safety related should be ok to upgrade, like a rear disc conversion or making the front discs a little bigger. Originality is good, but 40 year old safety tech isn’t.
You could also upgrade using OEM options. If the car was available with an optional uprated suspension, say, you could obtain the parts and do the upgrade.
"E92M3" (E46M3)
11/09/2017 at 11:21, STARS: 0
Replace with stock parts. Sometimes people change to aftermarket coilovers, but keep the stock shocks. Thinking it’s easily reversible (same with aftermarket brakes), but in the end it still doesn’t bring what it should. Even though it could be put back to stock in a single day.
"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
11/09/2017 at 12:18, STARS: 1
Resale? stock everything. personally I would at least upgrade to stainless steel brake lines (I doubt anyone can fault you for that, also I am pretty sure they are indistinguishable) but besides that collectors are stupid about oem.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
11/10/2017 at 19:21, STARS: 0
I don’t see any value hit or increase with bolt on/off modifications. any extra expense would be to improve handling, braking. OEM would be the cheapest and most sought after by a concours collector. on the other hand improving braking and handling may give you a bit mroe peace of mind and may be more sought after by collectors that like to drive them. I fyou do upgrade hang on the originals so that the concours buyer could always turn it back to stock.
I think the concours group has had too much koolaid