opinions 'bout custom or stock

Hi all,
The last 2 days i have been at a friends house helping him putting airride under his 1966 Ford Galaxie and it got me in a place where i would love some opinions from fellow wagon lovers.
The recent damage to my car puts me in the position that i have to start working on the car about a year ahead of planning sooo..
What do you guys think: A 1972 LTD Country Squire..is it such a car that i must keep stock when restoring or would it be ok to put a airride system in and do some other modifications like taking the woodstrips of and make it smooth for instance..i am not a purist and my opinion always was that all could be modified but now i have this full size wagon i dont know what to do..i feel a little bad whenever i even think of taking some of the original stuff of this car..i really also like it stock..on the other hand thinking of this car on 14" cragar ss rims with the frame almost on the ground also makes me smile..

let me know what you think

Marcel.

 

I think it's your car and you should do what you want with it.

If you had a couple of them, you could keep one "stock" and customize the other one...

 

This is really a subjective issue, Marcel. It's your wagon. Do what you want to do with it.


I'll only add that it seems a shame to take the 'wood' off of a 'woodie'. If you wanted to do that, you should have started with a Ranch Wagon or Country Sedan.

 

Rims and such are just bolt on stuff that can be changed back easily. If you're having doubts, for now, do the stuff that can be changed back without much difficulty.

 

It is your wagon, what makes you happy is all that matters, rite?

 

You can never ever go wrong staying stock.
How many day-glo colored vehicles with matching funkily bent antennas and dual blade windshield wipers you see around anymore?, same goes for pro-street cars.
Fads come and go, stock is eternal.

I agree with doing things that are easily reversible, don't butcher it, they're only original once.
Lowering is a lot of expensive work just to make it look cool sitting still, just let the air out of the tires when it's sitting to lower it and use a air tank or 12 volt air compressor to refill the tires when you're ready to get going again.
How about dig four holes and drive the car into them???
Uhhh...Jupiter has 2-1/2 times Earth's gravity, it would sit real low if you parked it there?, unfortunately there's no solid surface to park on.

I'm just kidding!
It's your car, you can screw it up as much as you want, don't worry about bastardizing a piece of American automotive history and cultural icon.

Shoot...I'd put aluminum siding on the Taj Majal if it were mine and have no problem at all with it.

 

Personally, I usually let my cars decide. If it is in decent shape and things are easy to fix or replace, restore it. As for my wagon and the last two vehicles, they were already being converted to hotrods so I just continued.
If it's too far rusted, rare parts are missing, etc. it is much cheaper and less of a headache to make a custom. Personally I never did care for the ultra low method. If you really look close they look stupid!
If you want to get er down in the weeds do what thye've done for nearly 100 years, use lowering blocks, dropped springs, dropped axles and spindles, and those things which can be changed back.
Want to get radical, chop the top, channel the body, and stretch the fenders.
But, if the wood trim is decent, keep it or trade for a cheaper model.
That said, it's your toy, only you have to be happy with what you do.

 

Thanks all,i know its my toy but i wanted some more opinions because i had a hard time with this.
I think the wagon will stay original except the colour and rims the wood wil go back on and im thinking to only lower it a inch and not cut up my frame to make airride fit. gloss black,dark woodpanneling,cragars..something like that.

 

Marcel......Sounds like a plan. Everything that I've done to my 56 150 Handyman can be reversed. Today TriFive's wagons have very few parts, save the body, that haven't been reproduced. So if I ever had a wild hair the car could go back to be a nice stocker, but I've got to say living in Florida I could never give up the A/C. Marcel, car guys like pictures, send lots of pictures in construction and once it's on the road.

David

 

Marcel, sounds like you did some thinking. Also sounds like a great plan. Keep us informed and send pictures as you progress.

 

me personally?....i like to leave things as stock as possible...meaning...if you can UNbolt it and put it back to stock.....then fill yer boots !!!!

wheels...adjustable suspension...it can all be put back to stock...

now taking the wood off?.....thats wrong....

...my 2 bits

 

Having had a Country Squire in the past... I would definitely leave it stock. Restore it to a very nice stock condition. People love to see them. You don't see many Squires around anymore... but that's just what I would do.

It's your ride and you are the one that's going to be enjoying it for years to come. Do with it what you will and drive the wheels off the thing!

 

Its your ride, strip it and build it anyway you want. I see a stock car at a show, I will walk right past it to look at one with a blower sticking out of the rare cut up hood, big wide wheels and paint that is custom. A model T to me is super boring, a T bucket with a bigblock Chevy, Bicycle tires up front and 33" meats on the back, now that's cool as hell! I am not a big fan of wood and any wagon I will ever own in the future will be stripped of it, no matter what anyone else thinks, its my car and I am the only one who has to enjoy the way it looks. Don't like it, shove it up your arse and don't look at it, that's my opinion!

To me, white walls, spoke hubcaps or about any stock hubcaps are FUGLY. A set of chrome wheels and white lettered tires will make even a Yugo look good. And for heavens sakes, uncork that choked exhaust and put some pipes under the slut and let her breathe, not only for the sound, but for the performance and gas mileage improvements.

Thats my opinion and you asked for it.

 

I am with everyone who says It's your wagon do what you want for you as for me personally I like to personalize all my autos. My '03 Toyota Tundra is the only "stock" vehicle I ever owned and plan to keep it that way since it's a base model truck. The other reason I usually modify everything I own is usually I pick-up on cars that are missing parts or abandond projects which suits me fine because I usually have a vision of what I want anyway.
That being said my dad and I bought a original 1940 chevy business coupe about 10 years ago that wasn't running with the idea of street-rodding it until a Saturday of tinkering with it got it running like a watch. So I decided to see since it still had the 6 volt system and all if everything else was original. The only thing incorrect on the car was the rims were painted the wrong color and this was the first set of porta-walls I had ever seen (I was born in '73 so they were before my time) No this long story's point is we didn't have the heart to cut up this car and we had alot of offers on the car without posting it for sale because my dad lived on a busy hwy at the time and people would stop when we would have the 3 or 4 cars out the garage but we sold it to not the highest offer but some one who said they had been looking for a original car and figured he could appreciate it more. (Funny how car peoples mind works, isn't it)

 

I think that some wagons, especially full size wagons, can look a little... umm... dull, when kept completely stock. As mentioned before, even the right set of wheels and tires can make a huge difference.

My Bonneville was completely stock, but in yellow primer with much of the trim off when I bought it. After much deliberation, I decided to do away with the body side moldings, add mild custom paint and 16" Hopsters. People seem to love my car wherever I take it- haven't got a negative comment yet.