I was recently reading an article in a Porsche magazine, it described the find of a rare 1973 2.7 911 RS, in Lebanon of all places. It had been found in the car park of a partially collapsed apartment block.The original owner had been a local Volkswagen dealer who enjoyed rallying in his spare time. He purchased the car new from the factory and drove it with some success in his home country, before war shut down any local motorsport. Tragically he lost his life driving ambulances in one of the many bloody incursions of the late 70’s. The family was eventually forced to leave the country in the midst of the skirmishes and the 911 largely forgotten.Fast-forward to 2005, and rumours of an old Porsche in a partially collapsed apartment building had been floating around for some time. Nobody locally knew what it was, a genuine 2.7 RS. The car had been damaged in the collapse, a large section of the roof had been pushed in due to a wall falling on it, and thirty odd years of neglect had taken their toll, but it was largely intact. The owner’s family had returned to the country in the mid 90’s but had done nothing with the car. Eventually it was checked out by an interested party and discovered for what it actually was. The owner’s family were tracked down and the vehicle was successfully purchased for an agreeable amount. The new owner’s then very carefully shipped the car back to England via sea freight. Once landed and customs cleared, it was sent to perhaps the best place an early 911 can go in the whole world. ”Auto Farm”From here you would be expecting to read that the car was stripped to a bare shell for a full rotisserie restoration, and put “Back to its former glory” so to speak. However that was not to be. The new owner’s didn’t want that. The car had been through so much, it had so much history. A full restoration would simply erase this. The new owner’s wanted to drive the car, and they intend to drive it hard, with the history and “Battle Scars” intact. Almost as a tribute to the original owner. The engine and transmission were removed for a full inspection and overhaul, but even then there were no aesthetic alterations made to the appearance of the engine. The suspension and remainder of the drive train was removed, refurbished and rebushed, but again there was no powder coating or re-plating of suspension arms or uprights. It went back together looking as close as possible as to when it came apart. This quest for originality continued on the body, the roof was simply pushed back out; new paint and bodywork were to be kept to a bare minimum. The rusted sections, odd given the dry climate, in the front (possibly due to a leaking battery) were repaired. The new paint had to be matched perfectly to the original equipment.At the end of the day the new owners have managed to obtain and retain a really special car. One that celebrates what made the RS great, history and motorsport. It made me think about restoration in general, and my own opinion on the subject. I had been of the idea that every car that had had a long life and looked a bit tired, “needed” a full restoration, a freshen up. To be made new again. Now I have started to question this. All of our cars have history, stories to tell. To restore them in a clinical manner, to showroom floor condition, could be likened to erasing a video tape. It might be re-runs of Benny Hill or it could be your child’s first steps.My own car is a case in point; it’s twenty years old, a tourist delivery, driven through Europe before coming to Australia. It’s had about half a dozen owners before me. It has character, the stone chips across the front, the mismatched paint, even the swirls and scratches in the paint tell a tale. There’s the corrosion on the metal work that tells of it European holiday. One or more of the previous owners has driven the car hard on a track, so there are more stone chips and scratches in the wheel arches than is the norm. Little bits and pieces, that by themselves are simply blemishes, but put together they tell a story about the car. What it’s done where it’s been, they make it what it is.If I were to change that by re-painting and re-upholstering; restoring the car, am I erasing its history? Am I taking away what it is that makes it special? Or do I simply create a blank canvas that I can make my own piece of history with? Is there a point that says where we should or should not, make new again?Of course it goes without saying that I don’t accept any scrimping on mechanicals. I have gone through my 944 from front to back, new belts and rollers, drive shafts, steering rack, steering shaft, completely refurbishing the clutch, discs and pads all round, rear shock absorbers, rear wheel bearings, door seals, rear hatch rebounded, rear hatch struts, the list goes on. Yet it still retains its character.Having said that, I’m not advocating that panel shops and making new again should be avoided, far from it. There is a time and a place for making new again, to erase the tape, to make a blank canvas, and that point is decided by you, the owner. I’d love to hear your views on this subject.With my workshop up and running now, I have a daily changing array of interesting Porsches. I’m only one door from aPorschaPart, and have an excellent panel shop just a few doors further on. Feel free to drop by and say hello.