Topic: Opinions on value and possible paintwork of 47k mile 78 w72 ws6 4speed....

[78w72ws64spd]

I recently purchased a 78 Mayan red Trans AM, Ws6, W72 4 speed, 47k original miles (last owner had it for 31 years, garage kept). I found the build sheet behind the back seat and it was near mint, confirmed the car as all original other than...

1. wheels, car was ordered with gold 15x8 wheels, they are missing, but i plan on replacing those
2. pioneer super tuner radio, but uncut dash
3. upper radiator hose and a couple clamps
4. exhaust, headers and duals, but i have the original manifolds and heat riser.
5. Hooker competition show bar, which im taking out and replacing the carpet and side panels.
6. this is the big one, 60% original paint and its nice, but car was scratched in 2006 down the passenger door and quarter. No damage but scratched. the passenger door, quarter, roof and driver quarter were painted (no way to break the paint). I have all the paperwork from the body shop confirming this. Unfortunately they didnt allow the paint to dry enough between coats so the roof now has crow feets popping through (cracking) you can only see it under under florescent lighting, hard to see outside but im picky as hell and i admit it.     . 

The car is super tight, doors shut with one finger, runs and shifts excellent, it was ziebart undercoated when new so i pulled the carpet and the pans are mint, trunk floor is mint, all original sheetmetal. seats, dash, door panels all excellent. car was definitely garaged all of its life. 

So here is my question....Car looks good, its a true survivor, but as i mentioned im picky, So what is worth as is? What is it worth repainted? 

Am i wrong to paint it or should i make it as nice as i can?

[Nexus]

It's like all things...depends what you want to do with it. I'm too far outta touch to give it a value but I do know, and probably you do too, the more original you keep, the more valuable with the appraisers. Even with paint being repaired but still having the factory paint on most of it is good for value. If you have OCD issues then I would slowly fix this and that until it gets back its former glory, which by the sounds of it will be relatively easy per say. I'm not 100% sure about the repainted part if its better to repaint just that section or try to fix what's there.

Good luck with it!!

[Wallington]

60% original paint.....scratched but not damaged? That doesn't agree and possibly doesn't even qualify as a any of that survivor crap. If you can enjoy it as a nice original car, do just that. If it needs tidying up so it's presentable enough to be able to take to the shops without ridicule, do that also. If you don't want it, sell it. Let someone else lose money on something that they choose.
Absolutely, paint the poor thing. No one should be rewarded for not maintaining a vehicle unless it's in a museum. And yet we give them accolades and trophies for owning a piece of crap that has been parked in the sun for 30 years on rotted tyres and has the original plug leads that were due for tossing decades earlier. Yes, paint it, look after it. Originality is great where the condition allows its use without holding the rest of the vehicle back. It's your car, if you don't have an opinion on it, I'm not sure you'll find one on here to agree on.