As far as 'restorations' go, there is a whole spectrum of restoration. You could leave a car like this as-is, doing just the minimum required to keep it on the road, and it would be a perfectly acceptable 'original' unrestored car. This option is very common among collectors, who prefer to have as much of their car factory original as possible.

You could also go in and restore all the little things that have been done to it over the years. The 12 volt electrical system would be a good place to start, as that seems to be the major part of the work that has been done to the car.

Assuming the body and interior pieces are as good as advertized, a minimum of body work would have the car ready to paint. Ditto with the interior; using the original skins as patterns, restoring the inside of the car would be a snap.

Personally, I would probably return the car to factory original with as little work as possible. After a few years my vision for the car would have gelled and I'd have a working plan on how it should end up.

If I wanted to jump right into a full restoration or hot-rod program, I'd opt for as rust-free a beater as I could find, as everything would be taken apart and refurbished or replaced as needed.

At the moment, I'm about halfway between the extremes of 'restoration' with my PV544. The body and paint aren't perfect, but the car looks great from 10 feet away. So I don't have to paint it right away - it wins an occasional trophy just as it is.

My interior was re-done in 1991, and although the fabric isn't stock, it's a fairly nice job, and will serve for another year or two. Likewise with the chrome; not perfect, but not needing attention right away.

My focus has been to repair or replace the non-functioning items, like the gauges, heater motor, front light wiring, and etc. At this time virtually everything works as it's supposed to, except the speedometer. I need to find the oddball cable to connect the automatic transmission to the old stock gauge.

All things being equal, the 444 for sale right now will, I hope, find a new owner who will restore it rather than rip it apart and put in all new late-model bits.