Restoration: how far should it go??

I try to get my machines running as they would have been in their prime. This includes making the common upgrades that most users would have done. Since I am restoring kits, there was wide variation in assemble quality. If I have or can find the correct parts I am just finishing the assemble 25 years later. (I am talking about adding a capacitor or a minor cut and jumper. Not increasing the memory by tacking RAM chips on top of the original ones.) I want the machine to work, even if I have to replace parts. I restored a SWTPC TV Typewriter that had been very poorly assembled in the 1970s by stripping the boards bare. (This is not the first choice procedure.) I was able to find accurate replacements for almost all of the parts. http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/CT_1024/Restore/CT1024_Restore.htm I also build new upgrade boards for SWTPC 6800 computers. Some of these use current production parts and some use historical parts. These can added to a system and removed without damage. (I sell copies of some of my upgrades but I make them for my own use. Which is a good thing because I will never recover my cost.) http://home.attbi.com/~swtpc6800/new_stuff.htm Sometimes a hand wired board is a accurate example of what the original owners would have used. http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/QRC_Proto/32kMemoryIndex.htm These upgrades allow the base level product to be upgraded to a full featured version so you can run the vintage software. Another area of restoration is documentation. I have been scanning documents, converting them to text, then creating PDF files for the web. I correct the typographical errors in the originals and add corrections. I don't try to maintain the exact format or pagination. I do identify major changes that I make. I have been taken to task of not preserving the original documents with all of the errors! Michael Holley www.swtpc.com/mholley