I also looked at this kit yesterday and the day before.Believe me all of you, it is in very rough condition.you cannot polish away scratches on all of the lugs anddeep gouges in the rims. I also took a very close look atwrap and there is various areas that are spoiled and I don'tthink its going to rub out. Other than that they appear to be in good shape shell wise. also I was having second thoughtsabout the wrap. i thought it looked quite dark overall.These drums were just plain ugly.I did not buy them because I know I will want them to lookbetter and to buy rims and lugs all the way around and maybeother hardware pieces will cost around 400 to 500 dollars atleast. so this puts your investment at 1500. it does not have a round badge snare so i can't ever see getting more than thatat this time. I did not think it was a bargain of any particular kind.
First of all, THANKS for your input. I've learned long ago that an individual's description of the condition of a specific drum kit and/or stand-alone item is extremely subjective. I guess that it's because we've probably all got somewhat different expectations going in.
I totally agree with you that the rims are in extremely rough condition. That's the first thing I noticed when I first saw the kit. However, I think that the lugs could turn out pretty nice with a little effort. I've seen lugs in much worse condition, cosmetically, that have actually turned out quite nice after a serious cleaning and polishing. Some fellow forum-members have done some amazing things with vintage drum hardware, believe me!
I think a good treatment with the Novus products would address any "spoiled" areas of the wrap, although I didn't notice anything significant when I saw the drums. I agree that it appeared darker than most champagne sparkles. However, I removed the heads on each piece and have no doubt that the wrap is original. The original owner of the kit who passed away in his 80s was an active drummer from many years and played regularly in a lot of clubs. I'm sure there's a substantial amount of cigarette smoke and other elements on that wrap. I once had an extremely yellowed WMP Radio King tom that cleaned up quite well with a simple solution of dish washing solvent and a damp cloth. Sometimes you just never know. I was more concerned about the "lifting" than the actual shade of the wrap. All three pieces match in color and I know that they weren't "piece-mealed" together. As far as the drums being "just plain ugly" I guess that as the old saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" (lol)!
I agree with you that all the shells are extremely sound. As far as adding at least another $400 - $500 to the kit you might be corrrect. I guess where we respectfully differ in in regard to the lugs. You believe that they'd need to be replaced while I think they need a solid cleaning and polishing and could be used "as is." The rims would definitely need to be addressed, as well as the diamond tom mount on the rack tom. I'm sure you noticed that about 90% of the chrome has flaked off of that piece. Both toms would also need new heads.
In summary, I believe this kit could be a nice "project" for someone but the question becomes "at what price"?