well, as I reread over all these post you guys got me 2nd guessing myself on selling these drums,

I'm thinking now maybe i'll slowly fix them up, play on em a while, then decide what I want to do

I would hate to sell now and regret later and never have a chance at something like this again

i have a young son that is a drummer also, as of right now these mean nothing to him but later in life these would be nice to pass down to him D' Drummer

now that is what i like to hear. you are making a very good choice there. once you get them all together and playable, you will be very thankful for the advise on keeping these beauties and one day your son will be very thankful you took up our advise. good luck with the clean up and repairs and if ya need any help along the way don't hessitate to ask, lots of helpful knowledge around here, and a bunch of great guys willing to share that knowledge.

You will find him in the vintage Cymbal section of this site. Take a pic of both cymbals, top and bottom and then the stamp for each one. You will not find a more knowledgeable person on K Zildjian on the planet.

You`ll find that if you keep the cymbals with the kit, your son will never part with them or those drums. The extra holes in the BD are not gonna effect it`s sound. Collectors don`t like them.

What kind of heads (top and bottom) should I be looking for ?

Should I look for an old Speed King ?

Choosing drum heads can be stressful, because there are no returns. I'd hold off on picking heads until you get the missing parts and the shells cleaned up.

It's time to mention, never use any type of steel wool on any part. For the chrome pieces, forum members have had good results with Simi Chrome polish or Flitz (non-toxic). For the wrap, members have used a good quality car polish/wax. Another great product is Novus. There are 3 different levels. #3 for deep scratches, #2 for medium/light scratches and #1 is a cleaner/polish. I've only used #2 and #1 and it works great. It is sold individually or in a 3 pack kit. Harley Davidson dealers should have it in stock. Do some searches on the forum for other threads on cleaning and detailing, because there are hundreds. If you have questions before you attempt something, please start a thread.

While cleaning, be careful with the bearing edges. To some, these can be considered the "heart" of a drum. If you have concerns or something doesn't look right with one of the bearing edges, please post your question with pictures. I only mention this, because the pictures you posted show the drums without their resonant heads/hoops. Don't know how long they've been like that, but there could be minor nicks in the edges. Altering/fixing the bearing edges, if not done right, could turn it into a player's drum and the loss of hundreds of dollars in value.

If you want to look for a Speed King to finish off the period look, that's fine, but not necessary. Some people love them, and some people don't. It all a matter of preference.

I know, based on everyone's comments, it sound like these drums should be sealed in an air tight container and that's not really the case. We're just giving you detailed pointers that have been tested and known to work based on the many cumulative years of member experience. I'm not a vintage drum expert and have only been doing this for 3 years, but if you follow the advice within this website your kit will look great and retain it's true value. Since you decided to keep the kit, I think you now understand you have something very special that many drummers would only dream of playing, let alone owning.

I've only been discussing the drums, but you have those K cymbals too, which is a whole separate topic. ;-)

-Tim

Jimi,

Let`s talk about the K`s because it will be short for me.

Can you take a pic of both of them, top and bottom (signatures) and each one`s stamp ? If you like I can post them to the cymbal forum to find out what you have. You have something in those too !i I already know what you have for drums, the Cymbals are a different story.

The speed king pedal will match your HH pedal.

Keep'em......keep'em..............

ive decided to keep the K's with the kit now

ok, so heres what I am looking for I think......

an L for the tom mount

a bottom ring and lugs for ride tom

a bottom ring and lugs for floor tom

a speed king pedal