I walked out to the shop anticipating success. I have soaked the front brake cable all week in penetrating oil. It was hung from the ceiling so gravity would do its work to the free up the frozen braided wire. I pulled the cable and lever assembly down and pulled the lever in. Nothing. A little more effort. Nothing. Not even a smidge. I exhaled with disappointment. The effort to save the cable was squandered. Now what? I run into this situation at many points during a restoration. You try to repair and the results just are not acceptable. This is typically an effort to save time and money. So depending on which one has more value to you dictates the decision. For me time is more valuable so I will take a working cable off of another parts machine and move on with the mechanical restoration. For me it takes experience to know when to “cut bait”. You need to put in the effort to try the repair to know just how much effort that is. Knowing when to cut bait can get the restoration done weeks faster without spending a lot of extra cash. For the BIG RED restorations I have found in many cases it is easier to get good used or new tires, handlebars, and cargo racks than to try to plug or straighten and weld. I have recently taken this “cut bait” strategy even further. Since I have multiple BIG RED ATC’s I have decided to stock some common parts that are typically needed for restoration like wheel bearings, wheel seals, brake shoes, and light bulbs. This way I don’t have to wait for parts if I need them and there is a good chance I will need them sometime in the future. I have taken advantage of quantity discounts using this strategy. So in summary it can be a good idea to step back and evaluate during different phases of the restoration in an effort to save time, money, or both.