Value of keeping 10EE all original

Hello all, I am in a quandry here. My 1951 one owner 10EE is all original except for some minor parts that have been replaced such as the 2000ohm D unit resistor and motor brushes. I am however getting tired of the the noise the Reliance Electric MG set constantly produces. While it is music to my ears, it does get tiring after being next to it all weekend. I'm torn between converting to a 10HP AC vfd drive or keeping "as is". I also have an HLV-H and a Lagun that is on a VFD and both are absolutely quite except for the VFD cooling fan, but an absolute pleasure to use. Is there any value in keeping my 10EE all original?

I have decided to install a 3 hp 3 phase motor and Teco/Westinghouse inverter suitable for the motor that will run on single phase. I do clockmaking and will not need the serious horsepower that some of you guys need. I will, however, mount the backgear box as that is important to get really slow speeds for threading and such. Dealerselectric had an internet special for $438.00 for the pair plus shipping. You simply can't beat that! I have located a spindle lock switch which I'll install in series with the original forward/reverse switch. That switch is easily wired to the VFD. In all honesty, after reading all those posts about troublshooting the original parts, and all the noise, I elected to go this route. Of course if someone would want to restore the lathe back to original, its always possible. But for me, the new motor/VFD is the way to go.
Jeff

I understand the desire to keep things original, but to be honest the 10EE market has just about died. What was selling for some serious bucks a few years ago now seems to be barely able to bring in 3K. Will it go up? I don't know.... who does? Don't get me wrong, I think they are great machines. And I don't know why the market has died (other than the fact that everything else except Deckels and Hardinge HLVH seems to have died too). Just my opinion... do what you want to make it so you enjoy the machine.

Alan

This is probably a dumb answer, but I'll say
"market saturation" I think there are more
than enough EE's for the people that wanted
one. Companies are cutting loose their old
hacks, and there a bunch of EE's out there.
Most are worn out with bad electronics. And
there are just a finite few that relish
fixing them.