Minnie Mambo Rescue

Hey all. So today I did something that just had to be done. I rescued this Minnie Mambo! Been watching it online for over a month. Called the seller and talked to him about it. Made an offer and he accepted, as I was the only one to actually call or message about it the whole time it was listed. So met up with him after work. Quite the back story. The plane is brand new, just over 53 years old.... He had built it in his apartmant in between 1964 and 1967 when he and his wife bought their first house, of which they still reside. He is a flier, but never got to flying this one and he said he may as well get rid of it. Also to note, he told me he just ran it the other day in the basement and got in trouble form 'the boss' for doing such. He unfortunately did not remember what it was covered with, other than a fabric. It also came with the original box and plans, and in the box was a piece of some sort of fabric. It is not silk, but rather more 'rough' and not at tight as weave. I am not sure what the paint is. The red does seem to have the shine and feel of dope, but the white does feel and look like house paint to me, but I may be wrong.

I am not really sure now what to do with this model. It is rudder only and built as per plan. This is where the problem arises. It was built for an escapment, so if I was to redo it, I would need to cut and remove that control rod to replace it with a proper rod for rudder control. And while in there, I think it would be beneficial to also add an elevator. If I was to do it, I would probably modify/trim the rudder so an elevator would also work, and then add an elevator to the existing horizontal stabalizer rather than cutting into it. But there are also two other things to me. First is that it is not a top tier built or show model, but also is over 53 years old and I would hate to take it up and crash it. And on the flip side, as we have no kids, and modelling is getting smaller and smaller here it seems, if I did not fly it, its destiny would probably end up being a big bin, without ever seeing flight as was designed and hanging up inside. What to do, what to do.... At least it is winter here now so I do have some time to decide!