Sorry, but to me (and many others) they aren't worth the time and effort. They are cheap luan shells with cheap hardware, that even after much reworking they still sound sub-par. They are nothing more than a conversation piece. After you're done "restoring" them all that they will be good for is looking at. Drums are made for playing in my book, not just looking at. Cheap toy drums are just that....no matter how old they are or who made them. Hey may be collectible, but still worth nothing (just because its collectible doesn't mean its valuable, there is a difference)....the trash was the best place for them IMO. You could always cut them at the seam, steam bend them flat again and make a door out of them.....the only useful thing for luan.....
Ok, this is just plain ridiculous... This set, once restored, should sound pretty friggin' good! It looks like all the original reso hoops are there, so the bearing edges on the reso sides should be fine. The main problem for these old kits is that they lose the reso hoops over the years and the reso edges got seriously damaged when stored or transported. Also, with all the options and advances in drum heads, these drums can sound better than they did when they were new.
As was mentioned above, giving the bearding edges a quick sanding with 220 grit sand paper (by hand) should help quite a bit. Then clean up the hoops with WD-40, or, if they are really rusty, 0000 steel wool. Clean the tension rods by soaking them in Dawn and warm water for a day or 2 then scrub with a scotch-brite pad.
Then I'd recommend throwing some Powerstroke 3 heads (batter and reso) on the bass drum and coated ambassador heads (or maybe even emperors on the batter sides) on the toms and snare. (I use a single drop of 3 in 1 oil on the tips of the tension rods for lubrication, works great.) Fix it up like that and I'll bet you'd be pretty pleased with the sound.
And for FREE?!?! A set like this, with the matching snare and all reso hoops intact, could go for $150-300 on ebay or Craigslist. No, it wont measure up to a classic Ludwig/Rogers/Slingerland set, but for FREE (or a fraction of the cost for those of us who actually BUY these things) you will have a nice, respectable vintage set for just a little bit of work and the cost of new heads. It wont just be collectable, but a good playing set as well. I know, I played an old stencil set at band practice about 5 hours ago (although, admittedly, I did use a 60s supraphonic snare...) Point is, these old sets aren't garbage, and I'm glad you had the foresight to pick it up and give it a good home. I hope you get it fixed up and enjoy it.
