Depending on the day of the week, and the position of the moon, you'll get a wide variety of responses to "I'm going to get it restored". I'm surprise everyone thus far thinks that's a great idea.
The gun doesn't look that bad, to me, to require a restoration automatically. It's not a rare or high grade or valuable gun - you might spend thousands more than it's worth having it restored. And for a gun with sentimental value, which yours has in spades, restoring it will turn it into a gun that is devoid of all the signs of your ancestors having used it. It will look 'new' again but it won't be recognizable as the gun your father, or anyone else alive, ever carried.
If it were mine...I'd leave it alone other than a minor cleaning. I'd take the $3-5K you'd have spent on a restoration and use it to take your dad on a field trip where he can shoot, or watch you shoot, the gun at something wild.
Also, I'm not sure but I seem to have been told by someone that DelGrego won't restore old hammer guns or Twist Steel guns or???
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