(Photos by Dave Nutting) – With that last blog item on the 1962 Chevy wagon that is pretty close to all original but isn’t, it made us consider how important originality is to us in certain types of cars. Certainly lots of emphasis has been put on so called “survivors” or “barn finds” over the last ten years. There are nut and bolt obsessive collectors and fans in all the different corners of the hobby. There are the Mopar guys who freak out at the sight of missing chalk marks and paint dabs, there are the Corvette guys who dream in Bloomington Gold, and there are the Camaro dudes who walk through car shows decoding VIN numbers in some sort of weird tourette’s syndrome-like tick.
To me, the originality factor only comes into play when someone is trying to pass a car off as such. It was a good move by the guy selling the wagon to admit that it had been swapped in. Some people would have bought the thing without checking the VIN and then been stuck with something that they thought was more valuable than it was. I grew up seeing my dad do a nut and bolt perfect restoration on his 1964 Pontiac GTO and it was a great car to ride around in and spend the summers cruising in. Then when I got older I was there when we built the Firebird race car and then Nova which is about as original as the McDonald’s franchise on the corner of your street. Other than the factor steering wheel, there ain’t much left. So I like them both ways, but I know others of you out there have differing opinions.
Question of the day: Is Originality Important to You in a Car?
Personally, 90% of the time “Original” Factory appearing cars are just plain boring. They show no personality and its like seeing a red fiberglass 34 ford coupe if youve seen one youve seen 10,000!! I like a personal touch and i like to see some imagination in hot rods and even muscle cars there is no fun in just building something to look like everybody elses…..just my opinion
Depends on the car. An original example of something with a lot of historical value from its age or rarity is definitely something to appreciate. The straight six with external rocker arms is odd enough that I’d definitely be more interested in it at a car show than yet another SBC swap. An all original 1972 Nova with a 307? I can’t see any circumstances where that car would be better than the same car with a big block swap, even in the year 2072.
Yes, sometimes originality is important.
Clean, original survivors should be preserved. Also, rare and unusual models (even if pedestrian in specifications) ought to saved in original form.
And even a clean stock example of a disposable “commodity” car (e.g. Nova with 307) can be a visually interesting insight into how cars really used to be “back in the day.”
Unlike the stupid t-shirt slogan says, it is much harder and more expensive to properly and correctly restore a car to 100-point status than it is to “cut one up.” I’d much rather see a well-restored muscle car than a hodgepodge of trendy bolt-on crap out of the Summit catalog.
Similarly, a proper “Day 2” restoration or a competition car or tribute car “restored” to how such cars were built by the original owners can be a great bridge between obsessive total originality and insensitive, hamfisted “catalog car” hacking.
On the other hand, modifying something that was produced in great numbers and has yielded many stock survivors is what Bangshifting’s all about. Tasteful and thoughtful modifications on a car that is not rare or unusual enrich our automotive environment.
I could not have said it better. I hate butchery, its the stuff that wastes so much time and if it cant reasonably be returned to stock (ie shaved door handles) I’m generally not interested. Good mods are those performed with skill and are usually subtle to boot.
” Stock is a Can of Soup on a Shelf ” So you really want to return a car to being a can of chicken soup at the nearest Kruger’s ? Strange . Very strange .
That’s just another empty t-shirt slogan. And it’s plain wrong.
For example, most would agree that tarting-up a 1-of-17 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible in order to avoid the “strange” and uninformed “Stock is a Can of Soup” judgment would be a selfish, myopic call. And many knowledgable motoring enthusiasts would admit that a lot of that OEM “chicken soup” was fairly elegant and exciting in its “stock” form.
For many virtually extinct makes and models, we’re just caretakers of them for the enlightenment, edification and enjoyment of future generations.
So to cavalierly dismiss “stock” and, by obvious inference advocate the permanent destruction of all original vehicles through fad-of-the-moment modifications and indiscriminate use and abuse –. all on the basis of a silly bumper-sticker slogan — is the epitome of selfish short-sightedness.
Playing devil’ advocate and having worked for car dealerships for 30 years, I will throw out the question: “how do you define original and does it really exist?”
Observations from the BMW garage. The original product in Germany is extensively modified to comply with regional safety, smog, lighting and other requirements. Are these cars “original”?
Back in the ’70’s and 80’s at the port of entry, BMW’s had air conditioners, and other items installed. Upon delivery to the dealership, we installed wheels & tires, audio systems, body kits etc. etc. To the people who bought these cars off the showroom floor, they were “original”. Are they really?
During the period of warranty the cars are updated and upgraded under various campaigns and recalls with equipment never installed by the factory.
Do these things invalidate “originality”?
Just some thoughts.
For what it’s worth, to me “original” is the raw material supplied by the factory for building a hot rod!
+1 and Excellent point !
Try judging a Mustang Club of America Thoroughbred-class competition and you’ll be surprised at the efforts of some in giving us a window into what “as delivered original” actually was forty or more years ago. These cars are incredibly expensive to build and breathtakingly beautiful to see.
Original dealer-installed equipment may seem like a gray area to some, but if such equipment is period-correct, it’s generally accepted in the “stock” side of the automotive world.
Most “survivor” and “stock” class competitions tend to permit OEM-style replacement parts and factory recall modifications. Obviously, what we’re objecting to is more overt, sensless hackery, not replacement of worn parts with OEM-appearing duplicates.
Another good point I read at “Bring a Trailer” is that in proper concours competition — much like the “stock appearing” drags — hidden modifications are seldom detected or objected to.
No ! For my own personal ride I couldn’t give a hoot about originality : being an adherent to Big Sids philosophy of ; ‘ Stock is a Can of Beans on a Shelf ”
For me a Car or M/C is meant to be used – original parts for the most part are fragile and unreliable ( and for the most part made of substandard materials ) after all these years – number matching is for Trailer Queen collectors … not GearHeads … and why the heck shouldn’t I enjoy a bit of new technology to go with my nostalgia looks ? In all Truth and Honesty there’s more than enough ‘ Barn Finds ‘ ‘ Numbers matching originals ‘ etc etc in collections and museums across the Globe of every and any Make Model or Year you can imagine … so for the love of Stroker McGurk …… build em how you likes em ……. and USE the ____ things as their makers and designers intended them to be used
‘ Beans ‘ … should of read ‘ Soup ‘ Mea Culpa
Originality is not important to me, but I do like to see original suvivors and perfectly restored cars just for historical value.
There isnt much interesting about a “100” restoration. Id walk by a whole line of camaros and cudas to see a chopped merc or 46 ford coupe or any 50’s or 60’s style hot rod…..Nothing is more annoying than goin to a show and ending up parked beside “100” point guy…makes me sick.
100-point cars are very interesting to those who are knowledgable enough to understand them (and the disciplined hard work and investment it takes to achieve them).
Sorry that the preservationists make you sick. I say we should all try to get along.
The older I get, the more I appreciate original stuff. Not that I would own one myself….but I can appreciate the way they did things back then, and I try to use original parts where I can, if there’s no significant performance loss from it.
Original is great, in a museum. Everything else I’m happy to see reworked, chopped, cataloged, etc. Just try and make it quicker and more reliable.
It real depends on the car. I have a guy who lives down the block from me. He’s a insane Ford nut and so are his adult sons. The one son just sold the 427 AC Cobra this last winter. To modify or change that car would be a crime, and other than a repaint it was all original, same for the Shelby GT350 they have in the garage. (by the way no trailer queens for those guys, their all driven, sometimes in the snow) But on the other side they may go to far with the keeping things original (just my opinion). They have several other 60s notchback and fastback mustangs that are bone stock. He told me that he almost sold his 66 fastback but then found out the guy wanted to Hot Rod it. He just couldn’t stand the thought of it.
To me keep the ones that are uniquely special original as possible, but as when it comes to the garden variety models. Make them better than the factor ever thought possible.
I like looking at original cars because it’s fun to see snapshots in time of things done long past. Sort of like an old tube radio. It’s cool to look at, even if it doesn’t work. There are special cars that I think are better pieces for having been kept unmolested. After that, “numbers matching”, “unrestored original”, etc. tends to turn into sucker bait. There is a “collectors dream” 72 LTD in the local paper for $5K. Right.
IMO . . . It depends on it’s rareity. The rarer a car is, the more it lends itself to being all original – as it was originally delivered by the selling dealer to the original purchaser of the car.
There is so much free style restoration going on in the market now, it boggles the mind. So because of this, IMO, those cars that are built to original specs will be more valuable as investments as opposed to those that are built to a person’s “bucket list.”
But not all cars are built as investments. Many are built as “drivers” with updated running and safety gear. So those will not be originals.
Then you have the clones/recreations/tributes which really are nothing more than an expensive driver. They look like a specific car (usually rare) but they never were to begin with.
So to answer the question . . . if the car has real value, keep it original. If it doesn’t then do whatever you want to it. Just remember that the day after you finish it – it’s a used car that depreciates in value.
I’ve been involved in NCRS for many years now so obviously I’m into original or correctly restored cars. If you know and can appreciate what you’re looking at they’re anything but boring. BUT I just like cars so many other types get me excited as well, Day 2 Muscle Cars, vintage drag cars, ’50 customs just to name just some. And even a car I care little for doesn’t “make me sick” since I figure its owner likes it and that’s all that really matters………………
if original is a hazard…I feel bad for the preservationist trying to remind us. I chuckle as I took on my only foriegn car where not a single thing was correct but a drivetrain at the heart of it. Some stuff got ousted by law years ago.
Stock is OK for a museum piece that never gets used (gotta keep those speedo miles low…) but I actually use my car. Its a 73 Falcon coupe (aussie) with a 351 and 4 speed and it goes shopping, carries kids, goes in the rain , you name it. Now if I kept it stock, it’d have a six, skinny horrible tyres, maybe drum brakes, AM radio etc etc. In other words it’d be crap to drive. I can see why the purists only take them to shows once in a blue moon…. End of the day, do what you like with your own car, restore it, hot it up, whatever – just don’t tell me what to do with MY car. It seems virtually every answer on here thats pro keeping it standard talks about `because it gives me something interesting to look at at the car show’ – uh, my cars for keeping ME interested, not some stranger at a car show….