[ROVERNET - UK] Originality (was P6 ...)
Alan Gale
agale at iinet.net.au
Thu Mar 2 00:18:46 GMT 2006
Originality is a very vexed issue and is the topic which causes the most heat
in car clubs.
The purists say that unless the car has the same body, chassis and respective
parts with matching numbers as it had when first assembled, then it is not an
original car.
However it is getting increasingly difficult for me to find 1920s air for my
Crossley's tires.
What happens then in the case of a chassis which began life with a saloon body
in the 20s but is re-bodied with a sports tourer body in the 30s. is it no
longer original or has it become a special?
I understand there are now more bugattis on the road than were produced by the
factory (some restorations have begun with half a gearbox).
What happens when someone takes an original 20s car and gets John Needham to
install a more comfortable close ratio gearbox, making it much more driveable
than the sometimes very awkward 20s ratios? This is a modification which
could have been performed in the 20s - is it therefore a special now? What is
the case of the car which has a major accident in the 20s and gets a new
chassis? And what about those bentleys which are running around with laycock
de normanville overdrives? Or those rovers which have been converted to gas?
Is my Rover 10 now a special because it has been fitted with hardened seats
and valves to run on unleaded?
The VSCC here in Melbourne adopts the attitude that if the car has a logn
competitive pedigree in its current configuration, or is modified within the
bounds of its original technology, then it is what they deem a "proper car"
and eligible to compete in points events. There are many exciting vintage
specials in this club.
It is deemed a "club car" if modern technolgy is fitted (overdrives, etc)
which give it an unfair advantage over its competitors and is not counted as
a "points car".
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