Re: Authenticity vs. Modification

Posted by LINC400 On 2009/4/21 16:45:22

Last year I saw a 1957 Chevy. Pale pink with a white top in very good condition. It had Cragar wheels on it, but aside from that looked stock. I am not really interested in 1957 Chevys, but how often do you see a stock one? So I walked over to it. It had a black, white, and silver interior in very good shape. The owner then walked over and started talking to me. He said he just bought it from an old lady's estate. It had 26,000 original miles on it. He then said the Cragars were just temporary until he got the "right" wheels for it. He was going to saw open the wheel wells and put on 22" wheels. He had already ripped out the six and had put in a Chevy 350. He was going to cut open the hood so he could put a blower on. Then he was going to paint it flat black with flames, gut the interior and put in velour buckets with flames stitched on them. And finally he was going to chop the top. It made me sick just thinking about it. Fortunately I was spared having to make any comment on it because someone else walked over and thought these were all great ideas. Yes, this was a Chevy, but it could have just as easily been a Packard, Hudson, or DeSoto. I have seen pictures of Packards on the internet that were just as hideous.

In light of this, I think it is ridiculous to be arguing about an otherwise stock Packard that has a 12 volt instead of 6 volt system, radial tires or halogen headlights. Yes, it is more interesting to see them as original as possible. But if restoring a 6 volt system costs 2 or 3 times as much as installing a 12 volt, I would put in the 12 volt, and spend the rest of the money fixing other things on it. I'd rather see the car used and enjoyed by someone that tries to keep it as stock as possible, but has a few modifications that no one can tell without opening the hood or crawling underneath, than sitting in a junkyard or rotting outside a garage because they don't have the money or can't find the parts to make it 100% authentic.

As far as nasty club members, I have encountered that myself. I asked a couple of questions on another forum about a Packard I was considering buying last year. When I wasn't getting any responses, I mentioned that I had a time deadline that I had to go back to the owner with an answer. I got some very helpful replies, and a couple of really nasty ones about who did I think I was demanding info. They just continued to be jerks badmouthing me even after I tried explaining my situation. I bought a Lincoln instead. No problems on the Lincoln Forum. I passed on the Packard because I thought it was a black hole for cash. But it makes me wonder how many other people these jerks turned off from buying a Packard. I know I'm glad I have the Lincoln forum to go to for help instead of dealing with those jerks. Now from this site, I have seen some very helpful and friendly people. But unfortunately the negative experiences are remembered more vividly by people.