Whats with all this originality fetish?

[Spyder fan]

Today is my birthday, so I thought I would act normally and write some inflammatory / controversial words.

I like original cars, but I don't see the point of getting all sentimental about the "original driving experience" or "as it left the factory" type clich?s.

Some no doubt find this important and often spout on about heritage and future values to back up their viewpoint, sometimes these are the same folk who change their rotoflexes for solid drive shafts and get a ?7000 far better than new bodywork and respray from Option 1.

I would like an original car, but at the moment I have two original conversions which I am enjoying immensely.

[trw99]

Advancing years have clearly ripened your little grey cells!

It is not a 'fetish'. It is plain good common sense, which makes it 'keen'.

Why do we drive classic cars? To relive our youth; to capture forgotten times; to replicate the driving experience (warts and all) as much as possible; to remind us of past friends/relatives/times. Hence the relevance to some of restoring to factory specification. If others want to upgrade, why do they often say 'I'll keep the original kit in case a future owner wants to revert to original'? It's because they acknowledge the keenness of originality.

I'd keep the doors kicked out, I would!

Happy Birthday you old fart!

Tim

[billwill]

But cars go through phases, so for reminiscing what should you renovate to.

If you bought a new Elan back in the 60's you probably (as I did) did various improvements shortly afterwards, some by accident as in crunching the front and being only able to get S4 mouldings for your S3. Some because it was the In-Thing e.g fitting CB radio, wider tyres, bigger valves, brighter headlight bulbs, electric windscreen washers, leather seats

And so on and so on.


It's only later in the life of a car that a fetish develops for reverting it to original state.

[richardcox_lotus]

cB Radio !!! Could you actually hear any responses from within an ?lan ???

Sorry for the thread hijack.

[jimj]

The simple answer, natch, is it doesn`t matter to anyone but the owner. We all know that originality appreciates more financially but if an owner wants something different, that`s his business.
What I think you find annoying, and I do too, is when someone bangs on but how good their point of view is. I have to say, spiderman, and forgive me, that you are, perhaps, somewhat guilty of this yourself !!
Jim

[Elanintheforest]

As keen on 'factory original' as I am, my favorite Elan is the yellow Sprint fitted with the Cosworth BDG that runs rings around the modern Loti at Castle Combe every year. It's beautifully understated, really well engineered by a very talented and dedicated owner who, despite doing a lot of work himself, has spent many tens of thousands of pounds getting it right.

I don't have the skill or the aptitude to do that, so I'll largely stay with original.

Mark Kempson

[pharriso]

If I wanted a modern car I would buy one thank you...

[Spyder fan]

Jim,
I'm never knowingly understated in my opinions.

Bill,
10- 4 good buddy!

Tim,
I have a couple of rubber wedges to kick the doors out if anyone gets too nostalgic,

Mark,
Double thumbs up for Tony's BDG Sprint

Phil,
Are you allowed to say fart in the USA?

[billwill]

cB Radio !!! Could you actually hear any responses from within an ?lan ???

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Yes.

[pharriso]

:lol:
Phil,
Are you allowed to say fart in the USA?

On a daily basis...

[peterexpart]

I have always enjoyed "playing" with my cars and adding personal touches just so that yours is at least unique to you, my Elan is 95% original I and I like the Twin Cam Engine, but if during the rebuild it had turned out the Head or the Crank were beyond repair I would have happily fitted a Zetec & 5 Speed a would love to drive one to see what the difference really was.
And as for originality who would not want an AMG Modified Mercedes, an Alpina BMW or a Techart / RUF Porsche as an alternative to the standard offering !!

[el-saturn]

due to the fact that there's hardly 2 identical elans (coming from norfolk) and the fact that any improvement
would have to follow colins' dream of the perfect roadgoing racing car: I'd say the master would've followed (with no doubts whatsover!!) our path: he wouldn't of cared for ONE NANOSECOND what originality or nostalgia meant: if he would have had more budget he would've used titanium, CFRK, aeroquip (red + blue) - like some of us do nowadays - as we see there's two kinds of compromise with an elan! ---- alpine greets from 36/4982

[rgh0]

Why do we drive classic cars? To relive our youth; to capture forgotten times; to replicate the driving experience (warts and all) as much as possible; to remind us of past friends/relatives/times.Tim

There are past driven experiences you want - the performance of a 700kg sports car with a twin cam dual carb engine, the handling of a car with a superb suspension designed by the best in the business, the looks of a classic design.

All this can be maintained while:


Then there are ones you don't want - exploded donuts chewing out your chassis, driving in the dark in the rain with the battery going flat the wipers slowing and the lights dimming, trying to clean and reset the points by the side of the road, spinning out in the wet on a set of crap cross plys.

People who keep their cars so original that these things are part of the original experience generally don't actually drive them and at most take them to cars shows on sunny summer days !

cheers
Rohan

[elanner]

Rohan nailed it.

Nick

[Bud English]

Today is my birthday, so I thought I would act normally and write some inflammatory / controversial words.

Well done sir and a most Happy Birthday.