Let's face it, stuff like body configurations, engines, axles and tires
should be as original as possible; but do I care if I have new pistons
or valves in my 1944 GM 270? Not a wit; if anything it works better.
Brake linings? Hell, it stops even better than the original! Repro
floors? They'll do until I figure out something better. Paint? Sometime
back we found some CMP parts wrapped in the original grease paper, took
them into a paint supplier, and had him mix some up.
Gentlemen, it works, and while YOU may know it's not 'original', that
guy on the side of the road who drove the damn thing 50 years ago
couldn't care less! Stop worrying about whether you're using 'F' marked
bolts on your Ford MV; if you've got 'em, great - but don't delay your
restoration for the lack of them! Just get these trucks back on the
road, BEFORE there's nobody left who remembers what it was REALLY like
to drive them when it counted.
Sorry for the sermon, but I've run across countless of these old dudes,
who, believe me, appreciate just about ANYTHING we reconstruct in their
honour. 'Nuff said. Over to you.
Keep 'em Rolling,
Geoff
Steven P. Allen wrote:
> It seems to me that the current debate over repro-jeeps has to do with
> how
> authentic the finished product is. I've no wish to put down anyone's
> project, and I admire the absolutely perfect restorations and the
> modified
> rigs both (though for different reasons). Let me share something I
> learned
> from the '50s-'60s car restoration hobby.
>
> Especially where the high-$ cars like 'Vettes, 'Stangs, etc. are
> concerned,
> there are whole groups dedicated to bringing original cars back to
> absolutely perfect condition. These guys will spend $10,000 (1990) on
> a set
> of original red-stripe tires, for example. They will spend months
> tracking
> down NOS hose clamps, fan belts, lightbulbs, even paint. They detail
> the
> vehicles with absolutely perfect factory markings, even preserving
> chalk
> marks on various parts whenever possible. Each detail is made
> exactingly
> perfect, and the results are breathtaking to behold. BUT: the result
> is
> not truly authentic.
>
> Why not? Because the cars never looked that good when they were new.
> They
> were built on an assembly line as fast as detroit could turn them out,
> not
> lovingly, by hand. They were shipped to dealers in open-sided freight
> cars
> which allowed them to get dirty, nicked, dinged, and even shot at by
> bad
> little boys with Red Ryders (hence the modern aluminum siding on auto
> transport cars). Sure, the dealers prepped them, but they did so in a
> rush.
>
> And so, in the "classic car" hobby, various approaches have sprung up:
>
> Perfection at any cost, authenticity be damned; Factory Correct,
> imperfections accepted; Dealer Prepped, a sort of compromise; Street
> Restoration, "hey, these cars were modified by their original owners,
> so
> modifications that are correct for the period are OK (a sub-class here
>
> accepts only mods done BY the original owners)"; Modern
> Interpretation, use
> the best of new technology to overcome short-comings in the original
> design;
> and a host of others that reflect the diversity of people who enjoy
> the
> hobby. Does this begin to sound familiar?
>
> Now, consider MVs. As fast as Detroit was shoving cars off the
> assembly
> lines, MVs were being produced in war time in indecent haste. They
> weren't
> produced to win beauty contests but to win a war; in fact, they were
> really
> considered desposable. The important thing was to get something,
> anything,
> out there on the front lines. Attention to detail was not the order
> of the
> day: speed was. I doubt they shut down whole assembly lines if a
> "correct"
> part ran out as long as something close would do. What were the
> original
> paint colors on such-&-such a part? Whatever worked and was on hand
> that
> day. They weren't going to shut down jeep production if the
> generators
> weren't apinted to spec. They'd paint 'em whateve was handy and shove
> them
> onto train cars for delivery to the nearest base or port.
>
> Did the motor pool personal hold up an offensive in order to get the
> right
> windshield wipers on the Jimmies? If a fender got shot up, did Patton
> have
> to stop driving on the Rhine while his mechanic got a NOS replacement
> part?
> NO. Make do and kill Krauts. Lest I seem UScentric here, I'm sure
> this was
> even more true for the Axis powers. And I doubt either the Brits or
> the
> French were too particular about what spark plugs they used as long as
> the
> vehicle ran.
>
> The moral is this. A perfect restoration is a worthy goal and
> inspiring to
> behold. But, HISTORICALLY, it's not the only _authentic_
> restoration. In
> fact, it may not be authentic at all.
>
> I'm sorry this is so long, but I worry about the devisive nature of
> these
> sorts of debates. There's not only room but valid justification for
> numerous approaches to this hobby. We ought to share info, not
> acrimony;
> trade parts, not insults. All of these approaches can learn from each
> other.
>
> (Probably more than $.02, but maybe worth only $.01)
> Steve Allen, Rolla, MO, USA
>
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