Excellent points made by all in this discussion.
I tend to come out on the side of originality, just because that's my
preference, but it's a powerful argument to say whoever owns the car has the
right to do with it what he or she wants and no one else has any say so.
What's the point if you can't have any fun and drive it? And who am I to tell
you what to do with your car?
Also, we must admit, as Hugh points out, that we already make distinctions
between cars and value some over others for a variety of reasons (parts,
rarity, originality). I think you have to ask yourself "Just how valuable was
this car when new, and how valuable is it likely to become?" when considering
any question of keeping it original. (Would anybody be upset if the
originality of a Gremlin or Vega was compromised?)*
On the other hand . . . (there's always another hand) . . .
I also think we ought to ask ourselves "Who really owns these cars?" Yes, we
do, right now. But that's just for right now. Eventually, all our old cars
will be sold or passed along to someone else when we ourselves pass along or
circumstances force us to get rid of them.
In my opinion, we are all just "renters," not true owners. We rent these old
Imperials for a period of years, and then pass them along to someone else who,
hopefully, will treat them with respect and pass them along to someone else so
that, many years from now, someone who has never seen or even heard of a 1960
Imperial will be able to see one and appreciate the cars themselves and the
times they represent.
Every one of my cars is a kind of tribute to their previous owners. I seek out
cars like this, cars that show the caring of one or two conscientitious
owners. The amount of work that the last owner of my '68 put into his car just
trying to keep it up and keep it looking good is remarkable.
For that reason, without getting TOO hokey here, I think we owe it to our
Imperials and future generations to try to keep these cars as intact and as
original as possible.
Mark
*Sorry, Gremlin & Vega fans!
hugh hemphill wrote:
> From: "Phil" <hilljack7@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 8:49 AM
> Subject: Re: IML: Technology, and our Imperial's "purity"
>
> >I see things in a different light too. You're compromising your Imperial's
> value and originality.
>
> Phil,
>
> I enjoyed and sympathized with your post greatly. As a volunteer at a
> transportation museum, I am for ever dealing with this issue. There are
> some cars I no longer care about originality simply because they have been
> so compromised already and/or they are so unreliable that the game is not
> worth the candle. There are others which are so intact and complete even
> after 70 years that I feel it is worth it to keep working to make them run
> as they were intended, despite the difficulties involved in sticking with
> redundant technology.
>
> There are all kinds of perspectives on this list. An interesting element is
> that we do not treat all Imperials equally. Some are mere parts cars, some
> are runners and some are show boats, and all could be owned by the same
> person.
>
> My own Imperial is very close to original. Mechanically, the only non 57/58
> part on it is the fuel pump, which I simply could not replace. It has a
> Dodge pump, almost exactly the same in appearance and certainly function,
> which I can use with the aid of a clever adapter which allows the longer arm
> activated Dodge pump to be usable.
>
> The car had a vinyl cover placed on the rear section of the hard top roof.
> This flaked off by degrees revealing bad rust damage. The roof colours were
> switched also, unless mine was originally an all blue car, something about
> which I am keen to get more information. The damage done by the
> installation of the vinyl serves as a warning that putting non-original
> stuff on your car will have repercussions.
>
> The other thing which is wrong are the wheels. When I got it they were
> already fifteen inch wheels, not the original fourteen inch wheels. They
> are Mopar wheels, and 1967/68 vintage hubcaps fit on them. Regrettably, the
> correct hubcap set I bought does not fit.
>
> So we make compromises and concessions when we must. Or, in the case of
> others, by choice. Keeping as close as possible to original is a goal of
> mine, and I drive mine around 12,000 miles a year. I am happy to deal with
> the decisions made by the original designers. I do not think I need to
> improve on Virgil Exner, or that I can.
>
> Hugh
>
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