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Hello all. I don't post very often but I do
read all messages with great interest. The whole
originality/matching-numbers thing is something we can go around and around
about forever, and I sure don't have any final answers. However, it
does seem to me that in discussing "originality" we have to take into
consideration the difference between old cars and other kinds of
collectibles. Unlike, say, a valuable chest of drawers, whose value might
be greatly diminished if the owner so much as refinished the varnish, let alone
replaced knobs or drawers or feet etc, etc., there are a lot of things in even
the most original car that will have been replaced with any kind of use - if
nothing else, things like tires, fluids, hoses and belts. And unless the
car is an incredibly low mileage original that has always stayed inside, any
restoration to "original" is going to involve replacement of paint, chrome and
unpholstery at the very least, and usually mechanical and/or sheetmetal
repair/replacement. How much depends on how much the car deteriorated
before being restored.
I just bought a 56 Belvedere 2 door post with only
50,000 miles on the clock. Original power pack 277, Powerflite drivetrain
and no rust at all. But, even this low mileage solid "original" has been
repainted, the bumpers and grille have been rechromed, the seats and headliner
have been redone, and the original tires, hoses, belts, spark plug wires, brake
linings, exhaust system, battery and probably a few other things that were on
the car when it came off the assembly line are long gone.
So when we are talking about cars that are 40 plus
years old, none are truly assembly line "original," regardless of whether
any "numbers" match. I'm not so sure that laws meant to prevent
chop shops from making one good late model car out of two or three wrecked
ones have much relevance to any question of "authenticity" of a 45 year old
"restored" car. Personally, I'd rather have a rust free "clone" of a
Fury, D500 etc, with all factory sheetmetal, than one whose original body was
ravaged by rust and has had patch panels welded in everywhere. Of course,
a rust-free numbers matching example would be even better, but I just don't
think numbers alone are the be all and end all.
Curtis French
59 Coronet 2 door hardtop
56 Belvedere 2 club
sedan
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