There are larger public-interest issues involved than just the
indisputable legal right of the winning family''s nephew to do
whatever he wants to do with the car.
Very few (can't say 'all', now) of the people who actually saw (can't
say 'see', either) the car have said that the car's highest-purpose
would have been served by stripping off the depositions that accumulated
onto it , and making any (futile) attempts to reconstruct it.
Fine. The family decided to try to exploit the car instead of arranging
to preserve it in a museum or to sell it to someone who could preserve
it.
One thing that galls me is the 'explanation' that the stripping
operation was an effort to "stabilize" the car from further degradation.
The car was not going to turn to dust, or rust to the ground, once it
was dried-out.
"We had to destroy the village in order to save it."
Now that the car's provenance has been destroyed, as an historical
artifact, and is just another nasty-looking wrecking yard reject, I
happen to be in favor of parting it out, and do believe that that may be
the car's ultimate fate.
Believe it or don't, there is a high-end watch being sold, right now,
made with non-fuctional steel recovered from the Titanic.
Neil Vedder
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- From: Jason Rogers <jasonrogers@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:36:23 -0400
With all due respect to those who have done so, I am surprised at the high level of criticism being lobbed at the "stabilization"/restoration (whatever it can be called) project underway for Miss Belvedere.
Is it YOUR car? No!
I see such criticism being much the same as the perpetual conflict between "original restorers" and "rodders." An original restorer says, "How dare you make that change and take away from the originality of that car...it would've never been made that way from the factory...Walter or Virgil would turn over in their graves if they saw you doing that...."
A rodder says, "Hey, I like what I have but I want to do something different with it...for the same or less money (or the parts are simply not available or are too expensive to remake), I can tailor it to my preferences...I can make it more economical to operate and maintain...I can make it safer - for me, my passengers, and other motorists - to drive on the highway..."
Back to the relic/museum context, when archaeologists find artifacts that are ultimately put on display in a museum, are those artifacts displayed "as found" - or are they carefully (and "respectfully") cleaned and "stabilized" - looking almost as good as they did before they got buried, and looking closer to how the ancients viewed them than we moderns view them right out of the dirt?
If the current owner wanted to "desecrate" Miss Belvedere via a full restoration, it could've easily been completed by now. But no, he opted to subject the car to a more "respectful" cleaning process, and the plan is to only replace whatever parts are absolutely necessary to allow the car to be safely rolled around - or, God forbid, driven.
It doesn't change the fact that it is still Miss Belvedere. There is an abundance of video and photos that have documented how she looked coming out of the grave - and that's fantastic for historical reference. But to see that same car "cleaned up" - getting the rust and mud and other crap off - that's even better. It may be a bit rickety in spots, but it survived!
It is no different than a man getting out of bed, shaving, showering, combing his hair, and putting on clean clothes before he emerges into the world for his daily activities. He's still the same man when he got out of bed and was "nasty," he's just more pleasant to be around when he's cleaned up - and he can be an inspiration to others who see him and are encouraged by his presence.
Oh, and yes, I was in Tulsa. I couldn't be at the exhumation site, but I watched the parade from there to the convention center. I saw Boyd and his belle checking out the car and sneaking peaks. I was there that night it was "unveiled" to the public. I attended the car show and saw Miss Belvedere up close in her muddy/mildewy/rusty "bed clothes." The entire experience was fascinating.
I have no problem with the rightful owner doing what he's attempting to do to Miss Belvedere. At least he's doing something with her! And of course we have the unalienable right to express our opinions - right or wrong.
But in the end, it doesn't matter if any of us agrees or disagrees because IT'S NOT OUR CAR! Let's remember the PERSON who owns the car and minister encouragingly to him! That's what this hobby is supposed to be about!
Jason.
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