Well spoken Jason.
Bill Huff
At 6/13/200808:36 AM, Jason Rogers wrote:
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looked coming out of the grave - and that's fantastic for historical
reference.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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