Unrestored, original, authentic

The March 2010 issue of my Classic Car Magazine has a celebration of unrestored, original old cars.
Many examples are trotted by, but primary is a 1932 Ford V8 roadster (pictured above); unrestored, original, as delivered by the factory.
Such a ‘32 Ford is extremely rare. Most ‘32 Fords became hot-rods, or left stock but restored.
Restoration takes a car back to even more pristine condition than it left the factory.
Paints may be a color-match for the paint applied at the factory, but made from modern materials.
The appearance of better-than-stock parts may be clean enough to eat off of.
Pop the hood of a well-used car, and ya can’t eat off the engine.
A well-used car is often a filthy wreck, a subject for restoration, depending on how far gone it is.
I remember all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth when a friend had two Model A coupe bodies crushed at college.
But they were too far gone for him to deal with. Good sheetmetal, but a total rebuild.
Classic Car Magazine had an article a while ago on restoration of a well-rusted 1955 Buick.
It was like building from scratch.
Patch-panels had to be welded in, and the body completely reconstructed.
It was a triumph of sorts; triumph over rot.
The end result was nice to look at, but it was a 1955 Buick.
Ho-hum.



The owner of this ‘32 Ford Roadster was tempted to restore it — it would have been an easy restoration.
He was also offered thousands by would-be hot-rodders.
But he was counseled otherwise.
An unrestored 1932 Ford is authentic. Apparently there are other unrestored ‘32 Fords around, but not roadsters.
Looking at it, you see faded paint and rusty chrome.
Everything inside looks well-worn.
The builder-plate is severely corroded.
1932 Fords are so popular, a market has sprung up for reproduction parts, even frames and sheetmetal.
One of the first questions I ask seeing a hot-rod, is if it’s fiberglass or metal.
Now even that’s wrong. Is it original or reproduction sheetmetal?
Other cars were presented as unrestored originals.
I’ve presented a 1960 Corvette (below).



It was stored 30 years in a barn, and it’s engine had to be rebuilt.
It’s the 270-horsepower dual-quad engine.
Something is wrong with the paint at the right door-handle.
You can see it — the paint is gone. You can see the fiberglass underneath.
A small section of paint is also missing atop the right-front fender. You can see that in the picture.
Another unrestored car is a 1935 Hupmobile.
It even has a dent in the sheetmetal a former driver inflicted many years ago.
Other cars are a 1962 Thunderbird, a 1937 Packard, a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado, a 25,000-mile 1971 Barracuda, and a 550,000-mile 1971 Ram-Air Mustang.
A picture looks at the front sub-frame of the Mustang. It’s all pitted and pockmarked with rust.
Every write-up includes the following: “It’s no longer authentic if it’s restored.”

• I’m a lifelong classic car fan.
• “Dual-quads” are two four-barrel carburetors — such an arrangement can breathe extremely well, and therefore generate gobs of horsepower. Dual-quad Corvettes were extraordinarily fast.
• “Ram-Air” refers to a through-the-hood air-scoop system that pumped additional air to the carburetor; thereby generating more horsepower.
• The front suspension (and motor) of a Mustang was on a “front sub-frame.” The rest of the car was unit construction — no frame.