Has the rule of “originality is king” been suspended, at least on some cars?

I hope so.

Everyone will have an opinion one way or another — usually against deviating from "originality".

I am undertaking a restoration of my Mangusta currently and will soon be faced with some decisions about whether I should "fix" some of the relatively easily fixable problems with the cars cooling and suspension, or restore it to as-built. I guess if I was planning to sell the car at auction I wouldn't even have wiped the dust off it, as it seems ratty barn finds are all the rage now. But I plan to drive and enjoy my car so I am leaning towards doing a few subtle modifications that will strengthen the rear subframe, improve the suspension geometry and vastly improve the cooling — all of which might hurt the value of the car, but allow me to actually enjoy it more. I am against altering the overall visual appearance of such a car in a dramatic way, and all of my considered upgrades will likely be barely noticeable to all but a handful of truly knowledgeable people. I won't be showing at Pebble Beach so to me it doesn't matter.

So is it wrong? I say no, but others will say yes.

Debate away…

Mark

 

Why not keep the original parts and update the few parts for drivability.

 

I have kept box-loads of original parts from my cars as I have upgraded aspects of them over time: carbs, trim, suspension parts, glass etc, and I suspect others do too. I most certainly would never toss any Mangusta parts out either.

Some of the changes I plan for the Mangusta will involve doing irreversible changes such as:

• eliminating the rear upper link bushing (replacing it with a Heim joint) from the rear suspension (a suggestion from Johnny Woods in the UK),
• adding some welded strength to some weak frame sections, and;
• altering the manner in which the ZF is suspended so that it moves WITH the engine suspended from a RIGID crossmember as opposed to fighting it while hung rigidly from a floating crossmember. Dick Ruzzin, another Mangusta owner, did this (I can not take credit for his innovation) to great effect. Once done, it might be a reversible solution because I HOPE to fabricate new parts and shelve the old. Until I start, it will be difficult to determine what changes need to be made at the chassis to ensure it all works properly.

Since I am expecting never to sell the car, it is all rather moot. I must remember to tape some notes on the parts crates instructing my estate that what appears to be junk scrap metal is in fact a gold mine of rare vintage car parts… Same for that dirty old set of original Mangusta wheels…

Mark
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

What a great looking car!