Over-restoration / commercialization of the concours

Just think how much the concours scene would change if the car owner would be required to actually do the work THEMSELVES! Lets say something like 2 out of 3 (mechanical, body, interior) would be good. Then the hobby would go back to "automotive hobbyists" instead of being a competition in checkwriting between wealthy "enthusaists".

How many times have you admired a "restored" car, the owner speaks with pride of how much effort HE put into it. Then you find out the owner and a restoration shop collaborated in a military like campaign to win the gold. Everything from selecting a class with the weakest competition, finding a car with a specific history, to the mega bucks restoration itself. The owner's effort (outside of writter's cramp) was to drive the car from the trailer to the show area. It's like talking about your great golf game but hiring Tiger Woods to hit the ball for you.

IMHO he is NOT an automotive enthusaist. He is just an ego driven, competition minded indivigual that just happens to use cars to achieve his goals. Meanwhile this constant raising of the financial bar forces the grass roots enthusaist off of the field if not out of ownership completely. What next, restoration sponsership? Imagine a "Restorations by XXX Inc." decal on the side of a 308.

I reserve my respect for owners like Tom Yang or Aaron Robinson.
http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari.html
http://www.lamborghiniregistry.com/Espada/Espada1/7323.html

End of rant-
from an owner who does virtually all of the work myself.
(learn new skills if needed, buy, or better yet, make new tools if needed, work on the car for fun, drive the car for fun, rarely wash it, hardly ever wax it)
Yeah, I know I am weird, but I enjoy being so.
Mike, '77 GT4

 

Imagine how much society would change of one couldn't profit from others' labor - oh, wait that would be communism, where only the state could legally do it.

Seriously, however, this is nothing new. From palaces to art
history is full of GREAT men.

Jung - all organizations are home for the weak, infirm and invalids.

 

Nice topic. Paralleled cultural attitudes towards human aging, classic cars and the current vogue of restoring old stone houses in Croatia.

Advanced societies, in particular the .US have an unhealthy/fearful rapport with aging. This is an illness. Underlying it is the common misconception that there exists a 'best', a 'perfect', an universal standard one must adhere to.

Thus, something perfect tends to be more desirable than something used.
Yet, it is precisely its imperfection, the _unique_ history which lend the
'used' genuine value. Whereas new Ferrari's are practically identical, or in any case standardized, used Ferrari's gain, through this often undesirable process of aging, an uniqueness, a history. It is this which makes them more valuable than the sum of their parts. One can engineer perfection, but not a memory.

And as with human beings - can one love that which never dies

 

Imagine how much society would change of one couldn't profit from other's labor - oh, wait that would be communism, where only the state could legally do it.

Seriously, however this is nothing new. From palaces to art
history is full of GREAT men.

Jung - all organizations are home for the weak, infirm and invalids.

 

I must admit that the "pro" restorations are more and more frequent at FCA events, and they do at times get dinged for over restoration and added patina. These guidelines are clearly included in our judging sheets and are used on each major concourse event. There is sitll the area of DIY that many owners still apply. One of the rewarding and fun parts of owning these vintage cars is the continued "fine tuning" of the details on them. As each little problem or repair is completed a feeling of satisfaction is experienced. If you owned a perfect or possibly new car and just parked it each night and never had the fun of fixing some small item, then some of the pride of ownership is lost. We become closer to these cars as we become more involved with them. After each road trip or each concours we can come up with a list of thing to do. Each item completed on the list brings our Ferrari to a higher and more desireable level of satisfaction. Sometimes things may be frustrating, but with help from your fellow owners most problems usually can be overcome. Getting your hands dirty and your hands bleeding brings us closer to appreciating what we have, and the pride of doing it. We all know Porsche owners who think they are real car restores because they use Zymol wax and can state the 0 - 60 times of their cars. Ask them how to set the valve lash and they say they take it to the dealer. There is room for both in this hobby, so enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy doing!

 

I highly recommend that anyone interested in seeing what the original panel fit of the older cars was like should read Ferrari by Pininfarina. Remember, most of the pictures in that book are show cars in studio shots when they were new. If you are going to restore a car, that should be your guide to what the car looked like. The factory spent less than 20 minutes trying to line up the doors, why should you spend more than that?

 

Concours is full of contradictions, many which can not be avoided. On the one hand the goal is to present the car "as new". But that cannot be achieved anymore as many of the materials have been outlawed such as leaded paint. The original lacquers are obsolete. My observation is that concours is recognizing that restoration is a dynamic process. There are still a few time warp cars in meticulous condition and they should be the standard by which all cars should be judged. Do you loose points for a two stage paint job? Heck no as concours has learned that (like most religions) it has to change with the times....but with realistic limitations. It's how you define the limits that counts. And it takes a knowable man (or woman) to know what the limitations are. Ultimately that responsibility boils down to the judges. Educating judges by standardizing the judging process is the direction that I would like to see.

 

What ever you do make yourself happy but try not to forget that pieces of history shouldn't be fu cked with too much.