What's the Best Restoration Ever?

John, Thanks for the complement on my restoration of the ex Steve McQueen Lusso. Recognition from those who really know and understand is why I do my restorations the way I do. That being said I think I have a unique background that gives me maybe a slightly different point of view than most. I worked for the legendary collector JB Nethercutt for nearly 27 years, starting as his painter, and ultimately becoming it's President and a board member to his parent company(Merle Norman Cosmetics) as well as the Nethercutt Collection. I have restored cars ranging from a 1898 Isenacht(forerunner to BMW) all the way up to a 1967 365 California Spyder(ser.# 10077) and nearly most every significant type of car that has been created by man, including, Packards, Duesenbergs, Bugattis, Maybach, Austro Daimler, Rolls Royce, Issota Fraschini, Mercedes,etc., etc., etc. The cars of JB Nethercutt have won 6 Best of Shows(more than anyone to this date) at Pebble Beach, and more Best of Shows at some of the other major shows than I can even remember!. I was invoved with two of those Pebble Beach winners, The famous 20 Grand Duesenberg, and the Constance Bennett Phantom II Rolls Royce. JB always focused on the DETAILS of a restoration, especially the fit and finish, on ALL aspects of the car. I have seen ORIGINAL metal work and paint on a custom bodied pre war classic, and can speak of it's extremely high quality. I have also seen many, many times, ORIGINAL unrestored cars that have not been particularly well preserved, and would argue that the PROPERLY restored car is actually a BETTER, MORE ACCURATE representation of that car as it was delivered than the unrestored old original car! NO car manufactured by anyone, was EVER delivered with torn, worn out upholstery, or cracked and faded peeling paint, or oily and dirty engine and suspension components. I would personally rather see a beautifully, correctly done Ferrari or any car, than a worn out old car, that's a former shadow of it's original beauty. It's really all very subjective as to what is valued by an individual collector, and much of this argument has to do with the degree of degredation. It would certainly be a shame to take a very low miles, all original car, that is in extremely good condition, and redo it just for the sake of redoing it. But lets face it, how many of those REAL time warp cars exist? Not very many. That's why those cars are so highly regarded in the world today, and really, will be forever. JB used to tell those who thought he should leave one of his old worn out relics alone because it was original, that he would only be PRESERVING THE CRUD! He had been around long enough to see Duesenbergs and Packards and the like in their grand showrooms, with gleeming paint and chrome, and beautifully trimmed interiors when they were brand NEW! That memory is what drove him to create his collection and restore those cars to their former glory! It pains me sometimes as a restorer to hear those who speak so loudly and negatively about restoration, almost as a BAD thing. It is a very long and difficult process to restore a car to a high degree of authenticity and correctness, and really is a labor of love for those who do it well. We should all be grateful to the collectors,(like JB Nethercutt) who cared enough about these cars to bring them back to their former glory, otherwise they possibly would have been lost forever, and car collecting as we know it today may have never been born. Best Regards, Mike Regalia

 

The good news is that there is a benchmark for exactly what a 40 year old Ferrari, that has spent, except for a few Auto Shows, it's entire life in the Factory Museum, looks like. After a pre-delivery service, she will soon be out and about with her first owner. It will be interesting to see what people think about how she looks.

 

You're welcome. I drew my conclusion on your work based on having seen a 250 GTL that was remarkably original and at the same time amazingly factory fresh. It still wore its first paint. It used to live in these parts.

john

 

We just need to start a new judging benchmark. I personally like the way Jim (and a lot of regular users of your cars) does his classics up. So, when do we have our first show! No car that is done better than the factory would have done it is invited.

 

I saw this GTO at the Moët et Chandon event in Sonoma and it looked as though someone had taken some swings at it with a ball-peen hammer. I found it all the more fascinating as a result, though I wouldn't recommend it as a finishing technique.
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Jim, Congratulations on such a great acqusition, I hope to see it in the flesh one day. Just curious from your perspective how the build quality compares to your P4/5?. One can't really compare such drastically different decades, but great original cars like this give us a fantastic snapshot of the workmanship of the day, and a great historical reference for that workmanship. Best Regards, Mike Regalia

 

The forthcoming debut of Bugatti Atlantic #57473 by Paul Russel & Co. Huge history: hit by a train, scrapped, found, new flamboyant body, original twisted panels stored, saved, then used to remake the orginal's lines.

 

Props should also go to Regalia, RM Restorations, Exotic Car & Service, Bob Smith Coachworks, Tilliack, Dennison, racingicons.com and many more I can't immediately remember.

 

Hey

Thanks!

The build quality is really quite different. There are not many cars that have matched grain carbon fiber like P 4/5. To me this is the exciting part. This is a 40 year old car that will be as delivered from the original manufacturer to the first owner albeit 40 years after she was originally manufactured. She is very beautiful but a touch crude. Her screw heads don't line up, her chrome isn't laser bright and she has a little over spray. She also has details that I've never seen before. Ferrari painted her water and oil bearing chassis tubes Red to warn Pininfarina not to drill into them. I look forward to you seeing her.

Best

 

And those are the signs making a car extra special!!!!
Lining up screwheads is rediculous, and new chrome on a 40year old car is not my taste!
They don't need to be "over"polished", they need tobe driven, and appreciated in the right perspective!

Mr. Glickenhaus, its extraordinary that you got the opportunity to acquire that specific car.
If it should be in a private collection, its in the right garage!

Congrats,

 

I see a lot of references to "aligning screwheads" as an indictment of high-end concours judging and restoration. Has anyone actually seen this happen? If so, what show and when?

I listened to practically every word of the judging for every car in the Ferrari competition class at the 05 and 06 Pebble Beach show and never heard anything like this. The primary concern was with original equipment and correct hardware and material finishes. Ferrari cranked out so many variations in its race cars that there is always a lot to discuss/debate in this regard. Accordingly, the owners of these cars appeared to be well prepared with photographic evidence to support the originality of certain features. Nothing I saw or heard in the judging bordered on the absurd such as screw-head alignment. Maybe they do this in other classes?

On the other hand, is the paint and panel fit and finish better than when the competition cars left the factory? In my opinion, almost certainly based upon my looking at thousands of vintage photographs for the last 30 years.

 

Do you think its better now on this particular example? ; ) I love the hammer marks and the crudely cut cooling vent smashed into the front of this car. Somehow, I believe the front end to look a bit more polished now.

regards

ken
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Hey

I have personally heard Judges statements that IMHO are totally absurd. I have also heard and met many Judges who are very knowledgeable. The incident that sticks in my mind is the Judging of the Last Ferrari to have finished first overall at Le Mans.

The Judges noted that the fuel gauge was inoperable and that the ignition wires weren't original Ferrari. Coco who was there responded that that is how the car was when it won Le Mans and that at Le Mans they didn't use a fuel gauge to determine when refueling was necessary. He also added that the original Ferrari ignition wires "Crap" and of course they replaced them and if they hadn't they wouldn't have won. As I remember it Coco was so disgusted by the Judging that he refused to hand out the Prize he was asked to, and "handed" one of his own.

As for screw heads I have seen arguments over the shade of yellow assembly paint on them and have been told that arguments have occurred over the alignment of screw heads but whether that is apocryphal I do not know. Anyway all I'm saying is I think Dino Competizione is a good opportunity for everyone to see what a 40 year old show car really looked like and as far as I know this is a rare opportunity which I hope can be instructive. "Over Restoration" like Pornography is hard to define but when you see it some how you know what it is.

Best

 

You should enter it andsee what they have to say as its a NEW car (As the factory supplied)

 

I believe there was a Lusso featured in Cavallino awhile back (last 2 or three years) that had 12XX original miles on it

 

I have to agree with Jim. I have seen and heard some absurdities, but I've also (mostly) seen a great deal of serious judging by knowledgeable people. And don't forget the "politics". I was the beneficiary of some of the latter at Pebble when I showed up with 0515GT, fresh out of Tillack's, where they had rushed to get it on the trailer. There were some defects, which we knew about, but the judges gave me the Hans Tanner trophy anyway, telling me that they were overlooking the defects "because I'd been around so long". I got out-voted once at an FCA meet where 2 identical models had near-perfect restorations, and the other judges gave it to the "local guy" even though I felt that the other car was slightly better. So rather than make generalities, I would say know your judges. Most of them are serious people trying to do their best to follow the rules. But even those of whom we might expect better sometimes let us down. Example: Sergio Scaglietti (honorary judge) loudly proclaiming "we never painted them that color", where the exhibitor had meticulously researched the subject and was (IMO) right. And, no, I've never seen the "line up the screws" trick. Ed Niles, Senior FCA judge.

 

Well put, a classic....

 

That's a great idea, let's find out!!! but ssssht don't tell anybody, could raise quite a stirr..

 

Sadly, the enthusiast does not rule any Ferrari car market.

 

It will get panned.

In Auckland, New Zealand they have a great concours competition every year and some new cars do enter. Even when they are Porsches that are absolutely brand new, they need considerable work to make them even worth entering. Yep amazing isn't it. Thus original fit and finish is no longer the judging criterial for a concours competition.

We must remember the original version of these concours was not at all about original finish, but effectively stunning the crowd with the cars beauty, etc. Now we use the same competition to judge restorations and old cars ... that is not what they started as.

It is also interesting that we have such LITTLE interest in modern cars that this competition as completely moved away from the cr@p and uninteresting rubbish they make today. The age of the automobile is coming to an end ... most definitely. It is no longer fasinating to the general public but as interesting as a fridge! Ofcourse Ford and GM, etc. did there best to help this process ... .
Pete

 

"....I see a lot of references to "aligning screwheads" as an indictment of high-end concours judging and restoration. Has anyone actually seen this happen? If so, what show and when?...."

Not exactly the venue you're expecting, but in the "good old days" at the Lake Tahoe Concours (for antique and classic speedboats) "perfectly aligned screwheads" were a fact of life. We b*****d about it even then, as we dutifully aligned every visible screwhead on a showboat.

(thank god those were only the few hundred visible screws on the chrome.....the other 8,000 screws holding the boat together were hidden under mahogany plugs......)

This "requirement" is now generally accepted as 'correct' aesthetically, but if lacking, no points are deducted specifically.

Tritone