As someone who made a tongue-in-cheek comment on the restoration thread and as someone with a hand in deciding the provenance of thousands of old cars perhaps I should say something. It is a topic which affects all old cars and their respective clubs and owners and I could talk for hours on the subject so please forgive the lengthy post, which is not new thinking because I have posted similar on many web sites over a good number of years.
Those who compete will know that a total replica is acceptable for national/international historic competition provided it is built to original specification. The FIA issue Historic Technical Passports (HTP) to such cars and there are national equivalents issued by the MSA. A car does not need a continuous history to qualify.
In addition, the FIA has issued Heritage Certificates (HC) which confirm a car's provenance. A car with a continuous history may well qualify even if it has been re-shelled. Cars which are built up from period or re-manufactured parts will not get HC recognition.
DVLA simply do not understand the vagaries of keeping old cars on the road, continuous history and the like and they rely on input from reputable cars clubs when considering claims on original numbers or period numbers.
What is important is the integrity of the car's history. All cars are susceptible to slowly becoming ugly, inefficient and perhaps even dangerous. What about the slowly rotting shell? What about the pressed steel suspension components? What about the seat belt mounting plates, quietly rotting away? And it’s not just the steel components. What about the worn-out shock absorbers, sagging springs and ‘bushed’ bushes? What about the dodgy electrical components tired of a poor earth and years of use and neglect? All of these things, if we do not keep on top of them, conspire to make our lovely car a sad wreck and a poor example of the fine beast which left the factory all those years ago.
It seems to me that we have two choices. We either repair or change these components as and when necessary, or we allow the car to deteriorate to the point where it is good only for a complete rebuild, the breakers yard and/or for sale as parts. As far as I am concerned the latter choice is unacceptable and one which must be avoided. So, on the grounds that the preferred option is always to keep the car in good condition, it is now a question of what we replace those parts with. The genuine factory component must be the preferred choice. If so, we may be able to claim that we have kept the car ‘original’. It’s a small step, however, from the factory fitted mild steel exhaust to the stainless competition variety – is this still an original car? How far can we go before we have a modified car? Does it matter if we paint the car a different colour, particularly if that colour was not an option from the factory? The endless list of factory options is a part of the problem. Who can say what is an original car? And why should ‘natural development’ detract from the car’s provenance? Racing cars are a good illustration. Peter Warr (I was lucky enough to have dinner with him a few years ago) told me that during his many years running Team Lotus that he considers it extremely unlikely that any Lotus F1 car ever competed in the same configuration twice. One thing is for sure: if, say, a Jim Clark Lotus Cortina came onto the market its provenance, and bear in mind here that it may not have a single component left over from the original build, would be decided not on its configuration at the time of sale but on its racing history. So what about road cars?
Natural development is just as much the right of a road car as it is a racing car. It is the owner’s choice at the time that decides the route taken. Not everyone may approve of his choice but whatever he did or does, the change is now part of that car’s history. A change of exhaust may not be seen as a significant change to the car but re-sheling with a 'copy' shell certainly will be. Thi car in question here is not quite a re-shell but it’s not far off. The question is, does it matter? Well, of course it does, but why?
Well, first of all it’s important to the owner because it was his choice for his car. Secondly it will matter to any prospective purchaser of the car for he will want to know exactly what it is he is buying. It is not a question of whether changing a car’s configuration or major components is right or wrong, it is more a question of whether the result is good or bad. It is a matter of history, and history matters.
No doubt there are many of you who would never buy anything other than an ‘original’ car with only the correct parts (and good luck for I don't think you'll find one!). And no doubt there are many of you who would much rather have a recent replica or some other exciting development of the theme. Whatever your views, be proud of your car and its history. Only do things to it which are good and either maintain its originality or improve it in some way. Most importantly keep good records for knowing ‘what’ a car is can be much more enjoyable if you know ‘how’ it got to be like it.
Let’s keep them on the road, keep them good and keep detailed records. With a full history, everything can be ‘original’ and for all the right reasons even if it is different to the car which rolled out of the factory. If you don’t need to hide or cheat on provenance then the car is a good one.
When cheating on the provenance of car is used to make money then THAT is totally wrong and must be stamped out.
Continuous History is what matters. This car will have continuous history.
Mike S
