Kevin Richards wrote:
>How does one get their car researched and receive a certificate.
>
>I am interested in getting my 77B's certificate so I can learn exactly
>how it came from the factory.
This is a pet peeve of mine, so bear with me. The heritage certificate
is a great resource, a neat item and good information, (I make a point
to get one for all my cars, even modified cars that will never return
to all stock). But, please people, do not base a restoration on a single
$25 piece of paper. By 1977 MGs were a bit more mass produced than say
a MGAs, but still these cars were built by hand. And if the goal of a
restoration is to be original, that is historically accurate, then, as
in any historical work, some further research can be very beneficial.
Some other things to consider. Are dealer modifications original? Consider
this story: It's 1958. Joe Cool, cash in hand, wants a sports car. He's
dreaming of a BRG MGA with wire wheels. He walks in to the local dealer.
Yes, they have a BRG MGA, but no wires. There's a red one with wires, but
Joe doesn't want a red one. Is Mr Slick (the salesman) going to say
"wait for a couple of weeks and we'll order one" or is he going to
say "wait for a couple of hours and we'll have your car ready"?
Not hard to figure that one out, and two hours and some wrench turning
later, Joe Cool is out on the roads in his wire-wheeled BRG MGA.
So, is this car no longer original? It was delivered to the first owner
with wire wheels. And if that's not original, then what about all the
stripe kits, luggage racks, and radios installed by American dealers?
Are those unoriginal? Are these items listed in the heritage certificate?
Here's another story. John Sprinzel in "The Spritely Years" mentioned a
Healy 100-6 that was returned to the factory and rebuilt as a Healy 3000.
Is that sort of information reflected by the Heritage certificate? Can
you imagine the damage to the history of this car is some schmuck armed
with good intentions and a $25 piece of paper decided to restore it and
repair what some "DPO" had done to it?
It's amazing, to go to shows and car club meetings and hear people make a
big deal of little things. "Well, this car *can't* be original. Those
lights are from a '59 and this car is a '60" blah blah blah. Look, I hate
to break it to you, but those lights were put on that car by an out of work
plumber. He didn't car if they were "correct", there were the next lights
in the parts bin. In "Making MGs" there is a comment that during any given
day of production, no two MGAs were the same. Gee, that's hard to believe,
because when you go to shows there are rows upon rows of perfect red MGAs
with wire wheels with black interiors with red piping. It gets boring.
Another item to consider when restoring a car is period modifications.
I'm not saying they should or shouldn't be kept, I'm saying they should
be kept in mind. Do you want a car that looks like what it would've
if it were new, or as it was used when new?
I remember a car club meeting where someone was concerned about the
whether the knock off wheels on his MGA where original, because they
just didn't look right. Yep, throw them away, I'll help you, dunlop
disc knock-off racers are just trash anyway.
I recently bought a (heavily modified) MGB GT. It has the most gorgeous
set of magnesium revolutions on it I've ever seen. Well, maybe not the
most gorgeous, but hey, these are mine. Can you imagine, some folks
think I'm silly for loving those wheels. But then some folks have MGs
that are worth less than those wheels...it pays to know what you're
looking at.
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary http://www.teamsanctuary.com/
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