Well put. This has been a sore point with me. I think we are discouraging
restorations because of the TAC people. The best marques in the world
don't go through this routine.If one has the documentation that its a
Tiger,. wherever the parts come from doesn"t matter.Half the cars at the
Pebble Beach concours don't have an original part on them.
On Tue, 11 Mar 1997 18:16:43 -0500 (EST) HW200@aol.com writes:
>Today I was on the phone with a friend who just purchased a new body
>for his
>MGB. His original '64 had had it, and cost to repair would be at least
>twice
>the cost of the new shell. He is swapping all the original stuff over
>to the
>new body in about half the time. It got me thinking about bodies for
>Tigers,
>and the temptation to "rebody" instead of restore whatever it is you
>have to
>work with. At what point does it become a rebody.....over 50%
>replaced?
>Should he just let it go, and send to the CA. crusher program? What if
>a nice
>Tiger is whacked in the front end and it is replaced with a Alpine
>nose, as
>is the case with so many "original Tigers"....is that kinda a rebody?
>When
>your pocket book and brain says yes, but someone else tells you NO,
>where do
>you draw the line? My buddy's MGB won't be original anymore, but to
>restore
>the original by patching all the pieces in isn't original either, is
>it? New
>sheet metal (i.e. other than original)is new sheet metal right? I said
>"what
>the heck you want to keep the car and drive it dont ya?"
>
>Now apply this theory to the Tiger. If you have a mess of a rust
>bucket,
>unsafe, and insane to drive, when does it become a "crusher" over a
>conversion, or a wreck over a rebody? Replacing a tag onto another
>body is
>against the law, but what if you weld a hole section on without ever
>removing
>or replacing the tag. A lot of aftermarket parts we use on our cars
>are also
>deemed illegal...so is spitting and speeding in most public places,
>and I
>have done both. So, where does one make the decision???? Stop
>speeding,
> spitting, and start crushing to preserve the fabric of a pedigree,
>when
>actually Tigers are basically a MUTT? Are Tigers purebred?Are they
>like some
>others, or are they built by , and for, those who like the lines
>crossed
>every once in a while, creating a hybrid that never could be
>considered pure
>in automotive snobbery circles???........I ask the distinguished panel
>for
>answers. And I know many out there are in need (at this moment)as to
>which
>direction to go.
>
>HW
>
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