I do think that you're right about starting with a less valuable chassis
Theo, but the difference between an Alger and a Tiger is that I have
bragging rights. "I have a Tiger". I'm not sure why, but that means
something to me. It's not a stock Tiger, and it's maybe not a very
valuable Tiger, but it's a Tiger, not an Alpine, not an Alger. And I
own it. For now :-)
I agree that I'll likely never recoup what I put into my Tiger (God
knows I lost money on the modified Alpine I had prior to it), and the
previous owner's modifications (automatic transmission, Jag rear
suspension) won't appeal to a purist--but they appealed to me. I WANTED
a Tiger with an automatic trans and IRS--especially if someone else had
already done the work first. I figure that when and if I sell the car,
there's gotta be some other nut like me out there that'll want the same
things, so I'll at least be able to sell it. But while I get the
occasional twinge of "there aren't that many of these left--is it really
right to modify it more than the P.O. did back in the day?", I never
really thought about purchasing the Tiger (or my earlier Alpine, come to
think of it) as an investment. I think my wife put it best when she
said : "Hey, it's your HOBBY. Spend what money you have, turn the car
into what YOU want it to be--as long as it gives you joy. Doesn't matter
if we get that money back later as long as you have fun." I think I
married a very wise woman.
The Barratt-Jackson auctions make me uncomfortable. The admittedly few
cars I've seen there are polished to perfection Icons that don't, I
believe really get driven. Hopefully the $34,000 'vette will, but the
50something one of only twelve existing Mercedes that sold for
$300,000? I'm guessing not. Maybe I'm just steamed that my ratty Tiger
will never be worth much, but it's what I can afford to own, it does
represent a piece of automotive history and (when it's running) I take
it out on the street as the factory originally intended.
Oh, speaking of Speed Channel--anybody see the special on Old Yeller?
Nifty!
Best Regards
David Sosna
Theo Smit wrote:
>I'm not sure about that. Once you cross some threshold, a performance
>oriented classic car starts to lose appeal to marque enthusiasts, and if
>you're planning to go that far anyway, why start with a chassis that has
>significantly higher collector car value?
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