In a message dated 97-07-21 10:54:42 EDT, jacad@CAM.ORG (Barry Shefner)
writes:
<< One needs the concourse competition as an incentive to "preserve the
breed". In another 10 years, chances are slim that you will see very
many side curtain cars still on the road driving. The concourse cars
give folks something to strive for when looking to restore their cars
and the fierce competition ensures that those perfectly restored
concours cars remain in tip top condition.
Perhaps there should be a new category introduced for those cars that
are restored strictly for show and those that are restored and used for
driving purposes or perhaps one for totally unrestored cars that have
been best perserved.
If one wants to attract more participants, one needs to make the event
more interesting. Perhaps more tech talks or scheduling a marathon
complete or partial rebuild of a "basket case" car during the 3 day
event. >>
Barry,
Thanks for your reply. I know you are correct that there will be very few
sidecurtain cars on the road in the future, There are very few on the road
now and it is too bad. As I said I can admire your efforts at building and
maintaining a concourse car, and the clubs certainly should contribute to
supporting these efforts. I just want to be sure you understand that I do
not have an attitude towards concourse cars.
Personally I think they should be used, especially the sidecurtain cars.
They don't have a lot of appeal as sculpture for me, but at 2,500 RPM up to
redline in second gear they are a blast. The only way you truely experience
the appeal of these cars is on the road, driving, hard. This is what they
were built for and bought for .
Once all the sidecurtain cars are 'done' tech sessions will be unnecessary,
except as spectator events. Striving toward that ideal will be in terms of
buffed bolt heads, and flecks of dirt, smears of grease and such. There
won't be any real restoration left to be done, and repair won't be needed
because parts won't be worn. Parts will begin to dry up again. Who is going
to manufacture parts for a market with no demand? As parts become scarce the
cars will be driven even less !
I think you should look on your accomplishments in concourse as badges of
honor. I hope that you are now driving your car and accumulating more
badges of honor, and great stories to tell. Here's the stone chip I got on
the way to theSteamboat Springs Vintage Race when the gravel fell off a
truck in front of me. Here's where I kissed that concrete wall on Halloween
eve and bent the bumper. There's the stain on the Tonneau that appeared in
Sacramento during Triumphest. Then there's the time the distributor began to
fail coming out of Needles Calilfornia, and when the fuel pump rod worked
it's way loose on a day run to Taos.
There's a cycle to all developments and changes. When there were NO perfect
Triumphs because they were all being used up, yeah we needed to preserve
some.
Maybe now the clubs are doing a disservice to the breed by placing too much
emphasis on perfect concourse cars. Maybe it's time to find some way to
support using the cars more. Personally I don't seek recognition for owning
a nice car. I like to work on them, drive them, look at them and hear the
stories about driving them. I intend to actively use up my 59 TR 3 while I
restore the TR 2. Maybe I'll even enter the TR 2 in a concourse when it's
done, but only once ! I don't expect to win because , while it will be
period, it won't be factory original., with red wire wheels, top and
sidecurtains and a Judson Supercharged TR 4 engine under the bonnet. Hey
I'll take you for a ride if I ever get it to a National meet!
Bob Paul - Old use em or lose em.
TS45738L"O" With the stone chip, bend bumper and stained tonneau.
TS7280L Coming together slowly.
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