> >Does anybody here care about originality? >
I feel that many do. I have seen many a car that was restored by our
vendors and private owner done restorations that were wonderful. As
much as I like custom stuff I'm proud of the fact that my matching #s
70 1600 is for the most part stock and original. This is despite the
fact that known authorities have told me it would never be worth
anything( at least in my lifetime). This fact is further reinforced by
me not being able to sell it even at a paltry sum of 1800 dollars, even
though per Hemmings, even a poor example is worth about 3000.
My original clock and door buzzer still work, and this provides some
amount of comfort and pride to me.
In some ways I am a purist and some not. for example; it bugs the hell
out of me that the restorations I've seen, have new commercially
available at any good upholstery and trim shop, door rubber. If I was
spending 25K plus, I'd want the exact original stuff. I think it is
better and seals the door better anyway.
On the other hand, I thought nothing of cutting my rear wheel wells on
my 66 and flaring them. (in metal of course) The fact that the 66 has a
salvage title makes it a bit easier of course.
I defense of the custom crowd I say this:
These cars are fun, and made for driving. things done in the direction
of improving the performance of the vehicle are valid improvements.
I hear constantly on the list stories of how their 1600 or 2000 blew
off this car or that car......I say BS! My 66 (which is pretty fast)
for a 1600 cannot, I repeat cannot, out run, out handle, out stop a
Miata. For that matter, neither can it outdo a 80s CRX, or Mazda RX7.
I had a girlfriend that had a 90 Nissan Sentra 1.6L that blew off my
roadster...How embarrassing is that?
Over 30 years a lot of technology has improved, cars have come a long
way.
For the true driving enthusiast, things can be done to "upgrade" the
"ancient" Datsun to make it more competitive in todays climate.
Myself, I'd love to see a BMW Z3 driver in my rear view mirror
scratching his head in disbelief, yet at the same time get a kick out
of telling people, "Yeah, my door buzzer still works, it's all
original!"
Bottom line is this; It is a free country, well at least you can still
have your car the way you want it.
Thanks for listening,
Roman
stock 70 SPL
custom 66 1600
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