[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2012 issue of Classic Motorsports.]
Not too long ago, an “original,” “barn-find” 1965 Shelby Mustang with lovely “patina” sold at auction for $385,000—about $100,000 more than a restored Shelb…
A 1980 Ford F-250 pickup with only 76 miles on the odometer just sold for $97,000 on Bring A Trailer: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-ford-f-250-4/ It's pretty cool, but maybe not $100k cool.
In reply to stuart in mn :
It all depends on who wants what and how much discretionary income they have.
This article is 9 years old now, and the patina thing is bigger than ever it seems. But I think there's A LOT more to it than "only original once" and "tired of over-restored" mentalities. Certainly those are a significant part of the mystique of patina cars, especially collector and performance cars, but it's really just the surface of the psychology of appreciation for such cars. There's the romance of "it's not the age, it's the miles," and people seeing themselves in an object they often anthropomorphize. There's an appreciation for things that have survived and found to still be useable, if not useful. You'll see the same thing in people searching out old tools and old appliances and old electronics. Again, a romanticization of older things having more to them, more care, more pride, more metal, more substance, more durability, more longevity.
But I also think people rather unconsciously recognize that there's something about patina'd and worn objects as having a beauty of their own. The Japanese have a word for an aesthetic that appreciates the imperfect, the incomplete, and impermanence, called wabi-sabi. I think we've seen it grow more and more in all the "revival" YouTube channels and shows like Roadkill. I've certainly seen it at work at the GRM $2k Challenge. It's in RWB Porsches and ratrods and rally cars and well-used race cars. It's in the growing popularity of vintage wheels and less traditionally popular cars (and car brands). Isn't it strange how the offputting design of Edsels now has an appeal that more popular cars of the era just don't. And there's that whole "dare to be different" movement. You'll also notice renewed cultural interest and popularity of old '80s new wave and synth rock, a genre that doesn't hold a candle to the perfection of today's technology, but holds a deeply venerated appreciation to the point of seeking to make its imperfections part of current music(s). And that's a good example of what I think partially motivates this kind of appreciation for imperfection: a resentment of technology and the ever-perpetual, constant newness without meaningfully perceived improvement. New does not always equal better, while old sometimes does. I'm reminded of lyrics from a Whitesnake song:
"I don't know where I'm goin'
But I sure know where I've been
Hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time
Here I go again, here I go again"
You can try to hang onto the promises of the past trying to fully restore a car, but really, it's a waste of time, and it might just be better to get on with enjoying it.
Dad's (very) ancient BMW is structurally sound now with fresh wood and metal in place as needed, but it's not pretty. Ancient brazed repairs show yet and I am tempted to leave them because they're holding well.
I'm honestly tempted to start getting it back together mechanically so I can drive it before I'm too much older, nevermind the last few thousandths of an inch. I'd like a nice interior and top, but won't refinish ANY mechanical parts. They'll certainly be rebuilt to function properly, but there will be no repaints, polish or anything of the sort. They're >80 years old and will look it.
About a year ago I took my great grandfather's (ca 1881) Springfield model 1873 trapdoor rifle out to the range after performing a minor repair and major cleaning and the attention that scruffy old cannon got from others who were playing with much more modern toys was an eye opener. People seem to love old machines that still do what they were built to do.
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