How modified do you like your classics?

i have built or owned all of the above. my personal fleet of classics is tastefully/mostly period modifieds leaning mre towards pro-touring due to the 17's and overdrive, as well as huge brakes.

my co-worker and i were just talking about my duster, and the way i expplained it to her was that i like the lines, style, and way i fit inclassic cars. i enjoy them. but i want all the reliability and comfort of a 93 caprice. for me, this means AC, lumbar, PS, PB, overdrive, and usually EFI. i do this in a way to integrate into the factory vibe, except for 17's. those i coose just to look good. i typically stay with factory colors as well as factory interiors and factory style gauges.

anyway, as a GRM reader that builds classics and late models, id probably start reading CM if they were doing this kind of thing and they told me about it.

vintage/period correct race cars are cool in my book as well as period modified street cars. stock is kinda boring to me, but i can appreciate a nice stock resto on some cars.

michael

when people ask what did i modify, i say, ask what did i NOT modify.

my XJS V12 rodster gets alot of respect, time seem to change peoples view of cars, more respect at todays shows than 10yrs ago, go figure.

I like to see all sorts of old cars. Seeing the occasional museum piece is magic. Being a gearhead with an interest in history, I like to see the details. But I also like seeing them actually being cars – driving down the street, hitting the highway, or on the track. As a practical matter, that often means some level of modification.. I’m fine with that. I do prefer changes that don’t alter the basic character of the car. An Allison-powered Crosley would be fun to think about, but it couldn’t do basic Crosley functions well at all. An LS-powered Vega, we can talk about.

I’m for doing things that let me see cool cars in their native habitat.

My Valiant is close to 50 years old. As each problem arises, I face the decision of replacing with stock-type parts for a more “correct” appearance or upgrading to something more modern or better. Cost is a factor, as are safety, driving/maintainance convenience, level of fabrication required, et cetera. Even reversibility of a change gets some consideration, although I’m not overly concerned with it on my particular car. So far, I’ve swapped in disks up front, gone +2 on the wheels, replaced skinny bias-ply tires with wider radials, upgraded the suspension somewhat, installed HEI, and added a period-style AC and a hidden, modern stereo. Maintenance is easier, performance is better but still recognizeable, and it’s more comfortable for cruising to Sonic on Thursday night or driving four hours to an event in West Texas. For the most part I think I've kept the good and reduced the not-so-good.

Next weekend I’ll be working the Big Bend Open Road Race. There are usually some classic cars running. There’s a particular ’68 Shelby clone that runs often, and there have been cars from the 50’s-70’s in various states from survivor through street rod to Carrera Panamericana level of prep. I want to see them all!

An unmodified car is a missed opportunity.

I like my BMW's like this

Not exactly a grassroots solution since it costs "as much as a new M5 and a spare car" but cool.

So yea, resto mod guy. Of course if it has an engine I'll play with it.

Building a TR4 for vintage racing and have an MGB/GT that's heavily modified. The doors, roof, and rear hatch are the only parts that haven't been altered. I do like a museum piece now and again, but prefer a survivor over an overdone restoration.

I like a nice mixture of restorations and modified cars.

Honestly when I get CM, I read the articles about modified/ restromod cars and skip articles about any just straight restored cars unless it is something super oddball that I have never really heard of.

I also feel the condition of the car before starting is factor, at least for me. If the car is a nice survivor and very close to original, then I would keep it that way only doing modifications that make the car more usable and can be undone. If the car started out missing a lot then that is a blank canvas. Anything goes as long as it gets put back on the road or track.

wlkelley3 wrote: I also feel the condition of the car before starting is factor, at least for me. If the car is a nice survivor and very close to original, then I would keep it that way only doing modifications that make the car more usable and can be undone. If the car started out missing a lot then that is a blank canvas. Anything goes as long as it gets put back on the road or track.

That's a perfect answer!!

Unless the car is something really rare and special I just don't see the point in magazine articles on restored "factory original" cars. You could look at old dealer brochures instead and see the same basic information.

A magazine car needs something to set it apart from the sea of other identical cars out there. Improved or tastefully modified in some way, hell even radical changes. Period correct or modern touches are both ok with me, but I am in no way a purist.

I deal with people at work who will thumb through restoration manuals and point out how the bolt head for a motor mount should only be stamped in a certain way or balk if the safety wire on a Jag brake caliper bolt isn't tied off exactly the way the factory did it. These are the same folks who will painstakingly give their A series motors the same awful green paint over everything treatment the factory did. Even though the factory did a terrible job to save a few bucks. Why meticulously recreate shoddy workmanship?

I don't care what other people do with their cars. The cars that get fixed up are the ones that will survive. I do prefer cars with modified engines, wheels and suspension, but stock bodies and interiors. The bodies and interiors are what make the old cars special. Light restomod like someone else said.