Modifications: Injuries or upgrades?

Ian:

In all fairness to the MGB Marque, I have had the GT for 36 years and it has never made me walk home or gone on the hook even when it was a DD. Several long trips between Toronto and Brooking SD. I do know my way around them when it comes to maintenance and repairs.

That said, in all those 36 years, the drivetrain has never inspired confidence that it was happy doing its job. It's OK pottering around town, but needing a couple of miles to warm up to operating temp, its not convenient for running to the store or a 4 mile commute to work. On the highway, the engine character is just thrashy, even when balanced as part of a rebuild, the B series will never be described as "smooth". Robust? Maybe. But not smooth. We won't speak of the valve clatter at idle that defines the B series lump.

The MGB GT chassis (with 4 link rear suspension) and styling continue to enamor me of the breed. It just needs a better propulsion system.

As to the P1800, we both agree that a reasonable person would not do what I am doing with it. However, I am thoroughly enjoying the build irrespective of how it actually works as a finished project.

I'm in the modify it to a point car.

Case in point, My 66 barracuda has a 72 340 in it and 73 A-Body disc brakes and a 74 rear axle with 96 grand cherokee rear disc brakes. All of that can be changed back to original if I wanted to in a weekend. It's not life altering changes.

In reply to bmw88rider: I hope you saved the original parts. That's often the big restoration hangup.

Now when I sell a modified ride the new owner gets all the original stuff. What he/she does with it from then on is not my problem. Yes I probably could gain a little cash by selling the original parts separately, but I don't do that.

Been lurking over this thread with interest: First all modifications are reversible, I found a Mercedes 300SLR in my Uncle Alfred's garage but the motors seized so my buddy Bob made a deal on 350 Chevy, it"s bored 40 over and outta make the old German car go really fast, plus he'll throw in a nice turbo 400 tranny with a Hurst shifter........oh and to get some big tires on it I'm gonna put on some big box flares that came off my old dually pick up, then I'll cut a hole in the dash for my boss Kraco stereo and top it off with some candy apple red metal flake paint and some diamond tuck velour interior. If the above actually happened all of it is repairable, just at a price that on lesser cars would not make sense. While I think that one should try to preserve history, at the end of the day it's my car and I will do what I please with it. If someone gets in my face then I would likely quickly descend into the attitude of take you and your little "custodian" speech some where else or am just liable to put a big block chevy, drag slicks and flames on my 20's Le Mans winning Bentley enter it in a Lemons Concours and watch with joy as certain people have apoplectic convulsions...........I tend to have visceral and evil reactions to these types of situations. Many years ago I had a conversation with the owner of a Ferrari 275 about the 350 Chevy in his car. Basically I told him the value of the car would double if he he repaired the original engine and put it back in BUT that there was nothing wrong with the Chevy because he was driving and enjoying the car. He appreciated the attitude because so many people had given him a hard time about it. My understanding is the original motor was put back in right before the car was sold. Fortunately with the Datsun I never have to worry about this, the 1200 is period correct, mainly because I am a car nerd and get excited about having the goodies out of the Nissan Motorsports catalog on the car but if it weren't modding Datsuns doesn't touch any third rails. Now should I ever have the means I won't put an Evo VII drivetrain in my Bugatti Type 35 but I am very likely to install a Cosworth DFV and huge flares on my Cortina.

  Tom

In reply to Tom1200:Yes I take your point & no I don't think your statement is nearly correct in the real world. All modifications to a Ferrari or Shelby (whatever that may be)are reversible Because neither Shelby nor Ferrari in their prime ever made two cars alike in the first place. And they have a value that will make it worth someone's while to return them to "original," even though no one with either company can actually tell you what "original" actually was. And yes all modifications to other rides are reversible providing the car being "restored" is worth tons of money later.

What I am addressing is those cars which will never sell for $100K or more. I'm talking about the $3K to $10K rides which are certainly a part of our automobile history. These cars will be lucky to bring $10K at auction on a good day but are still cars to be enjoyed as what they were designed to be..

The Studabaker Starliner Coupe I chopped up would never have been worth tens of hours at $50+ an hour to repair the firewall and transmission tunnel damage I did trying to make an automatic transmission car work with a clutch and floor shifter. But that car was, until I destroyed it, a car worth noticing & appreciating. It had a body displayed in several art museums & an interior which many "pony cars" copied 25+ years later.

No, not all modifications are reversible. Unless that ride is worth a ton when the project is done.

Rupert we are on the same page; cutting up the entry level cars is always done because they are cheap but then putting then back to the original configuration costs double what the car will ever worth. My Datsun is a prime example; everything I've done is all bolt in stuff. My current dilemma, the result of fitting a roadster rear end which is wider, is I either need to flare the rear fenders or go with different offset wheels if I wish to use tires other than Hoosier Vintage TDs or Avon ACB 9s. Finding 13" alloys with the offset I need is not as easy as it used to be. There are so few race 1200s left with stock fenders but this doesn't seem to effect the value one way or the other. Now one day it might so I'll be getting custom wheels if I need to. All this on a car I do not expect values to ever go beyond 7K-8K. While there are some mods I see that I personally may dislike intensely as long as they are driving the car I revert to "it's theirs to with as they wish". What really drives me nuts is people who hoard or hold on to cars that they will never do anything with despite many offers from people who would actually get them running. There is a Studebaker Hawk down the hill from me that has sat for probably 15 years now, it gets more beat with each passing year. The lovely curved back window is the latest victim. I have a buddy who is a hoarder of vintage MX bikes; I refer to him as a serial killer of motorcycles he partially disassembles the bike to "inspect" them and then they sit never to see the light of day.........I find this far more offensive then "customizing".......of course they are his to do as he pleases.....still makes me nuts though.

 Tom

I'll agree with the above post. I have seen many owners holding on to cars for, "one day".....which never comes. Eventually the cars become too far gone..........

maseratiguy wrote: I'll agree with the above post. I have seen many owners holding on to cars for, "one day".....which never comes. Eventually the cars become too far gone..........

Oddly, while not being one of this ilk, I do fully get where this crowd is coming from. I also very much consider them "Car Guys" as much as any other division of this hobby.

Which of these two fields is more interesting to you?

In reply to NOHOME: I think that's an age specific question. When I was young I knew most of these cars as new cars. At age 30, I'd probably have looked at the junk yard and seen it as a group of challenges. Today, I'd only want to consider one which was already redone. And even then, they look like way too much work.

Rupert wrote: In reply to NOHOME: I think that's an age specific question. When I was young I knew most of these cars as new cars. At age 30, I'd probably have looked at the junk yard and seen it as a group of challenges. Today, I'd only want to consider one which was already redone. And even then, they look like way too much work.

You are either missing or dodging the point.

The particular group of cars is irrelevant. Its what I found on a quick search of restored versus restored from a matching period. If you want I can find corresponding pictures of restored and non restored cars that you do like.

My point was that people who hoard a car(s) are not evil people, just a different aspect of the hobby. A quick poll on the main board shows that most people are interested in un-restored cars rather than finished cars with no potential left.

In reply to NOHOME:And?