Hi All,
My first post on this forum - an introduction soon. I agree with what everyone is saying here and I particularly agree with 'The Bedford Boys' point of view.
In our case my Father and I have bought junk, and bit by bit at that, primarily because 1) we didn't have the money to splash out; 2) we started 'late' so opportunities for complete items were missed or didn't exist; 3) we each have a reasonable skill set so we're not intimidated by much; 4) and for me I'm more interested in reviving history and addressing the challenges - I mean I probably wouldn't go out and buy a green machine if I had the money. Please no Boo'ing.
Yes it does cost more to restore a basket case - think of the labour, consumeables, injuries, and what it's cost for 20+ years of storage!!! But also some machines have appreciated incredibly but you couldn't hang your hat on that.
Regarding percentage of originality - I believe that partial reproduction is a fair thing. I don't agree with the idea of someone gathering a swag of identical vehicles and using all original bits in one and scrapping the remainder! Someone else misses out on having a go. So long as the percentage of originality is quoted (and that should especially be in the event of 'sale time'), and that a manufactured part is historically relevant then I think no problem.
Regards
Alex McDougall
