Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[ukdave2002]

The MGA has been on the road for a year now 12 months ago I remember looking at it, thinking that it was nice but looked a bit too clean; some of the aftermarket parts were just too shinny

A year on and 4000 miles, the engine bay has got dirty in the right places, there are marks on the door top leather caps where the side screens have rubbed, the radiator is scratched where the bonnet prop sits, the carpets are grubby from our messy drive!, there are kick marks on the door cards....

All in all (IMHO) it's looking much more like a car than it did 12 months ago

Or should I treat it better?


Cheers


Dave

[gresham flyer]

You have ruined it.

I know what you are getting at, that fresh out of the restorers look you see on so many cars at shows now day`s. They look too good.

I like to see a clean car, but a used car. A car that has been to Europe a few times. One that tows a classic caravan. One that carries passengers. One that has been on a road run rally in Oct when the farmers leave mud all up the country roads.
A sportscar that is used for its designed purpose.

Certain models of vehicles always`s attracts the fresh out of the showroom look, it is refreshing to see a scruffy E Type Jaguar ( not many about).

We have some totally original vehicles that I would never restore to concourse condition, there are plenty of basket cases or long term forgotten vehicles you can carry out that sort of work on.

To me a pre - war oily rag car is really great to look at.

Have more fun giving your car Patina...but put in some mats to stop the carpets getting dirty.

G.F
_________________
Austin A30 / A35 Van.
Austin Devon.
Morris Minors.
Jaguars.
Rootes Cars.
MG.
Etc.



Viking Fibreline Caravan.
Cheltenham Sable
Shorts Built Vintage Caravan 1936.

[colwyn500]

I'm with you all the way on that Dave. It means you've had fun.

[Rick]

Agreed, the Dodge truck has picked up some "age" here and there, underneath and under the bonnet in the main, which has toned down the "newness" it had before.

RJ
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[colwyn500]

I'm with you all the way on that Dave. It means you've had fun.

[Minxy]

Mine must have patina by the bucket load then

[colwyn500]

We were looking at a well patinated vintage Bentley at Goodwood; a car my brother knew well. He reckons the engineers who rebuilt the engine had instructions to daub it with oily dirt after it was reassembled.
Artificial patination?...not for me.

[mikeC]

[Ronniej]

I am totally in agreement with the sentiments expressed here.
I was at a classic rally in the Scottish Borders on Sunday. I drove my oily rag Singer Roadster there. There were a number of "trailer queens" that look fantastic but never drive anywhere. I sometimes wonder if there should be a separate class for cars that are trailered to a show?
A couple of years ago I visited the Blackhawk Museum outside San Francisco. Every exhibit was up to Pebble Beach standard and they were displayed in a glass and marble building that looked like the corporate headquarters of a major bank.
I left disappointed and slightly saddened that these magnificent cars would never see a road again.
The best analogy I could think of was a Victorian display of stuffed songbirds.

[peter scott]

Perhaps we really need to draw a line and say that vehicles with interiors made from natural materials improve with patina but those that are largely man made do not.

The vehicle that I would most like to have taken home from the Thirlestane show (and not because of its resale value) was this..




I don't think the leatherwork was original but it was gathering patina. I am sympathetic to the pragmatic alterations in the enginehouse but I would prefer it if the modern junk was hidden.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[baconsdozen]

Me too. I have deliberately resisted restoring my Rover.The thing is over forty years old and looks it. The new shiny looking things are fine if that's what lights your candle but I'd rather see a vehicle carrying a few age related marks than hiding under brand new two pack paint and full of modern vinyl.
_________________
Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Rick]

Interesting cooling fan on the Bentley. Very nice, although I'd try and find a more period catch tank for the rad

RJ
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[kevin2306]

The aim when I started work on my singer was to get it running and working as it did back in the day but not over-restore it.
The paintwork isnt flawless but its shiny, the brightwork is bright but again has flaws if you look. Under the bonnet is neat and rust free but not spotless.
I love things that are functional and look right.
Years ago, when running the motorcycle section for a vintage club, a bloke used to bring 2 old trials bikes on a trailer. he displayed them on the trailer and they left on a trailer..i suspect that the way they were bracketed onto the trailer that he stored them inside his garage on the trailer..complete shame really as they were lovely and would have been great in the mud..! lol
Having had, in the past, british motorcycles rebuilt to as new condition, all they seem to do is deteriorate, far better to service them and use for pleasure.

Kev