[ROVERNET - UK] Restoration, re-shell, or clone?

[Eric Russell]

I'm not sure about the conversion idea.  There's a
keen chap in the UK who have been importing container
loads of cars and parts from California (are ya there,
Duane? :-)


Driving narrow British roads in a British car is bad
enough.  Sure, you can get close and personal with the
Hedgerow (hedge) but aren't you concerned about that
lorry coming the other way.  Will he clip you?  Will
you clip him?  Clip yes? Clip no?  Oops... too late 
:-)

Eric


--- Geoff Kirkpatrick <britcarnut at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Yes, it's a beautiful car.  But is it a real NADA
> car?  That's probably a question that has no
> definitive answer.  It appears that he started with
> a UK RHD car and meticulously converted it to LHD
> NADA spec.  You could call this car a clone, or a
> re-shell.  So what does that mean for its
> authenticity?  I don't know.  Does it retain its
> original UK VIN?  Was the VIN taken from an NADA
> donor car and transplanted to the new shell?  Even
> if it has the correct NADA VIN, is it still just a
> UK car in drag?  Personally, I think it's something
> less than a real NADA car because it's not the
> original shell.  Any answer to these questions is
> really just an opinion though, and someone else's
> differing opinion is just as correct as mine.
> 
> But what about a Mini or an MGB which has been
> re-shelled with a new Heritage shell?  Is this a
> clone?  I tend to think differently about this. 
> Inconsistent, I know, which just reinforces how gray
> this whole area is.
> 
> Ultimately it's probably not particularly important
> in this case.  Nobody is going to bother faking an
> NADA 3500S to deceive potential buyers and try to
> make an illicit profit.  If we were talking about,
> say, a Cortina Mk 1 GT being turned into a Lotus
> Cortina, though, authenticity takes on a lot more
> importance..  Not to mention the difference between
> a slant-six Plymouth Barracuda and an original,
> fully documented 426 Hemi 'Cuda.  And there are at
> least a couple of cases where two mega-buck vintage
> Ferraris share the same ID number, because two
> people each got hold of different bits of a crashed
> car, and each built a complete car around their
> bits.  Which of the two is the "real" one?  Nobody
> can say for sure.
> 
> Geoff
> 
>  
> "This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect
> for those who can be of no possible service to him."
> - William Lyon Phelps
> 
> Geoff Kirkpatrick, 382 Riverside Avenue, Ben Lomond,
> CA 95005, USA
> 
>
*********************************************************
> 
> 
> If you got to 
>
http://www.rover-classics.co.uk/pages/restoration/index.html
> , the owner 
> describes a restoration of a NADA Federal 3500S that
> cost  £16,000. Now, 
> isn't a pound worth about $2 at this point?
> 
> What's interesting about that car is that it was RHD
> before he restored 
> it. Once again, what's the VIN? Did someone convert
> it from an NADA car? 
> Or is it a clone? I also notice that the seats and
> grille are different 
> from the 3500S we got in the states. There are no
> pictures of the door 
> panels, but I think I see a rotary knob for one of
> the vent windows. I'd 
> wager anything that this is a home market 3500 with
> a lot of NADA 3500S 
> bits screwed on. Beautiful automobile and excellent
> workmanship.
> 
> I can see wanting a RHD car for use in the UK, but
> for $32,000 why not 
> restore an actual original NADA 3500S with all of
> the original bits? 
> Funny what people with a lot of money choose to do
> with it.
> 
> Re Steven's comments, the NADA 3500S had many parts
> that were unique to 
> it including the interior door panels with arm rests
> and pockets, the 
> hood scoops, and the bumpers, and the grille (though
> that was mainly a 
> paint job).
> 
> It was the first to have the box pleated upholstery
> and the round gauges.
> 
> It also had steel bars in the doors for added
> safety. Did other P6s get 
> these?
> 
> How about the rotary knobs for opening the vent
> windows in the front 
> doors?  Did they ever appear on other cars?
> 
> Glen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>      
>
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