Rich, your point is well taken and appreciated. (I have a Le Mans modded
car; it is NOT an "M".) In regards to Concourse judging, how do you guys
interpret the quality of the aftermarket LeMans accessories? Especially
aftermarket items of recent manufacture?
I don't want any denegration of a particular manufacturer/distributor, but I
see no harm in recognizing those manufacturers and distributors that offer a
quality product.
JR
53 100 (originally Coronet Cream but not now) with Le Mans mods (not
original, either).
> Doug,
> You have brought up this M conversion subject a number of times, but
> actually this is hardly a good argument and is an entirely different
> subject.
>
> Long before there ever was a separate M model, one could go into your
> local BMC agent and order any or all of the parts over the counter to
> "improve" the BN1. This practice continued until all stocks were
> eventually sold off.
> The factory booklet listing and illustrating these parts was printed in
> 1954, a year and a half before the introduction of the 100M.
>
> Therefore it was quite correct for an owner to begin with his standard BN1
> or BN2 and either have Warwick install the bits, have them bought over
> your neighbourhood BMC dealer's counter and install them yourself, or have
> your dealer install them. Today we refer to such a car as being not an M
> but a standard car fitted with (some or all of) a Lemans kit.
>
> Some people today still don't "get it".
>
> A number of years ago I installed most of the Lemans kit into my October
> /54 BN1. They were genuine original parts gathered painstakingly over a
> number of years. I did not at first have the bonnet strap though, and
> drove the car most of the first season without it. Folks would often come
> up and say that that stuff either wasn't "right" for a '54 BN1 or, point
> and say it wasn't right not having the strap! Heck, some people way back
> when, would order and install only the engine improvement parts, or the
> suspension parts, or only the louvered bonnet and strap, 'cause that's all
> that showed on the exterior.
>
> Of course the introduction of the M as a separate model was the most
> effective way of doing two things:
> 1. use up all these left over performance and improvement bits (Lemans kit
> if you will)
> 2. help the sales of a model which was about to become an orphan with the
> introduction of the 100/6.
>
> The only way your point would be well taken is if the owner fitted all the
> Lemans bits to a car and tried to pass it off as a "factory M" which we
> all know demands ridiculously higher prices. Today that could be
> substantiated with the Heritage certificate stating that the car had been
> fitted from the works with the louvered bonnet.
>
> Of course if somebody got the numbers from a dead M..........
>
> Rich Chrysler
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