Barrie,
With all due respect this is not a "black or white"... "either this , or
that" issue. The first type of enthusiast you refer to typically restores
and shows Bugatti's or Duesenberg's (with Jay Leno being the most notable
exception) These cars are restored, shown, and rarely driven.
One thing that the AH Concours group has been trying to get across to the
Healey community is that OUR Concours DOES NOT mean the following...
The car is a trailer queen and cannot be driven and enjoyed
The car is a museum piece and cannot be driven and enjoyed
The car cannot be modified discretely to improve performance and
drive-ability. for example:
- We allow radial tires with no deduction *IF* the car is driven at least
500 miles in the six months prior to being judged.
-We allow the use of the Denis Welch or SC aluminum head on the 100 without
deduction. The original heads either have cracked or will crack in the
future, and this allows the car to be driven anywhere. BTW the aluminum
head alone without ANY further modifications doubles the power band and
gives better than stock 100M performance. (Ref. Mark Lambert's technical
evaluation of the SC aluminum head.)
- You can still do a heck of a lot of internal modifications to the
mechanicals, that don't effect the originality as far as judging, and allow
you to DRIVE your Healey. One great example is being dome on several
Concours Bugeyes where the original smoothcase transmission has been fitted
with all (NOS) ribcase internals. I brilliant solution which allows you to
drive the Bugeye and fixes the inherent weaknesses of the smoothcase
transmission.
-We allow you to restore the car to the written standards of a Factory BMC
car being shown at a major car show like, Earls Court or The Geneva Auto
Show. This means that some of the normal factory production flaws do not
need to be duplicated. Polished dashpots on the carburetors are what comes
to mind, and there are others.
Hell, you can put a 3.54 rear end in the car to improve highway driving,
there is one in my BN1 whhich is being restored to Concours standards.
If you want to find out more, contact "Mike Osipik" <
mikeosipik@earthlink.net>, and order the 2011 Guidelines, now available in
CD format
Two quotes to remember, the first with my apologies to Jay Leno, states
something like ..."Restore you car to 100% then drive it until it's a 60%
car and re-restore it."
Then there is my quote... "If I can't see it, then I can't judge it, and I
don't care."
*Have I finally made my point clear?*
Cheers,
Curt
On Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 8:15 AM, Barrie Robinson <barrie@look.ca> wrote:
> David,
>
>
> Having been an incredibly dyed-in-the-wool AH concours fanatic and now a
> "not original" driver of a totally rebuilt MGB GT V8 I think I can qualify
> to comment on your missive. There are several different types of
> "enthusiasts". One of which is those who want to preserve the history and
> thus dote on originality. Another type is the one who modify their car and
> boots it round the countryside. The former cherishes cars in original
> condition, the latter realising that originality has gone, modifies and
> improves. But you have to be one or the other !!! The "crime" here is
> that the owner claimed it was a concours (original) car but it was a
> "runner" (albeit a worked over one). I think it has something to do with
> having your cake and eating it ? The "original" crowd likes to protect
> unmodified, but maybe in sad condition, cars - thus abhor people dropping in
> strange motorplants into original models or tarting up with goodies. That
> is why I found an abandoned stripped shell to build my V8 to "original"
> factory specs.
>
> Regards,
>
> Barrie Robinson
> barrie@look.ca
> 705-721-9060
> MGB GT V8 in great nick
> Aston Martin 1955 DB 2/4 MkII under restoration
>
>www.britishv8.org/MG/**BarrieRobinson.htm<http://www.britishv8.org/MG/BarrieRobinson.htm>
> www.britcot.com
> www.AMFClub.com
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