Dave:
About 20 years ago I mentioned on the list that I had acquired some NOS Roots
Rivets still in the Logo marked package and Labeled Sunbeam. You would not
believe the offers to buy them that I had from guys that wanted their VIN
plate to look original . . . one fellow went to $5,000. I must have explained
100 times that the rivets were for the windshield trim and not for the VIN but
some guys just would not accept that and kept bugging me for months after. I
still have the packages.
I know the secret of how to counterfeit the original rivets but guess what
holds the VIN plate on my TIGER . . . little screws because the rivets were
drilled out by the DPO before I got my car. And NO I will not give the secret
to anyone for $5,000 nor any amount of money.
Jc
> From: Dave Munroe <dave@munroe.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Tigers] TOTALLY RESTORED
> To: tigers@autox.team.net, "Norman C. Miller" <rootes1@earthlink.net>
> Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 1:37 PM
>
>
> Hi Norm:
>
> This is an important point - why WOULD any knowledgeable person pay this
much
> money for this VIN plate with a Tiger (?) attached? The key word here is
> "knowledgeable".
>
> I was not "Tiger knowledgeable" when I bought my car in 2002, and didn't
know
> the importance of a correct, in position with the right rivets, VIN plate,
to
> its provenance. My bad, even stupid, I accept.
>
> However, over time, and with the help of the intelligence available from
the
> members of this list, and with the help of an expensive eBay copy of the
"Book
> of Norman", I became much more aware of this detail. I also became
convinced
> of the authenticity of my particular Tiger.
>
> This was confirmed when I had my car TAC'd at the TE/AE Annual gathering in
> Rockland, Maine in 2010. A gang of five inspectors swarmed over, under,
inside
> and around my car for the better part of an hour, and became convinced of
my
> car's origin as a Tiger from the Jenson plant. It passed, without a VIN
> plate.
>
> I also had the interesting opportunity at that time to meet the person who
> "restored" my Tiger back in 1986-88 for the previous owner, and asked him
> about the missing VIN plate. I got a shrug and a question mark hanging over
> his head. I wonder where it went??
>
> So here I am with a TAC'd Tiger and no VIN plate. What are my options?
>
> 1/ Make a replacement as authentic as possible and hope no one notices.
(Bad
> idea because it has as its basis an attempt to deceive the observer.
Discovery
> leads to suspicion that the car is a fake.)
> 2/ Leave it off and explain the circumstances to a prospective buyer. (Good
> option but guaranteed to reduce the value of your car to a knowledgeable
> potential buyer.)
> 3/ Make a nice but obvious replacement that will also trigger some doubt as
to
> the authenticity of the car to a potential buyer, but leaves you with the
> opportunity to explain its presence.)
>
> The obvious lesson here is that if you have a Tiger without an authentic
VIN
> plate, your car is worth less than if it had one, regardless of its
condition.
> Know this if you are buying and negotiate the price accordingly. Know this
> also if you are selling and react according to your conscience. If you
believe
> "caveat emptor", and can sleep at night after deceiving an unsuspecting
buyer
> with a fake VIN plate, good luck to you. If not, bite the bullet and do the
> right thing.
>
> Dave
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