<VV> Matching Numbers Disease

[Dave Keillor]

The matching numbers disease will infect the Corvair community only when/if
the car is "discovered" by the "collector" community.  Relative rarity is
the way to drive up prices and differentiate your car from others.  Thus a
matching numbers car becomes worth more than an equally nice non-matching
car.  Another way to achieve relative rarity is actual versus clone.  A
documented Nickey Nova is worth a more than a exact duplicate that has been
built from the parts bin, even though that's how the originals were built.

I have three numbers-matching cars -- a 66 Corvair convert, 69 Corvair
coupe, and a '73 Nova coupe.  I didn't start out looking for numbers
matching cars, but I do like unmolested originals, so it turned out that way
(except the '69 Corvair coupe which I bought new).  When I suggested
building out the low mileage '69 140hp engine, lots of folks on this list
advised me to keep the engine original and build out another engine.  I got
similar advice on the Nova forum for the low-mileage Nova.

So it seems like there are quite a few people out there who like (and are
willing to pay more for) "original" cars.  That's just the way the old car
hobby is, and it gets more so the further up the price ladder you go.

Dave Keillor