<VV> Throwing Stones at AMERICAN HOTROD

[Bill Elliott]

Not that I'm necessarily agreeing with Mark ;-), but it's a matter of
what an enthusiast would do versus what a TV show would do.

Let's say I want to build a nice full tube frame Corvair GT3 track car.
Would it make sense to start with '69 #5999 if I owned it? (Only out of
"such idiots' reach" thanks to Mark)  How about Darth Vair?

If you're going to completely rip a car apart and use the basic shape
and chassis number, there is absolutely no reason to start with a nice
or historically significant vehicle. Sure there are plenty of nice '28
Fords out there, so it's not like something absolutely irreplaceable was
destroyed... but for every nice '28 Ford out there there's likely 10
"not so nice" '28 Fords out there. Using such a vehicle would not have
hampered their project at all, would be the sort of thing a real
enthusiast would do, and would not raise the ire of "mailing list"
enthusiasts.

One of the Sunday morning hotrod show recently did something nearly as
stupid... they found a nice but overall undesirable "grandma" stripper
Nova and carefully turned it into a real Q-ship.... carefully
maintaining the stock bench seat, stock rubber floor coverings, etc...
they did a nice job putting together a real screamer that looked
absolutely stock. A real one of a kind. Full approval from an enthusiast
like me and a car I would certainly not be embarrassed to own.

Then a sister show took the Nova and threw a cheap nitrous system at it,
requiring a cheap fiberglass hood with a big bump in it... making it
look like every other cheapie hot rod out there... rendering a neat car
nearly worthless in my eyes.... Same basic theory.

People can absolutely do what they like with their property (whether an
individual or a business) but our right to be vocally critical of those
decisions is just as strong...

Bill

George Jones wrote:

>Mark,
>
>You always have the option of buying a copy of every automobile ever made
>and putting them in a warehouse somewhere, that way you can go look at your
>private museum any time you want. Frankly, I'm not going to tell any vehicle
>owner what he/she can do with their own vehicle, unless they are doing
>something illegal with it. This kind of attitude is what makes recruiting
>the younger generation difficult. When you get criticized about the
>modifications you do to a car, by fellow car club members, it makes you want
>to sell the car and move onto something different, or just quit the club.
>I've experienced this a number of times, with my current V8 conversion, as
>well as my previous 68 convertible show car with Camaro inspired stripes.
>Fortunate for me, I have thick skin and I just consider the source.
>
>As far as preserving history, I believe there are so many "T's & A's" out
>there in original configuration that we don't have to worry about one more
>going by the wayside.
>
>JMHO
>
>
>
>On 9/14/07, Mark Corbin <airvair at earthlink.net> wrote:
>  
>
>>You can look at it from a strictly financial viewpoint, but if you do,
>>you'll also have to agree to bulldoze most every historic building, land
>>site, etc. in America. That's because most every historic site we have
>>sits
>>on property that could be put to more lucrative commercial ventures.
>>
>>So in reality, taking a strictly monetary view of the world would indeed
>>make us that much poorer, not in money, but in heritage. All they are are
>>mercenary idiots, destroying a nice antique car for the sake of a flash on
>>a TV show. Nothing but ego and greed. I say, we SHOULD "throw rocks" at
>>American Hotrod. They deserve it!
>>
>>Anybody got their email address? We should give them an earfull of hate
>>mail.
>>
>>-Mark
>>
>>P.S. What if they had done that to, say, 5999, or the Super Monza, or the
>>Monza GT? Fortunately, those cars are out of such idiots' reach. (Corvair
>>content)
>>
>>--
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>>
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