66cuda
2011Armada K of C 1st PL
FOR the purists out there that cant own ANYTHING that isn't numbers matching fully restored to factory specs etc etc etc...we all need to remember that AUTOMOBILES especially classics are a HOBBY and back in the day when hotrods FIRST hit the streets, the guys that STARTED all of this as a hobby, took exceptional delight in "BUILDING" those hot rods from the parts of many cars!!! back in those days stuffing a lincoln or packard or Cadillac or Mercury MOTOR in just about ANYTHING was "the cats whiskers!!!" THE AUCTIONS LIKE BJ's, Mecums etc etc are the people that PUT all the emphasis on numbers matching etc etc...then came the CONCOURS shows/clubs they fueled the fire!!!! from my perspective if you have a HOT classic that is squeeky clean and "detailed" to an N'th degree....YOU have a HOT CAR!!! AT most assembly plants in Detroit the GTO's the SS's the T/A's the AAR's etc etc etc came down the exact same line, were assembled with the exact same basic parts and the ONLY thing that differentiated them was a Build sheet /trim tag and in some cases a single or double digit in the VIN.... beyond that the 340's that went into the plain jane duster were the exact same engine that went into the "340 Duster" and in those days you could actually order pretty much ANY engine in pretty much ANY vehicle...PAST that , the "dealers" took hold and started with the "special Darts" and "royal bobcats" etc etc etc...... so if you build a Chrystal clean restoration that has all the "correct parts" OR even MODIFIED parts like the dealers did back in the day.....to me the actual value of the sum of the parts is the same?......the AUCTIONS and their madness is who MADE the trim tags so valuable on restorations...... NOW if you have a completely unmolested 1970 hemi cuda convertible that has 10k miles on it...THAT might be worth a few more buckola's but the designations assigned to a "restored" vehicle are completely off the hook and way stupid..... so you pull fenders and glass from /6 Cuda's and put them in your "restoration' that happens to have to correct trim tags HOW is that ANY different from a so called "tribute" vehicle and I can pretty much guarantee that maybe a 6th of all those numbers matching restored cars MAYBE have ALL of their original parts...... the other NIGHTMARE that the auctions have created is the swapping of VIN tags!!!! the "value added" is IMPOSED and created by the AUCTIONS to increase their Margins and therefore their profits..... some may disagree but please try to explain how a a plain jane Cuda fender differs in value from an alleged T/A CUda fender? or the motor or the trans or the rear end..... there is no "additional value" other than that which is IMPOSED by some pompous *** trying to increase HIS profit margin
