[alfa] What to Make of the MAACO of Things

["Doug and Julia Harris" <dharris@xxxxxxx>]

    All this talk of covering tired finishes with a respray has me thinking
about David Brownell's recent observations in "Special Interest Autos"  (Dec.
2003).  He says:

        It wasn't so many years ago that an original, unrestored car turning
up for judging at an event was about as welcome as the proverbial skunk at a
garden party.  At best, the owner would be asked when restoration would begin.
. . .  Happily, that attitude has gone through an important and welcome
change.  . . .  Now [] collectors who have been fortunate enough to find a car
in good to excellent unrestored condition are being actively encouraged by
clubs and concours to leave these cares alone -- or, at most, give them a
shave and shampoo -- and show them in unrestored car classes at [] events. . .
.
        American collectors have discovered what their European counterparts
have known for a long time.  You can never restore originality back into a
car, but there are myriad ways to take it away.  Wonderful original cars have
a patina no amount of detailing can ever duplicate.  Call it growing old
gracefully in the automotive sense.
        If you're fortunate enough to have a car in totally or substantially
fine original condition, please, please keep it that way for the sake of the
car's own integrity as well as a reference point for future generations of
enthusiasts and restorers.

    I would not fault anyone for making a reasoned decision on whether to
repaint a car, but Brownell's words are all the more important as our favored
cars become more rare.  It's an individual's choice, made best after
considering a car's value, what it represents, its overall condition and the
owner's purpose.

    I bought my '77 Spider in 2001 when it had 28,000 miles on it and it
features lots of documents, has been garage-kept, has its original top, and
its original, though spider-webbed in places, silver lacquer.  I recently
pulled the jack out of the trunk.  It was wrapped with green sheet foam and
brittle rubber bands, which I suspect was the factory's way of keeping it from
rattling during a test-drive.  (What owner would have replaced these pieces?)
The bottom of the jack still has undisturbed paint, suggesting that my car has
never been lifted except by a rack.  Other features of this car cause me to
respect it -- even its perambulator bumpers -- in an almost reverential way.

    As for me, I'll keep my Spider's spidered lacquer and touch up the
occasional dings.

Doug
Richmond, Virginia
77 Spider
95 Tacoma
00 Passat
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