Tony and Todd I am not out to criticise you but here is the
argument from the other direction.
> the engine compartment is
> gone over with a fine tooth comb for correct parts and accessories.
> This includes such things as spark plug wires (black for willys,
> "snakeskin for ford), having suppressors where required, etc.On a side
> note many of the parts being reproduced are not "correct" even though
> they are sold as such.
I fell for this one, never again:
To me any restoration will sooner or later require the use of non -
original parts.
About 2 years ago I managed to get hold of a genuine NOS coil for
my Greyhound Armoured Car - great!, It cost $50 and I had to get it
to Australia from Canada, put it on straight away.
It started and ran a couple of times just fine. Then at the 2nd
engine start at a rally, total failure of the engine to fire.
Which left me stranded, fortunately a fellow old vehicle
enthusiast drove me home so I could grab the 'modern' coil
that had been on the vehicle previously. Instant cure.
So much for authenticity.
Having been involved with the restoration
and operation of World War 2 aircraft I have seen logic (safety) take
first place and authenticity 2nd as part of normal aviation practise.
However, only recently a Ventura Bomber
crashed in Australia because someone had re-fitted a genuine 'crash
kill switch' (designed to instantly stop the engines if the pilot
intended to crash land or if a landing went wrong). The switch
failed all by itself on final with the plane in 'dirty' configuration
leaving
the pilot no choice but to retract the gear and put it straight down
before it stalled. They all walked away and the plane is not
badly damaged - lucky - though it will still cost lots to put it
back in the air. I reckon I know which way the passengers and owners
of that plane will vote in future.
All this authenticity can be taken just too far.
> my 1944 MB has the original safety glass dated 1942 in the windshield.
> Now being 50+ years old the glass has a couple of small bubbles around
> the bottom edge. For judging purposes I got the maximum points for the
> windshield on originality (for example ten out of ten points), however
> on condition I was marked down because it didn't appear new ( for
> example 7 out of 10 points). this originality versus condition is
> judged on everything.
What about the safety aspect: what happens if something strikes
that old glass or you have a prang. No amount of trophies or
authenticity is going to replace your eyesight after you get a
face full of genuine glass. (It is a little known fact that glass
ages just like everything else, it becomes harder and MORE BRITTLE).
> You also have to look at the judging
> categories themselves; factory basically means a jeep that is not driven
> and is trailered to events,
This is when the average person on the street starts thinking fanatic.
That is a word we DONT want associated with the MV hobby. It cuts across
all hobbies, we have all heard of Stamp Collectors etc who never get to
appreciate their collections because they are too valuable to keep at
home - so they are safely locked away in some bank safe seen once every
5 years!
> I am
> also very proud of the fact that my jeep has been "judged" , although I
> don't know if I would do it again!!
The vintage car club I belong to was almost torn apart by discussion
which became arguments which became Ill-feeling over criteria for
trophy awards. This went on for over 2 years and dominated every
club meeting. I was on the side lines as there is only 1 other
MV in the club and that is a Jeep so we are not part of any
competition. Finally they decided to award trophies for just
about everything (yep they ought to be in politics), such as
the most rallies attended in a year, then someone wanted
penalty points awarded because they had been sick and unable to
attend, or at work etc etc. It all came about
because certain members weren't old car enthusiasts they were
actually Trophy Enthusiasts!
> The factory class standards
> are almost a unachievable goal because they will always be
> something that is not right. Your glass is a prime example. You
> may have original glass, but it may not be perfect.
> If you want to just drive them as they did back
> 50 years ago, then there is a combat class for those vehicles.
(The above is where I come in as after 2 years of listening
to endless discussion about judging criteria and trophies
most of our club were heartily sick of it.)
I will give Todd the final word:
> It all depends on what you want to get out of the hobby.
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M8 GREYHOUND & Other Armoured Vehicles
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/ [___] [___] \ Douglas Greville
/\_ [o] [o] _/\ Broken Hill
|w||___________||w| N.S.W.
|w|\u u/|w| Australia
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[w] [w]
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