My ha'penny's worth:
With regard to restoring to original:
- I would love to with step-noses. But over the past two years I have found no RHD dashboards or front seats for a '66 GT Sprint Veloce, let alone more arcane items such as the mythical ashtray. It is my opinion that unless one has exceptional luck, money, time, or all three, restoration to original from a ratty and incomplete shell is a Sisyphean task.
- Given that it is so difficult, if not impossible, to restore to original a car lacking most of the parts that distinguish it as such, a restoration sympathetic to the period seems to me to be a sensible way ahead. It gives the owner pleasure, and rarely converts the car to such a degree that it cannot be reverted to original spec.
I enjoy the threads written by those whose work is exemplary (Akitaman springs to mind), and I have always gone to retailers (for Alfas and other cars) that offer top quality design and manufacturing. I am sure that the majority of people on this site feel the same. In the same vein, I would never chop up a good original car to make it into a GTA replica - if I had the money for the conversion (I assume it's not going to be that cheap) I would buy a hulk from a scrapyard - the price in most countries would not be a serious dent on the finances when factored in with the conversion. Alfaholics appear to offer exemplary work and top quality components for conversions of cars that can just be hulks. I am all for that.
Having said all that, I really would like to see something come from
Alfaholics:
Max, et al,
Notwithstanding the obvious costs of tooling and shipping etc, have you considered manufacturing bodyshells as is done for Spitfires, Sprites, and many other classic cars? :-0