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The Meaning Of Restoration

5K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  PSk 
#1 ·
So, pals after all that had happened with Azzuri_GTV's thread ''restoration finally complete'' and the question if his car is original or not, I would like to have your opinion about restoration and the meaning of verb ''RESTORE''.

I believe that restore means;

To bring something, in our case an Alfa, in its ORIGINAL FACTORY CONDITION and only that.

Original factory condition means to make the car looks (externally and mechanically) as it was when it left the production line.

A friend of mine says; You buy a new car. After you leave the dealer's room you have an original car. But when you go for your first service and you change your spark plugs or even a single troublesome mechanical component you don't have any more an original car. I don't agry with this but...

I believe that to restore a car means to bring it as much close as you can, to the condition it was when it left the production line.
This is not easy if you consider that most of our cars are at least 30 or 40 years old and they had suffer a lot. SO THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT OR BETTER SAY WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

So we must say that we are trying to restore or better renovate our cars.

To end here I believe that ...
Azzuri's car isn't original,
mine isn't original,
my best man's Takis isn't original,
if not all, most AlfaBB members' cars aren't original ...

but who cares, we drive them, we race them, we like them as they are, we are allways trying to improve them we make them better and better but most of us don't restore them.

PS. I tried to RESTORE my Giulia 1300ti '67 model, that is to make it like it was, when it left Arese back in May 23 1967, even at the right colour of its last electric line. But as you can understand this is absolutely unable. I only achieved a 90% I think, so I believe that I have done a good renovation.
 
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#27 ·
Unfortunately, as most generators do, it was often in need of maintenance and even when it worked well, was never really able to provide much charging energy if the lights, heater and wipers were used when driving in traffic. So, I modified the system with an alternator, and now I never have to worry about my electrics.
In Denmark, a generator is called a dynamo and an alternator is called a generator. :rolleyes:
 
#28 ·
Alfa Romeo and Juliet

As Shakespeare wrote:

"What's in a name? that which we call a [n Alfa Romeo]
By any other name would smell as sweet
So Romeo would were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself."
 
#31 ·
Talk about a serious topic man!

To each his own. Some people restore cars, trains, planes, etc. to 100% original condition while others personalize to achieve their dream. I believe my Alfas are all bastards since I did not follow original guidelines (my insurance carrier identified my '73 GTV as a "customized classic" and valued it at $20,000). I personalized it to my taste and I enjoy the hell out of it. Ferrari red paint, cream and red leather interior, aftermarket wheels, 2000 watt stereo system and aftermarket lights and trim. It will never win a car show but it gets it's share of compliments. In the end, I don't give a flying @#!* what others may think about Milito (Yes it has a name and it has feelings). The important thing is that I enjoy it! The only bad thing about the car is that you can't fit a 45 winmag or 50 Deset Eagle in the glove box!

Alvin.
 

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#33 ·
There's an interesting article here : Philosophy of Car Restoration

I'll quote part of it:

Build the car you want to build. It's your car. Do what you want. Don't worry about "complete restorations" and other such silliness. Unless, of course, that's what you want. Don't let some silly notion that your car has to be either this or that creep up and destroy the car you've been dreaming of. Those silly notions are just that, silly. They are created by people who don't own your car. They own their own car. The one in their head. The beauty of this hobby is that those cars our minds have created are as distinct as we are
 
#35 ·
This certainly is:

I was not looking for a complete restoration of reality. I was looking for a restoration of fantasy. I do not want my car to be as it was in 1967. I want it to be as I imagined it in 1967. These are two very distinct things. My mind has concocted a vehicle that has never existed, and that is what I want. I want the paint to shine with a modern clear coat, and I want the hands on the clock to actually move in some sort of rhythmical pattern. The car in my mind is better than it was in 1967 because my mind has grown accustomed to the technological advances of modern cars. It has burned these things into the mental picture of my dream car.
 
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