RE: [CR]"State of the Art" restorations

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2007)

From: "Feeken, Dirk" <dirk.feeken@sap.com>
To: "'Richard M Sachs'" <richardsachs@juno.com>, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: RE: [CR]"State of the Art" restorations
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 21:54:38 +0200


Exactly this Alfa Romeo is a very famous one. You can see it here: http://www.symbolicmotors.com/frames/images/Classics/8C2900/8c2900b.html

And if you look down at the "before" pics you see why Mr Renwick thougt that the current state of the car is not very original. It is mainly a rebuild. (BTW: Its for sale). It's as nice and beautiful as Brians Masi replica, but as genuine IMHO.

Dirk

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-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Richard M Sachs Sent: Freitag, 14. Mai 2004 21:35 To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]"State of the Art" restorations

i found this old cr list post on my blogsite. url is: http://richardsachs.blogspot.com/ bikes and cars are different, but emotion is emotion. e-RICHIE chester, ct ----------------------------------------

here:

the following is an excerpt from Town and Country magazine. the story is called 'Auto Hypnotic'. it's about the pebble beach classic car weekend. i think it is pertinent subject matter. do you?? e-RICHIE

"The subject of restoration is hotly debated in the world of vintage automobiles as it is in the world of fine art. Repaint a famous track car, or lengthen a tailpipe to prevent carbon from smudging a boat tail, and you may find yourself the target of the same disapproval aimed at the

well-meaning cleaners of Michaelangelo's Sistine ceiling. For some-- let's call them true believers--the patina of age and the original trappings of tradition should never be tampered with. For others---the protestant aposty, perhaps--a car ought to look as it did the day it rolled out of the showroom. This division, written about in this magazine by Stephan Wilkinson (June 1999), is ever more hotly debated. The competition for top prizes is keen and costly; restorations can end up running to half a million dollars or more. Those who spend this kind of money want a new-like car, however old the original, and aren't pleased to hear grousings about the results. But antirestoration forces are passionate in their orthodoxy. When I strolled from one resplendent classic to another in the company of Chris Renwick, a well known international expert with Symbolic Motor Car Company in La Jolla, California, we stopped in front of a particularly dazzling machine, an immaculately refurbished 1938 2.9-liter Alfa Romeo roadstewr. To anyone with an eye for kinetic sculpure, there couldn't be a more satisfying sight. But Renwick was unmoved. Or moved only to mutter, " It might as well be plastic. Imagine taking a piece of Louis Quartorze furniture, sandblasting it and slapping on a coat of varnish!"