An “original” car, by this view, is a car that has not been restored—ever. There is a small allowance for the maintenance of paint and consumable components such as wiring and tires. A well-preserved car is not a rust bucketit’s just not as shiny as a newly restored version. There might be some slight cracks in the paint or leather. The carpets will have some wear. The engine compartment might look like a machine that really functions. When you give yourself over to these “imperfections,” it’s a delightful new world. I liken it to a fresh style of music that strikes your fancy. It might not be your favorite, but you can pretty easily appreciate it.
One of the things I like about the trend toward preservation class cars is the emphasis on good documentation. An unbroken chain of ownership, good service records, and photographs from different periods are all key to the life of a car. And hopefully the days of owners selling their cars but hoarding all the paperwork are coming to an end. If there were ever a case for a blockchain documentation ledger for cars, this is it (hint, hint, to our more techie members).
Those who prefer well-preserved cars are, I think, still a small subset of the collecting community, but it’s a growing trend. We are all learning the nuances between preservation, originality, and false patina. (More on false patina in a future article.)
Most of my own cars are restored, but I proudly own and drive two highly preserved cars: a 1928 Bentley 4½ Litre and a 1966 Jaguar E-Type SI. The Bentley, which has close to 200,000 miles on it, was likely painted in the late 1930s but otherwise is highly original—including its cloth, Weymann-type body panels. The Jaguar has original paint and fewer than 15,000 miles. I drive them both—last year, I took the Bentley on a thousand-mile tour of California—but I am very careful in traffic. I would hate for a fender bender to force me to restore either of them.
Not every car is a candidate for preservation. Many of the cars we see on shows like our Barn Find Hunter are too far gone to preserve and need a full restoration. But I hope you think about preservation the next time you take on a project. Take a good look at the patina and consider whether it might make it even more special to keep it that way.
Patina is earned, after all. Onward and upward
