28-07-2022, 07:43 AM
(This post was last modified: 28-07-2022, 07:54 AM by Andy Bennett.)
Whilst it isn't for me I do sort of understand.
Surely it's a continuum, in that you move from 100% nut and bolt as it came off the Austin line, to a few mods for safety (eg brake lights) to more subtle reliability/speed mods (some period some not, eg electronic inginion), to body-discarded specials and ulsteroids and on to just a few body parts used on hot rods.
Some in the day may even have suggested that a Swallow was an Austin 7 butchered into an attempt to come up with a luxury version that only a few people could actually get into. Today its all part of the rich history and one of many loved variants. But is it itself 'original' or one of the first professionally made 'specials'?
Where you sit on the continuum is a personal choice (and in many cases complicated by being dependant on how the 'bits' were sourced or whether mods can be considered period), but it is also bell curve. Perhaps a few hundred completely original, through to thousands sitting in the middle with mods of some form, to just a few hot rods.
Is that really so bad, seems quite healthy to me and if done well is a good basis for encouraging engineering and source of engagement.
Now, lets get back to talking about electric 7s...
Surely it's a continuum, in that you move from 100% nut and bolt as it came off the Austin line, to a few mods for safety (eg brake lights) to more subtle reliability/speed mods (some period some not, eg electronic inginion), to body-discarded specials and ulsteroids and on to just a few body parts used on hot rods.
Some in the day may even have suggested that a Swallow was an Austin 7 butchered into an attempt to come up with a luxury version that only a few people could actually get into. Today its all part of the rich history and one of many loved variants. But is it itself 'original' or one of the first professionally made 'specials'?
Where you sit on the continuum is a personal choice (and in many cases complicated by being dependant on how the 'bits' were sourced or whether mods can be considered period), but it is also bell curve. Perhaps a few hundred completely original, through to thousands sitting in the middle with mods of some form, to just a few hot rods.
Is that really so bad, seems quite healthy to me and if done well is a good basis for encouraging engineering and source of engagement.
Now, lets get back to talking about electric 7s...
Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!