How to prove you can't improve on Sir Alec....

[Ondergard]

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/cla ... arno/68322

I don't mind non-intrusive mods - I'm not a purist in that way - but this is truly horrible! Talk about ruining the lines!

[badobsession]

i do not think it is truly horrible
each to there own.

[aupickup]

nothing wrong with it in my veiw

[Dryad]

You have to ask the question; "at what point does a Minor stop being a Minor?" In this case it looks to me as if it is no longer a Minor, but some Minor body panels with bits cut out and other bits added in.

Presumably some people would consider it still a Minor as long as some of the body shell is used, but not me... As badobsession says; each to their own.

[aupickup]

would not mistake it for a minor thats for sure

each to their own and a good idea that it is

[bmcecosse]

It is what it is - a Hot Rod. I think it looks ok actually (have seen MUCH worse) but it's not something I would want.

[PSL184]

I like it!! I don't mind when people modify Moggies as there are still lots around in original condition so the purists can have their pleasure and the modifiers too

[plastic_orange]

I'm just glad we are all different in our likes and dislikes. How boring is a field full of standard production cars?

Pete

[cormorant]

I reckon it looks ok though personally I don't like roof chops or louvres. One of the great things about the Morris is the headroom! Made for an era when people wore hats and now perfect for an era when people don't but are taller

The blue MM in the post above is more my sort of thing, what's in it Pete? Or is it standard apart from the wheels?

[PSL184]

Or is it standard apart from the wheels?

[plastic_orange]

Judge for yourself

http://mog.myfreeforum.org/about1083.html

Pete

[Blaketon]

I've mixed feelings on this point. I'm all for improving things tastefully, though historical authenticity is also important (As I have got older, I started to appreciate this more). My own cars are all modified. The MGB GT V8 has a Holley carb, Rover SD1 gearbox and Quaife diff (In the case of the transmission the original MGC derived units were known to be weak). It also has a better standard of paint and trim than when it was built.

My MG Midget has more mods, including an overdrive gearbox and Quaife diff. The engine is modified and breaths through Dellorto carbs, though it is the correct engine for the car (If not the original). Like the BGT V8, it has a better standard of paint and trim than when it was built.

The Traveller is the only one with the "Wrong" engine (1275), though it is still an A Series. The Ford Gearbox is non standard as are the disc brakes but they each make the car more useful. Like the MGs it has a Quaife diff but in this case it is there to make the car more driveable in bad weather.

As has been said, each to their own. For me mods are OK but there is a limit and I think that "Historic" status could be threatened where cars have been modified to the extent of modern engines etc. Having said that, Nick Mann's turbo V8 is a very naughty car and there is a dark side of me that very much approves .

Some of the MG V8 people (There were only about 2500 built by MG) are pretty obsessive about originality (It was joked that one owner used to go to Abingdon to pump up his tyres ) and have published notes on what colour accelarator cable any given chassis number should have. I don't believe MG had any policy on this and what was fitted was simply what was in the stores. Someone else T Cuts the current "Unipart" number off the oil filter and stencils in the period number.

There are lots of different points of view.

[cormorant]

Very nicely done Pete the car is a credit to all your hard work. Funny thing is with such a tiny picture it doesn't look that modified - when you see a decent picture of the rear end though it does give it away just a bit no doubt the view that most folks will get of your car given what's under the bonnet

[aupickup]

but there are probably many more standard classics than rodded or highly modified ones

[Ondergard]

plastic_orange wrote:
Judge for yourself

http://mog.myfreeforum.org/about1083.html

Pete


The mate you refer to in the captions to some of the pictures in that thread has just sold that hot rod for about £7500 on Car and Classic, hasn't he?

Now, that's the kind of modification I think is brilliant! Without looking at the smoothed dashboard and the amazing engine space, you wouldn't know it wasn't pretty well a standard Minor.

If I had had the money, I would have bought that off him, no question. I wouldn't touch the one one I started the conversation about with a bargepole!

[limegreen]

it could always be worse.
the louvres don't make me happy, but a tasteful roofchop is alright.

[badobsession]

i think you have to change the tittle of this post as you have just admitted you can improve ......

Quote, that's the kind of modification I think is brilliant!}

[rayofleamington]

the roofchop will always upset purists - I think that's usually why it's done!

As for the louvres I quite like them but not on the boot, as it's not a ####### beetle ;-)

[issigone]

very nice.
better than a stocker in my eyes.

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

It's an interesting topic, to mod or not to mod. Personally I dont like it, but who am I to say that it shouldnt be done - at least the cars are being preserved, in one form or another.

And it would be boring if all of them were the same.