We said the same about Taz's Dodge. We've replaced every single body panel. Is it still a '69 Charger? Debateable.
Been spending waaaaay too long thinking about that…. So here’s a personal take on it…..
I’ve taken a 1950s motorcycle and restored it, only parts replaced were rims, spokes, exhaust, handlebars, head light rim (all useable but in tatty condition), so I tended to describe it as “restored”, as opposed to “original”, because I’d changed bits, but I still called it by its model name.
So if you take the Charger and apply the same criteria, yes you have a “ ’69 Charger”, but it’s a restored ’69 Charger.
To me original means basically how it came out of the factory; apart from standard wear n tear parts (tyres, battery, etc).
Different folk will have different ideas, is there a single right answer?? Probably not…
Back to the Slippery Sam sitting in the museum:
I’ve taken a 1960s almost-famous, quite recognisable, one-off competition bike’s rolling chassis, and fitted an equivalent engine & gearbox, so although the rolling chassis was original, the bike (as a whole) wasn’t.
What I had was a part original / part facsimile, and that’s what I told people it was who mistook it for the (complete) original.
It seems Slippery Sam is in the same boat, but you wouldn’t know it if you read the National Motorcycle Museum notes… (ahem!!) ....and what about the poor streamliner that gained the world record at Bonneville, after which Triumph named thier twin-carb road bike............... the website says this about the exhibit that was 'rebuilt from the mangled mess (see photo) - "
On September 6, 1956 this Triumph-powered projectile raised the absolute motorcycle world speed record to 214.17mph". "
This" ?
Mr tbone sir.... sorry, seem to have hijacked the thread…………..
The National Motorcycle Museum is a great place to visit, it’s considered one of the best (largest?) such museums in the world, but be warned, if you spot something you grew up with on display, you liable to find yourself saying something like “they changed on the next model, made that flange bigger and altered the shape of the bars…….”
Sammy’s museum in the New Forrest feels like a personal collection (which I guess it is), more homley and less sterile.
The Motor Museum at Beaulieu has a pretty reasonable collection of motorcycles too, but its primarily four wheel based, with some very interesting motors.