Debate this all you will.
Grandfather's axe might have had three replacement handles and five
replacement blades, but what makes it Grandfather's axe is the fact that
it was always Grandfather's, and when it was passed to the next
generation it was still Grandfather's axe, even when they replaced the
handle and then the head. Heaven help them if they replaced both at the
same time.
My point here is that a car is bought and sold on a bill of sale. If
you bought a race car from its legitimate owner you got a bill of sale
(if he sold it twice as a complete car each with some original pieces
this is a more complicated animal). If you bought a few parts you got a
receipt...maybe...for parts.
In an ideal world legitimate car owners will only sell the "car" once.
That being said, the most accurate way to measure the authenticity of
historic racers is the owner chain, verified by each successive owner.
In retrospect previous owners have no incentive to lie when asked what
they had and who they sold it to. (Unless of course they sold the "car"
more than once...but this is very rare) Those who buy pieces of a car
and then create "the original", especially when a legitimate original
exists with proper bill of sale, are despicable.
Current dilemma: Thanks to a referral by Larry Dent, I have Mark
Donohue's first racer, an Elva Courier. The body, chassis and owner
chain date to Mark without a doubt. I sincerely doubt that the motor
dates back that far as the car was raced for 15 more years after Mark.
I would like to vintage race this car. Experts say the chassis is not
safe and needs to be replaced. If I do this would it still be Mark
Donohue's car? I think most would agree that it would be. But the body
is all cobbled together with patches that date back to Mark and the next
owner. If I replaced most of the body would it still be Mark's car?
Again I think yes.
Ah, but if I replace both at the same time might I be on shaky ground?
It will still have an absolute owner chain, but many out there profess
that the pieces are what make up the car. If all the pieces but a dash,
rollbar and other odds and ends have been replaced, it is not the real
car, so they might say. I do not agree, but then I prefer not to risk
the stigma. I can buy another Courier for less money than I can restore
Mark's car, so I will keep Mark's car as it is for display and race
another car instead.
By the way, I am replacing Mark's '67 Sunoco Camaro piece by piece as I
damage them. Mark raced it 5 weekends and won three TransAm's. I have
now raced it more than 100 weekends. Who cares whether I won anything?
Hope to see lots of the participants on this list at the Mark Donohue
Reunion next week at the Glen. 25 Donohue cars scheduled to appear,
plus 20 or so members from his teams. Somebody tell Roger not to miss
this.
Pat Ryan
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