Well Nick, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on what a "top end car" really is. To me it's more than acres of shiny paint and mirror finish stainless.
At least one of the "top end cars" recently sold is quietly back on the market since it's a fake.
To be a top end car, in my opinion, requires attention to detail and, also in my opinion, the word restoration means putting the car back to the way it was when it left the factory.
The auctioneers claim that this car was restored by "a top restorer" and that it is "10 out of 10", whatever that means.
From 20 metres away it has Belmont headlight surrounds, Kingswood tail lights, incorrect infill paint in the wheel arch moulds, Pagewood pattern side stripes, an excessive gap between the bonnet stripes and HG GTS badges.
Moving closer, it has a 350 manual boot mat (not suitable for a 16.5 gallon tank, which is why it doesn't fit properly) wrong front end attaching bolt finish, wrong master cylinder, wrong engine bay paint colour, an extra S clip on the heater hoses, wrong battery cable terminals and several other issues.
With one exception none of the above items have anything to do with parts availability, and require nothing more than a simple enquiry to get right. Which makes me wonder what the parts that are not in the photographs are like.
Since I've restored a dozen, advised on dozens, and owned one for nearly 40 years I reckon I'm entitled to an opinion.
Edited by user Friday, 21 April 2017 1:13:29 AM(UTC)
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