QuestionHi Mr. Dickey. I used to be a vintage British car mechanic, and now run my own small machine shop. I still have a deep love for antiques of all kinds. One problem that I have seen many times with "restored" vehicles is that often the hardware is not correct. I remember once at the Pebble Beach Concourse, seeing a Jaguar E-type with cheap zinc plated nuts and lock washers, the kind you find at your local hardware store. The correct hardware is very difficult to find, right? The correct hardware were often plain oiled steel, not plated. Nuts and bolts were cut with cutters, not formed. In my shop, I still use the old machines that used to make this hardware, and have been dying to help out people who want to restore their vehicles using new hardware, made just like it was in the old days. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than a thoughtfully restored vehicle, where no detail is overlooked. The look of period plain steel hardware on the engine, with a light film of oil on it, just like when it was made 50 years ago is a great thing indeed. Am I just an oddball, or are there other people out there who feel the same?
AnswerOddball to me. I am amazed by genuine restorers who keep every nut and screw, but use unleaded gas, filtered oil, and non-butyl rubber tires.
I'm not stupid enough to think you won't be filled with orders from purests, but when I drive my 2 year old daughter around in one of my restorations, I like high purity steel, titanium, and stainless hoses.
