Ah, I raised this very question, a while ago, @ about the time when somebody was selling a bonafide Fury VIN tag, on Ebay : "At what 'point' does a car 'stop' being original/correct/real?" As far as I'm concerned a 'real' convie has a legitimate convertible VIN tag, and 'matching' (as far as pertaining to THAT particular car is concerned) Paint/Trim ("Data") plate, and the correct convie "X"-braced frame, with a 'real' cowl/windshield-header section, for that particular car-model. Personally, I do not care if these components (theoretically) come off of different cars, as long as the VIN & Data plates relate to one particular car,that actually was built @ the factory. As Bill K. said, a car can be 'restored' from many different donor-cars (right, Ron Waters, & many others, among us?). I am aware of several 57-59 Dodge, & @ least one 1957 DeSoto, "convertibles" that are sporting 'hardtop' VINS & Data plates, which were sold @ auction, several years ago, when such 'transformations' were economically viable The bottom-line is good-old :"Buyer-Beware", because the 2nd/3rd owner/seller might truly NOT know "what" he really has. The "prettier" a convertible 'looks', the MORE, that a potential buyer should 'beware', regarding its authenticity. Any serious buyer would be foolish to spend big-bucks on ANY car, without, first, finding-out "what-lies-beneath" the paintwork, & trim. Neil Vedder ************************************************************* To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1 |