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There are a rare few unrestored original
'survivors' out there. I bought (and since sold) a 1974 Dodge Charger
that had 5,000 miles on it when it was 21 years old. It was bought for cash new
by an older couple for a second car and kept garaged (gotta love those older
people). The only things that weren't original were the battery and the oil
filter. I did get the battery that was in the garage with it but it was a basket
case. I did find a dated oil filter for it and a repo battery that looked
exactly like the dead original. Other than that, nothing else was ever replaced
(even smelled new inside). Mel Majors has a traveling show at most of the larger
eastern MoPar events called MoPar Survivors. More and more people are bringing
survivors out of hiding to the shows. It's good to see examples of cars
that have not been molested over time or over-restored. It gives a good example
of what a 'factory' car should look like.
On the other side of the coin, however, are guys
that take lower value cars (Savoy 2drht) and make them into higher value cars
(Fury/Belvedere) by repainting and reserial numbering them. It's one thing to
make a clone/fantasy car and call it such, but to change the serial number and
represent it as original is a criminal act in nearly every state. If someone
wants to have a rust free Fury and has a Savoy/Belvedere hardtop body that
is better than the original and replaces it, that's his choice. But it should
always be noted that it was a transplant if sold no matter how well the job was
done. In some states, the title would need to reflect this by being marked as
rebuilt status.
Larry
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