Stan, this paragraph has a lot of truth to it.
"If that kind of guy has a stable full of rare and collectible cars, and if he needs one of the cars to be on the lawn at Pebble Beach with judges crawling all over it in order to command a higher price at the time of sale-- I can guarantee he wouldn't be doing any of this himself. He'd pay somebody (probably the guy he paid to restore it) to do the dog and pony show for him. The name of the owner would be withheld or obfuscated-- because he just doesn't want to flaunt it. There's no upside to it."
The guy doing my Alfa restoration has to sometimes do the dog and pony show for the judged cars he has restored for owners.
It's part of the gig. If I'm in the restoration business, I'm happy as a clam to show my finished product-- it's free advertising. If I'm the owner-- I'm way more low-key.
A gentleman I know displayed his 275 NART Spyder on the lawn at Pebble in 2013. While he did have an expert restore the car, he was there wrenching on it with the restoration shop every step of the way. (While the car was on the lawn, I’m sure people; due to the way he was dressed, probably thought he was a hired hand to keep the car clean as he rubbed it down)
When time permits, you can find this guy in the Ferrari mechanic’s shop, not getting his car serviced, but actually in jeans servicing the cars for fun.
And I’ve spoken with a few others just like him during Monterey week. That said, there are a number of owners that are very much hands off. They pay a Group to restore the car, take it to Pebble, Amelia, Villa d’Este; and then have the awards sent to them.
I used to think Pebble had a lot more of those hands-off owners until I started chatting with them. Turns out, most of them are car people like all of us; with motor oil running through their veins. And while they are proudly displaying their Hispano-Suiza, they will happily discuss the ‘62 Chevy pickup they had with a three on the tree-and the fun times they had in that vehicle.
I’m more of a fan of the preserved class than the restored. I like to say, they are only original once. I love smelling the interior and gazing onto the vehicle and thinking about what it has been through in the past 60, 70, 80 or 90 years. And knowing the car has been and will continue to be used.
However, like the gentleman with the NART spyder, I know a lot of time, research and to a lesser degree money has gone in to painstakingly restoring these cars. And while I think most of them are over-restored, I acknowledge that there is a sense of pride to be judged; a level of acceptance and appreciation for all the hard work put in to restoring the vehicle.
