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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Car-Collecting Trends Dissected By SPEED Analysts
Barrett-Jackson veterans Steve Magnante and Rick DeBruhl weigh in on the current state of the hobby, and the conflict between resto-mod customization vs. originality.
This resto-modded 1955 Chevrolet Nomad will be up for sale at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
Long-time car-collecting experts and SPEED on-air analysts Rick DeBruhl and Steve Magnante have spent many an auction analyzing what’s going on around them, judging the marketplace, evaluating the spikes and trends that continually shape the industry as a whole.
Heading into this weekend’s Barrett-Jackson Collector Car auction from Las Vegas, starting Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with 20 hours of live coverage on SPEED, both analysts take time out to provide some candid thoughts on the state of collecting, and where it may be headed in the future.
One of the more notable trends of this past decade has been the evolution of customizing. While hot rodding, taking an original piece and tinkering with its performance and styling, is a time-honored tradition that dates back to World War II, the “resto-mod” movement has become the preferred method for the newest generation of restorers.
As intimated, resto-mods are the modern-day evolution of customizing a vehicle. In short, restorers fit historic cars with new drivetrains, updated engines, state-of-the art technology and modern-day conveniences, turning out user-friendly rides that still retain a yesteryear appeal.
This restoration process truly came of age in the mid-1990s, coinciding with the popularity of Pro Touring vehicles that highlight Hot Rod Magazine’s cross-country Power Tour that melds car shows, horsepower and spirited driving. The event, by its very nature, demanded vehicles be a little more durable and easy to drive. Pro Touring machines, often stunning, highly functional pieces of automotive artwork, have lead many collectors toward marrying popular vintage machinery or muscle cars with today’s ‘pop’ technology and comfort.
“Take a 1955 (Chevrolet) Nomad for instance; an original is going to have drum brakes, bias-ply tires, a two-speed power glide or three-speed manual transmission,” said Steve Magnante, a former technical editor for Hot Rod Magazine. “Now, it really would not be a lot of fun to drive, especially (to a) driver who has been spoiled by automatics, power brakes and good tires. In 1955, nobody knew better, so it was great all the same.
“A properly restored ’55 Nomad versus a vehicle with say, a (late model) Corvette underpinning, modern fuel injection and brakes, can often bring the same money. It does seem as though, if people want to use them and drive them, they would choose the resto-mod.”
There are other reasons to customize or modify a collector car, though. Many shows and concours events are extremely stringent in their accreditation and judging. For good reason, as true originality demands a high burden of proof to retain credibility, and provide benchmark vehicles for a particular make. But with any dual-edge sword, the price of perfection is often paid by a currency known as fun.
“Originality is always very difficult to achieve on a number of levels, not the least of which, these days it’s difficult to forge or recreate, what appears to be originality,” Rick DeBruhl said. “If you don’t have the documentation dead-on, some people think it’s just better not to go down that road. If you’re not going to go down the originality road, then why not go down the custom route?
“Sometimes it’s easier to take a car that doesn’t have that dead-on paperwork that you’re absolutely looking for… and maybe play with it a little bit or create some style because we know that people are paying for style and customization these days,” DeBruhl added. “It’s a pain to do, getting every nut and bolt just right, (enough) that a judge is going to give it a 99.9 percent score.
“Then there’s a concern it could come back and bite you if there’s a question or some information you got from the owner you bought it from, wasn’t as rock solid as they claimed it was. On a custom, what you see is what you get.”
Heading into this weekend’s Barrett-Jackson Collector Car auction from Las Vegas, starting Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with 20 hours of live coverage on SPEED, both analysts take time out to provide some candid thoughts on the state of collecting, and where it may be headed in the future.
One of the more notable trends of this past decade has been the evolution of customizing. While hot rodding, taking an original piece and tinkering with its performance and styling, is a time-honored tradition that dates back to World War II, the “resto-mod” movement has become the preferred method for the newest generation of restorers.
As intimated, resto-mods are the modern-day evolution of customizing a vehicle. In short, restorers fit historic cars with new drivetrains, updated engines, state-of-the art technology and modern-day conveniences, turning out user-friendly rides that still retain a yesteryear appeal.
This restoration process truly came of age in the mid-1990s, coinciding with the popularity of Pro Touring vehicles that highlight Hot Rod Magazine’s cross-country Power Tour that melds car shows, horsepower and spirited driving. The event, by its very nature, demanded vehicles be a little more durable and easy to drive. Pro Touring machines, often stunning, highly functional pieces of automotive artwork, have lead many collectors toward marrying popular vintage machinery or muscle cars with today’s ‘pop’ technology and comfort.
“Take a 1955 (Chevrolet) Nomad for instance; an original is going to have drum brakes, bias-ply tires, a two-speed power glide or three-speed manual transmission,” said Steve Magnante, a former technical editor for Hot Rod Magazine. “Now, it really would not be a lot of fun to drive, especially (to a) driver who has been spoiled by automatics, power brakes and good tires. In 1955, nobody knew better, so it was great all the same.
“A properly restored ’55 Nomad versus a vehicle with say, a (late model) Corvette underpinning, modern fuel injection and brakes, can often bring the same money. It does seem as though, if people want to use them and drive them, they would choose the resto-mod.”
There are other reasons to customize or modify a collector car, though. Many shows and concours events are extremely stringent in their accreditation and judging. For good reason, as true originality demands a high burden of proof to retain credibility, and provide benchmark vehicles for a particular make. But with any dual-edge sword, the price of perfection is often paid by a currency known as fun.
“Originality is always very difficult to achieve on a number of levels, not the least of which, these days it’s difficult to forge or recreate, what appears to be originality,” Rick DeBruhl said. “If you don’t have the documentation dead-on, some people think it’s just better not to go down that road. If you’re not going to go down the originality road, then why not go down the custom route?
“Sometimes it’s easier to take a car that doesn’t have that dead-on paperwork that you’re absolutely looking for… and maybe play with it a little bit or create some style because we know that people are paying for style and customization these days,” DeBruhl added. “It’s a pain to do, getting every nut and bolt just right, (enough) that a judge is going to give it a 99.9 percent score.
“Then there’s a concern it could come back and bite you if there’s a question or some information you got from the owner you bought it from, wasn’t as rock solid as they claimed it was. On a custom, what you see is what you get.”
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