Well, it's been a while since I've been on here to post, and it's been interesting to read the responses members have to the contest and participants. I can see the genuine concern with making sure the winner sticks to the task of fixing up their wreck, since it would be all too easy to win and sit on the winnings. Some of these cars require not only sheet metal, but some serious expertise to put back together properly. And while materials will get someone closer to the finish,
it's time, knowledge and additional funds (for all those mechanical bits that are easily as wrecked as the visible spots) that are the ultimate requirements for getting the job done.
I remember looking through Hemmings magazine and the 356 Registry classifieds in the 90s and seeing cars for sale labeled as 'older restorations.' The term was something of a mark against the car or the owner, or both. It meant that the restorer used a mixed bag of tricks to get the job done, to get the car on the road or to keep it going.
Generally speaking, the restoration trend has moved in the direction of doing
everything right, to get as close to the factory as possible in material and technique. That's crazy daunting to the guy who just likes the look of the car, appreciates the history and thinks tinkering is fun. It can put a guy into paralysis, knowing he might be messing up a car's only chance at being done right, especially doing most of it himself. Except if he has some good, new metal to cut and weld into place. That's where these cars, the WCSTA cars really shine. How bad can you mess up one of these before someone thinks it's no worse a challenge than before you started?
Anyway, loads of luck to all the contestants. And even more luck to those of us who may not win Stoddard's panels, but persevere regardless! It's fun to see all these tubs still out there...
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- Thomas A. Edison (1847 – 1931)
