Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Weyman
I think you may be wrong on this analaysis. I think once a car is only useful as a musuem piece its value will be slashed and I tell you what brings me to this conclusion.
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Al, I take your point but I was thinking more in terms of those few models that have, currently at least, some particular charisma for collectors. They may still take to the track, but rarely and more in show events rather than races, as time moves us on.
The 'workhorse' grid fillers may disappear especially if the potential for outings becomes limited should as active participants start to tend more towards 80s and 90s cars.
I think you are potentially very right about the valuations but then collecting anything, whether for use or storage, is a fickle thing with markets often on a state of flux. Classic/Historic cars have a somewhat volatile price history as I recall. Still, even buying a road car people will justify their decision to themselves as being the best value for money that meets their criteria and have figures to back up the argument - but only if they ignore running costs and allow nothing for unplanned repairs.
I would imagine most historic racers recohise the costs and accept the risk on the basis of the pleasure they get from participating whilst secretly hoping that somewhere along the line the value of what they have, if they start in the expensive desirable end of the market, will enhance enough that they can exit at some point getting as much back as they have paid out over the years.
Such provenance as they have to create the positive ROI (if the timing is right) is where driftwood's argument comes in and I have no problem with that excpet that the whole thing is difficult to police ESPECIALLY when trying to create a chronological record of a chassis/engine or even the specification changes when the car was in period when records at the time of its manufacture were incomplete. Perhaps intentionally so.
In a former life one of the tasks I undertook was to deliver and collect DFVs for the rebuild line at Cosworth. During the course of a GP season there is a good chance that all the components were replaced, probably including the block in the case of most engines. But for documentation purposes, notable customs documentation carnets, the number on the block was always the same. If you consider a chassis well, a tub may survive or be repaired but equally a re-tub could be given the old chassis number. In a season one could expect most suspension components to be replaced a number of times. Wheels and tyres don't count, obviously. Bodywork could get re-used providing it was not damaged of not beyong economic repair. Gearboxes were regularly swapped and rebuilt. About the only thing I can think of that might have continuity would be the roll over hoop - providing it was not replaced due to damage or engineering changes during the year. Provenance is a flexible concept which, to be honest, mostly requires the belief on its reality rather than proof - until such time as someone authorises it with a document of some sort. It's all a question of confidence even then.
So from the poiint of view of an owner with an investment angle in addition to racing - I agrre with driftwood, by and large. But there awill always be some fairly unique vehicles that are of huge interest to a very limited number of potential owners. Some of the vehicles will be everyday items, some will be that even if they should not be due to real historic interest, a few will attract the eyes of thse who like to move on expensive circles and so attract premium prices.
As a spectator and speaking from a race viewing perspective I don't really care (except in wonderment of course) about the value of the car being raced. T70s, genuine original or continuation, are all great sights and sounds to me providing they are reasonably representative of what they used to be. In general I would rather see the spectacle and hear the sounds than be too worried about how close the spec is to its original, especially if the differences mean that the car is more reliable over a race and a season making it more available to come out and play.
I suspect that the non-anorak (not intending any slight to those who might identify as being anoraks in this subject!) new recruits to the historic scene may feel the same way since modern racing seems to have no obvious equivalent for chassis history, etc. as I discussed in an earlier post.
Without attracting new interested individuals both the racing and the investments will either die or at least become a very specialized interest. Quite where the balance is between attracting the wealthy potential car owners for the investment angle and making it easier to fill grids that gather the 'others' for the racing and spectacle I don't know. No doubt we will find it, one way or another, as things evolve. Unless, as I mentioned earlier the entire concept moves almost exclusively to a 'private world' footing that largely excludes the spectator element.