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originality


dieselnutjob

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this should cause a bit of a debate.....Last night I got told off for even thinking of modifying my 604.According to this particular person the car is super rare and therefore I should even remove the towbar because it didn't come out of the factory that way.He nearly had a coronary when I suggested it might suit my needs/comfort a bit better if I stuck a 505 turbo diesel and autobox in it.My feeling is that a car is for driving and that it should be seen on the road, and if I am happier driving it in another form, then why not? It's my bloody car after all. I love the way that the car looks, but it's a bit of a pain in the arse in central London.Also, if I take out the original engine and store it away safely then it is preserving it isn't it? PRV engine bits are getting harder to find and if that engine expires I won't find another.And I have some tasty 15 inch alloys in the garage. If any normal person had owned the car when it was 10 years old they would have put those alloys on without even thinking about it, but 24 years later it apparently isn't kosher, particularly as those particular wheels weren't available in 1976.Fact is, it's an old rusty French barge with lots of weld in it (and lots more to come) and it'll not win any prizes.I'm not interested in prizes anyway. I'm more interested in surprised looks on the M25.Then he told me that he sold another 604 to a bloke who told me that he'll never drive it and will just park it up and look at it. What's the bloody point of that?

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I'm in two minds. I think something as different and as rare as a 604 should be preserved in as original condition as possible tbh.

 

As for wheels? I tend to prefer original but if someone was to put some new ones on and keep the originals in the garage? Why not.

 

Engine? If you can put a turdo diesel lump there without irreversibly modifying it then fair enough and if you're going to store the original lump away safely then even better :) If it means it gets driven around even more then great!

 

On the other hand I do like my ice cream vanilla and my cars as original as possible. But I'm not fussed with having things 110% original. My 504 had a weber carby on there and was a million times better for it as opposed to the rather wank twin solex arrangement, as it was built by Renault in Australia it had Renno seats as well, now what's more original? The seats that it came with which were made my a completely different marque, or Peugeot seats? Some people then start to go anal with fasteners, radios, bits of trim, upholstery. Now that's just getting silly tbh.

 

I'm going to put some Impreza rims on my wifes Legacy and IMHO it'll look nicer for it although to be fair I'm also doing this so I can get the original rims refurbished as well!

 

P.S If you did decide to keep the V6 in there or want help with 505 bits, the guys at http://www.aussiefrogs.com/ are very helpful and are always interested in old/rare French metal.

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It's your car, you can do to it what you please. When he told you that you should remove the towbar because it's not original you should have replied that you'd only remove it to shove it up his...

ROFL so true :DThis guy definitely sounds like he's just too anal (pun fully intended) with the towbar. It makes the car more useful, it's reversible and hardly the most noticable of things.
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Have to agree with you in general. It's your car, do with it what you want. I've never gone in for or understood all the absolute originality freaks. Cars are meant to be used, not to be museum pieces. Yes it's nice to see something original but if sensible upgrades make your car more useable then thats up to you. If someone wants to replace the engine with a more modern / different one, put a different set of wheels or whatever then as long as it doesn't ruin the character of the car then crack on. I'd rather see the car slightly modified and kept in use than left to rot in original condition. Nicer if its all reversible at some point if needs be though.My R4 has R5 seats, they're a load more comfortable than the standard R4 seats and I wouldn't be at all bothered if some originality fan didn't like it - it's mine and I'll do with it as I please.

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Have to agree with you in general. It's your car, do with it what you want. I've never gone in for or understood all the absolute originality freaks. Cars are meant to be used, not to be museum pieces. Yes it's nice to see something original but if sensible upgrades make your car more useable then thats up to you.

***devils advocate mode***What if everyone did this though and there were no original cars for people to go back and look at?
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***devils advocate mode***What if everyone did this though and there were no original cars for people to go back and look at?

Wouldn't bother me that much tbh. Anyway, there will always be someone into doing the whole originallty thing. Not thats neccesarily a bad thing you understand.
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Perhaps you should return it to factory spec pre PDI. No number plates, a load of screws, clips, half eaten baguette, Gauloise dogends and the odd spanner rolling around the footwells, spare wheel damaged or missing, windows off their runners, etc. etc.+1 vote for your car do whatever you like with it, you didn't scrappage it, so good work so far. The whole originality obsession thing, like sourcing the correct stickers for washer bottles, or getting all anorak about wether the bonnet catch should be cadmium plated or painted is an extreme, another extreme is the rimz, slamz and nitromors farce.The former results in a soulless zombie of a car hidden under a dustsheet, the latter is destined for the scrapyard, both seem a pointless waste. The car that gets cherished and used for it's intended purpose should have a good chance of survival.I've been accosted by the odd flatcap, I like to tell them my imaginary plans for a roofchop and v8 drivetrain, throwing in the odd word like hemi, cleveland, horseshoe header and flux capacitor adds credibility and gets them frothing from every orifice.

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Quite. You own the car - the modifications should suit you. Not anyone else. Ask matey to put his money where his mouth is, and get him to buy it at a hugely inflated top-of-head figure to preserve it's originality.I often wonder if the reason why there aren't many original examples of a particular model (I am not including 604s in this per se!) remaining is because they lacked a certain something in factory spec!I'm intrigued by the fellow who supposedly bought a 604 just to look at. I mean, no offence, but it's not a Miura or 406 coupe is it?

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therefore I would actually be building a car that didn't exist

If you explain it like that I think I agree with the guy! Building a car which didn't exist could create a tear in the fabric of space and time IMHO
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this should cause a bit of a debate.....

You don't really want a debate really though, do you? Aren't you really asking everyone just to say you're right? You know that most on here will say "It's yours, do what you want to it" and anyone who doesn't will get a right going-over. If something's worth preserving, preserve it. You don't think the car is, or you wouldn't be modifying it, so what anyone else thinks won't persuade you.
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My Commer imp is a prime example of what not to do , Rescued from a scrappys in 91 , chucked together with any odd bits , twin headlight front , lowered , wrong engine , wrong suspension , back seats and side windows fitted by a proper company mind , theres only 12 or so left but should i really turn it back into a as it was when new van , probably but im not , i like it how it is , its mine and i dont care , twas only worth £50 when i got it , now worth a hell of a lot more but not looking like mine .I recon if its really rare any mods should be reverable , other than that , CRACK ON :lol:

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Hey Saabhappy, are you the legendary 'Johnno' character off the PC board?

RUMBLED.
:lol: Ooooh! Bet that felt good! Look at the capitals!My point was that if you are thinking of modding it you obviously don't think it's worth preserving, so you've made up your mind. Any debate'll be pretty one-sided if anyone was to say "604s are rare, don't spoil it" and I'm certainly not going to be that person. That's all.
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Do you own the car?Then do what you like with it. Its yours. End of. If said purist bloke cares that badly sell it for £eleventy squillion. Otherwise tell them to STFU and FRO.Some cars I like to see pure as the proverbial driven sleet, and others I like to see modded. But no way would I say you shouldnt do that to a car ( I might think you are a bollocky brained biscuit eating faux northern wanker for slamming your Nova, tinting the windows and fitting a 9" foul water pipe for an exhaust, but I would never say you cant do that sort of thing to a car you own....

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I despise ruining old cars by putting diesel engines in, but in a 604 it's kinda not so bad, although personally that would remove most of its charm for me, I'd love a V6 injection one, but a diesel I can live without. LPG is the answer.The wheels I'd have to see.Towbar is fine. A bonus, really.I wouldn't like to see it played with too much, although the idea of one with a V8, lowered, on BBS (or similar) alloys, mild tints and a bit of tasteful custom trickery is beginning to light my fire, now I think about it. Be better in brown for all that though.

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I despise ruining old cars by putting diesel engines in, but in a 604 it's kinda not so bad, although personally that would remove most of its charm for me, I'd love a V6 injection one, but a diesel I can live without. LPG is the answer.The wheels I'd have to see.Towbar is fine. A bonus, really.I wouldn't like to see it played with too much, although the idea of one with a V8, lowered, on BBS (or similar) alloys, mild tints and a bit of tasteful custom trickery is beginning to light my fire, now I think about it. Be better in brown for all that though.

There are a couple of 504 V8's in Australia.
604 V8 has a nice ring to it ;)
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Hey Saabhappy, are you the legendary 'Johnno' character off the PC board?

Nah, I'm sure Johnno had a Landcrab.Oh hang on...As an example I clearly think our Herald is not in the least worth preserving after 100,000 miles in our hands so have absolutely ruined it by putting in a different engine and box in to make sure another 100,000 miles is possible :roll:
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As an example I clearly think our Herald is not in the least worth preserving after 100,000 miles in our hands so have absolutely ruined it by putting in a different engine and box in to make sure another 100,000 miles is possible :roll:

Not to be rude but most British cars were that good to start with so usually different engines, mismatched panels etc etc are a good thing :D
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