Classic Car Platforms

There are some pretty special classics out there. The 1967 Sunbeam Tiger, 1968 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, Pontiac GTO, and the 1957 Corvette Fuelie just to name a few. The cool thing is that what made those cars so exceptional was upgrades to boring cars like the Sunbeam Alpine, 1968 Ford Mustang, 1964 Pontiac LeMans or 1957 Corvette. Because these cars are so much more valuable than there plain Jane sisters, they tend to bring a lot at auction. Some who long for a Shelby V8 in a small British road car will simply take a very affordable Sunbeam Alpine and recreate it a Tiger. Just drop in the large Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8, upgrade the suspension, tranny, rear end and bang, you have a pretty special car. Go to any auto auction and you will see a plethora of these "recreations" and they are popular. Unscrupulous car builders have been known to pass off these upgraded step-sisters as originals. So much so that registries have emerged to authenticate originals. 1963 Jaguar...

Call me agest if you like, but those of us who collect and enjoy classic cars have usually spent more time on this earth. Some feel that caring for a classic car, keeping it running and in some cases restoring it back to its original glory, can illustrate an appreciation for things of a bygone age. When successful, we are able to delay the inevitable ravages of time on the machines in our care that also relentlessly takes its toll on the physical bodies of the owners. If our cars last beyond their planned usefulness, then why not us? 1968 MG B For some cars in my collection, I do just that: I think of myself as a curator so I attempt the car as close to the original as possible. My 1967 MGB until recently still had a generator, is positive ground, and has the original hard-to-maintain air filters. For the most part, it looks and runs as much as it was intended when it left the factory. For me, there is something magical about zooming around in an 80 HP lightweight nimble sp...