In a perfect world, there would be no rebuilt/rebodied collector cars. When a car got old and collectible, it would be restored. But if the car was damaged beyond normal repair, it would go to the crusher and that would be the end of it. So every rare and valuable collector car would be an "honest" car bearing most of the original sheet metal at the very least with only worn out parts replaced. Collector car buyers would be assured that the car they were buying was genuine, not rebuilt/rebodied.
But in the real world, as time goes on and restorable collector cars become more valuable and scarce, enthusiasts are going to resort to whatever means they can to put together a car. Actually, they have been doing that for many years. It's a fact that cars get wrecked, wear out and rust away. There is less and less to work with as time goes on.
In the case of Mustangs, there is a big variance in the quantities and therefor the rarity and value of various models. A 1965 Mustang fastback is essentially all the same car but, depending on drive-train, options and modifications, became a T, C, A, K or Shelby. The Shelby is a K with bolt-on modifications. Many of these items were made available thru Ford dealers and owners put them on their own Mustangs. Because of rarity, desirability, how fast it goes, etc... the Shelby has become very expensive. The K is next in rarity and value followed by the A, C and T. There are probably several hundred thousand early Mustangs remaining in some condition. But only a few thousand Shelbys and K codes. Demand is greater than supply so prices continue to escalate. Most Mustangs have been greatly modified over the years so few genuine original cars exist.
Now, out in your back-forty you have some old Mustang hulks. One of them is what's left of a badly damaged and rusted out K fastback. The rest are T, C or A code relics. You'd like to have a restored Mustang to cruise in... not a perfect show car but a nice car. The K code frame and sheet metal is mostly worse than some of the other cars. You could send what's left of the K code to the crusher and restore the best of what's left which happens to be a C code 289 which has a pretty decent body and is mostly complete needing some work but very restorable.
OK, if you had to make the decision, would you forever destroy the K code? Or would you remove whatever you could from the K code and combine it with the donor car and turn it into the K code using the K vin stamped inner fenders and title to document it as a K? If you restore the car as a K it will be worth at least twice what it would be worth as a C and probably not cost appreciably more. If your restoration is reasonably faithful you will be putting a rare, collectible K code back on the street. If you restore the car as a C code... who cares? There are thousands of them.
It really doesn't matter what you or I would do because plenty of these decisions have already been made by other folks and many more will be made and there will be at least a few more rebodied K codes and Shelbys returned to the road.
Personally, I don't care what other people decide to do with their cars... restore, rebuild, rebody... whatever... it's their car. I would prefer to buy an "honest" car though, as I'm sure most people would. But the rebodied car also has a market and a value. If the price is right, a rebodied car can make someone a good looking K code driver. Most likely it would never be a show car and that's as it should be. So what's the problem? That someone, not knowing better, would pay too much for what the car is worth? Is that really possible or likely? A person pays what he thinks the car is worth and probably won't pay more than the car could be resold for a couple of years later considering that the value of K codes should continue to rise. I have a hard time understanding what the harm is here? So there are a few more Shelbys and K codes on the road and they aren't totally original or even mostly original... so what? There are already tons of them, I see them at every car show identified as "Hipo" or "Shelby" and they might resemble a K code or Shelby but they never will be. Anyone interested in buying an original K code or Shelby would get educated enough to know they what they are buying. Most people would not intentionally misrepresent or try to defraud anyone anyway.
Edited by - LuvKcodes on 05/10/2007 16:58:43
