Curious .. do You shoot for authenticity or modification?

[aardvark]

There are differing intents and desires as Car Owners. Some live for every nut and bolt being 100% original. Others really don't care and go for Mods and Upgrades to suit their needs. Where do You fit into the mix? 

Me personally,,  I have a '63' R2 that is a 100% original vehicle in very good condition. The only intent I have for Upgrades or Mods is on the brakes. I'm planning on going to Turner Brakes with a dual master cylinder. My reason is we live in an area of steep mountains with twisty curves. I will save the Original Parts in case the next Owner wants to convert back..

And then... A acquaintance up the road is tearing His '63' down, putting a LS3, 600hp engine with Tremec 5 speed... Modifying the suspension and all Hi Performance upgrades. His intent is to go to the Salt Flats and surpass the 170mph land speed record..

I personally support either direction, but have one thing to add... IF You have a truly 100% example in very good condition. wouldn't it be prudent to keep it that way for no other reason but a Financial one? Common sense and the Markets sorta support my thought here.... IF your starting with a needy vehicle with a a lot of expense needed to bring it to 100%, then all bets are off and decisions need made.

Thoughts?

Opinions?

Edited 3 hours ago by aardvark

[Michael Phillips]

It's my opinion that the original Studebaker cars should be left or restored as close to their original build as possible, especially supercharged cars.  Some concessions for safety such as better brakes, better seatbelts, radial tires make sense if you are actually driving the car, as opposed to a museum piece. On the subject of brakes, I would recommend looking at the Cobalt caliper kits sold by Bob Ziff at Avanti parts and restoration. These are new Bendix Girling type calipers that have been redesigned with modern internals. They replace the originals exactly. They look OEM except for the Cobalt embossed name.

If you want a Hot Rod or Resto mod, use an Avanti II, it started life as a modified Studebaker. so, a continuation of modifications should not be objectionable.