Clones
Clones are a hate/love relationship. Everything said about affording and driving a real Judge today is a good reason to build one yourself. I always wanted a 69 Judge but with todays values I doubt I will ever own a real one or even a very well done clone.
However for every person who said they would never sell thier clone as the real deal, what happens when then next guy or the owner after that sells the car? With todays skyrocketing prices the temptation for some shady character to make a profit is definitely a problem. I recently attended a highly regarded auction (not BJ) and was surprised to see how many people paying big bucks did not know much about the car they were bidding on. They were bidding on the quality of the workmanship and taking the auction statements as fact. The information used during the auction was supplied by the seller and even though the auction website acknowledged this it was never announced to the bidding audience. I saw a half dozen 69 Judges that were not correct yet they were perceived as being so. One was supposedly a GTOAA Gold winner (A/C was converted to R-134 and even had the stickers on compressor etc...maybe conversion was after GTOAA judging?). Another interesting fall out from clones is that they can bring just about as much money as the real deal at an auction. I have seen modified cars bring more money than a correct concourse restoration. The problem is what happens to the REAL Judges when the waters become so muddy with clones and modified cars? Will they have to compete with the clones for top dollar? At this particular auction there were a boat load of Z-28 Camaro's most equipped with cross ram induction. There was a joke going around that there were more cross ram cars at this auction than were ever built.
I am all for doing what you want with your own car. If the collector car market were to collapse tomorrow I would enjoy my Pontiacs just as much as I do now. I don't think there is an easy answer to the clone question. All I can say is it will have an impact on the hobby and please do as much research as possible before buying anything.
MarkC
|