Provenance and parts values

Beautifully presented and beautifully presented. Not my mate's Clan but a very fine example nonetheless.

Have you noticed how most Vintage Things are worth more as the total of their parts? It seems to be the opposite of gestalt, where some things are worth more than the sum of their parts.

I was talking to a friend the other day who owns a very nice Clan Crusader, probably the nicest Clan Crusader you've ever seen. It's all set up for rallying with a big bore engine, twin 40s on the right manifold, a very rare and strong gearbox and - perhaps best of all - a very lightweight shell.

He's considering selling it because he has a growing family and won't get to use it properly for a while. However, having assembled all these glorious bits to create what could be the ultimate Clan, he's faced with the prospect of breaking it up because the sum total of the parts is £15,000 and nobody would ever spend that on a Clan. But they would spend £5-6k on the engine, £2-3K on the box another grand on the carbs and pipes. Tot up all the other delectable components and I can see his point but his time and effort in bringing all this together seem to have evaporated into negative equity. His time and effort in breaking the car - having got it to all work together properly - will be duplicated (and then some) by other people building up these parts into their idea of the ultimate Hillman Imp or Clan Crusader, possibly mixed and matched with inferior bits that ensure a short and troubled life until the project is sold off and - you've guessed it - broken up.

Fortunately there are others who are determined to spend serious money on getting a Clan to go really fast but until this car accrues a prodigious history and an identity that makes people go "That's THE One," it will probably revert to a collection of parts when it comes to selling it, no matter how much work has been invested in it or how cherished it is by the current owner.

Are competition cars doomed to a brief existence between stages where they are just parts? Do competition shelves lurk in garages and only occasionally get assembled to live the life for which they were designed? Or are classic cars in constant danger of being broken up for spares? How many projects on ebay have you seen with great potential but doomed with those few small words "or may break if enough interest"?

You wouldn't scrape the paint of a grand master and sell that separately would you?

Okay so maybe you would. You give Philistines a bad name.

It all seems completely nuts to me but then I never understood economics. Any car is worth what someone will pay for it and if they won't pay for the total of its parts then several people might pay for the good bits one at a time. That bit I get. But don't they think about the time and effort involved in finding those parts and then sorting the car out?

As an engine punk I see parts of cars and motorcycles only having real value if they make up a piece of rolling sculpture. Cars and motorcycles are art and beyond mere price. Or cost. (Whatever the difference is between those two English words. I thought I used to know but now I'm not so sure. I'm also having difficulty with the concept of value right now.)

The rolling sculpture has to work, too, otherwise it is just dead - inanimate.

Another nice Clan with the original headlamp pods that demonstrates rolling sculpture beautifully. Those Wolfrace wheels really suit it. I'll feature a Clan properly as a Vintage Thing dreckly

But there is hope. (There is always hope.)

This car's future seems assured.

At the Le Mans Classic last year, I fell into conversation with someone and mentioned how I admired those who raced such valuable motorcars in real wheel-to-wheel racing. In the following discussion it seemed that this not really a big deal at all.

A Le Mans Bentley is worth millions. This is because of its history, its provenance (the history can be proved) and its eligibility for a very exclusive form of motorsport.

If you crash it, re-manufacturing the parts might run into thousands of pounds but it's still cheaper than the market value of the car.

As somebody put it, that Bentley would never be destroyed. Everything could be rebuilt. Of course, it wouldn't be original and the scuffs that Birkin put in the scuttle at Maison Blanc would be lost for ever if it rolled end over end and became a ball of fire but a rich enthusiast would still be able to rebuild it and enjoy the car. It would cost a lot but everyone would agree it would be worth it. A lot of metal-working artisans would be able to practice their valuable skills, too.

Would you break this for parts?

Somewhere between a Bentley and a Clan is the tipping point where gestalt begins to work. It's probably out of reach for most of us, though.

But why are we dabbling in Vintage Things anyway? Because we like them, that's why.

Some people like pissing £15k up against a wall - how much do you drink? Others eat too much. We are all different and want to feel good about something or feel good about ourselves.

But until the values of Vintage Things get stratospheric and enough for normal people to retire on, it seems we will destroy what we love the most because it makes "sense".