I don't know why people think this guy is stupid. He bought a nice car, so he wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars, trying to restore a sad example to the same condition. I used to tell my customers to buy a car that was cheap and needed work, so that it wouldn't cost them as much, but that was a mistake. I saw my friends spend tons of money, to get their Alpines to where they were presentable. It not only took a lot of money to do, but it took a lot of time too. I now advise them to buy the best example they can afford, because it will be a lot easier and cheaper in the long run.
I know that a lot of you wouldn't do what this guy has done, but he may have valid reasons for what he did. What I think is silly, (I won't use the word stupid, because it offends people) is trying to restore an Alpine to how they were, exactly as they were when they came off of the assembly line forty years ago. I read some pretty silly arguments about what was original and what wasn't. What color something was painted or not. One guy swears that this is so, and another is just as convinced that it isn't. To me, you can't make a virgin from an old housewife. You can be a virgin only once in your life. When you have been initiated, you no longer can be a virgin. I like seeing an Alpine that has been restored, but trying to make it a virgin again, is more than silly to me.
I have seen some modified Alpines that I don't like, but it is the choice of the owner to do as he thinks is best. I would never criticize anyone for their choices, but that doesn't mean that I have to like what their choice is. I can't see that this guy has done very much to modify his Alpine anyway. Every thing I can see, can be changed back within a couple of hours.
What I'd like to know, is who has made any one of us as the legal authority to judge this guy? I don't mean to offend anyone, but I think each one should keep their negative opinions to themselves.
Jose
