The first time I heard the expression "It's only original once" I wondered what that was supposed to mean. Eventually I came to understand that at least among some car collectors it means Do Not Restore. That made me think of the medical order Do Not Resuscitate, which has the same acronym. So, what? Just let it die . . . . ?
As an archaeologist as well as a carchaeologist I interpret the DNR order as a reaction, or even over-reaction, to over-restoration. Some restorers lost the "All things in moderation" ethos along the way and "better than new" became the level necessary to win the big prizes. People and judges liked it and that became the norm.
The Alfatross was a complete, numbers-matching car when I bought it in 1969, but by the time I finally got serious about restoring it on January 1, 2013, its condition would not have qualified it as a "preservation candidate," "barn find," or even "derelict." Although I did make the often fatal mistake of working on the car in fits and starts over a period of many, many years, at least there was method in my mistake-making. I observed carefully, bagged and tagged parts that were removed, made notes and took photos. So it wasn't a disaster.
For The Alfatross, the only reasonable course of action was disassembly and full restoration. There are times when I wished I had never touched it all those years, but who could have foreseen how desirable The Alfatross would become? And who has the wherewithal to store a car in a secure, nitrogen-filled, climate controlled environment for 46 years?
Which Once?
Back to the "It's only original once" admonition. When, exactly, is "once"? The day it rolled off the assembly line? The day the dealer bought it? The day the first owner drove away in it? The day it was dragged out of the barn and into the limelight? The day the first photos were taken to create an actual record of what it looked like? Italian exotics from the 1950s bodied in small numbers by carrozzerias like Zagato do not seem to have formal "birth certificates" like collectible American and German cars, so there is no "build sheet" specifying what features they had or even the original colors of the body and interior.The Alfatross has unusual features that could be original or added by one of its previous owners years later: the Jaeger clock, Nardi wheel, Berg Dynometer, redundant ignition coil, and the Stridor air horn. Which of these qualify for "original once" status?
Is there a downside to imposing the DNR order on an historically significant collector car? My own experience tells me there is. When I look back on the restoration of The Alfatross I think of the many things we learned about the car that would have remained hidden and unknown if we had not completely disassembled it. The following is a short list of some of the things we learned:
Serial Numbers
During disassembly and cleaning I was careful to log the make, model, and serial numbers of every part that had them. This was a lot of work but it provides a record of exactly which parts were on this particular car. I venture to speculate that The Alfatross is the only 1900C SSZ with that kind of build detail. |
| The Zagato serial number, scrawled in pencil on the back side of a thin strip of upholstered plywood affixed to the roof just above the ceiling, hidden since the day the interior was finished. |
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The Zagato serial number also appeared on the inside of the door panels. Here seen for the first time in 60 years. Derrick Dunbar.
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Unexpected Finds
There was relatively little standardization among The Alfatross' brethren, but some departures from "conventional wisdom" were more surprising than others. Stripping the paint from the left front fender revealed two such surprises. The first was two parallel dark-colored strips just above the break line between the front wheel and the driver's door, apparently made by a trim strip. But there is no matching pattern on the other side of the car and although some later cars were fitted with trim strips none of The Alfatross' closest relatives have them. Is thisp evidence of an early design experiment that didn't find its way into production until later?
The Alfatross' left front fender between the wheel arch and the driver's door, showing the mysterious parallel lines of discoloration suggesting it was once fitted with a trim strip.
The second surprise is two small holes providing conclusive evidence that The Alfatross was originally fitted with the small "Z" emblems just above the break in the body line and ahead of the doors. Other Zagato-bodied cars of the period more commonly carry the written-out Z-a-g-a-t-o emblem.
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| The Zagato emblem that came with the car but was not re-attached after the 1965 repaint. Various authorities have assured me many times that this is not the "right" emblem for the time period. The two small holes in the photo below prove they are wrong.
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| Previous owner V. Pat Braden's initials and date (10/64) scratched into the bell housing as a reminder of when the clutch was replaced (the inscription is easier to make out in person). |
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| Paul Turner inscribed his name on some of the tools in the tool kit. |
Hidden Damage
In The Alfatross' case, the main reason for disassembly and full restoration was to discover hidden damage and potential safety issues with the chassis, suspension, steering, power train, brakes and electrical system.
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| The original sleeve bearings from the suspension and steering systems showed wear and were replaced, but kept for later reference. |
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| Only after disassembly did we realize that the right front suspension spring was broken . . . |
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| . . . and that the two shock absorbers were different: an original Girling on the left side and a replacement Armstrong on the same side that had the broken spring! |
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| Among the worst of the engine's hidden damage problems was dramatic wear on the camshaft lobes. Carter Hendricks. |
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| All the exhaust valve lips were ground too thin and had to be replaced. |
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| Cylinder three showed evidence of having digested a foreign object at some point which damaged the head. Roger Lorton. |
