Maybe it's too early to have an Authenticity Forum? Maybe the participation of current users would be minimal? Consider the words of W. P. Kinsella in his book Shoeless Joe, more commonly heard through the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, [they] will come." If we have authenticity information, people will come to the forum to get that information. One reason users on this forum may not be interested in it, is because the users that would be interested never join or stay around because we don't have the information. We're like a store that sells only right handed scissors and asks our customers if they want left handed scissors. Of course we don't - most of us are right handed.
I went to a car show in 1994 or so in Huntsville, Texas. Among the many vehicles, were numerous early 1960s C10s all looking great. I didn't know enough to know what was authentic, but they sure did. @Komet mentioned the Third Gen guys are "big on this stuff". My dad had a 1930s Ford that was restored in the late 1960s. We've all know that Corvette owners are mostly insane when it comes to authenticity. Here's my take-away: a thirty year old car gets you more than across the threshold for when a car is worthy of an authentic restoration and the time to start collecting the details on correct colors, fabrics, markings, et cetera is now, while people are still alive who know the answers and good examples or original cars can still be found. @Komet's point about knowing the correct paint for a particular part is a great example of the type of information that should be collected. When I buy a new LMC dash, I don't even know what specific color to paint it for code 24I - out of all of the posts on this forum, you'd think I could find that answer. (See my post here.)
This isn't about promoting authentic restorations or concerning ourselves with the financial viability of a $100K restoration as much as it is about collecting information for the future, and for some of us, the present. My C1500 is all original, or 90-something percent original, less the parts that wear out so I've got mostly original parts already. Some parts are worn, like the interior and I just need to know the vocabulary of what I already have so I can find replacements. I may want to get my bolts replated, but with what? Phosphate? Zinc? Cadmium? What is the pile of the carpeting on the kick panel? I can ask for some of these things in a post, but I think a collection of information in a forum would be a good start on organizing this type of information.
I went to a car show in 1994 or so in Huntsville, Texas. Among the many vehicles, were numerous early 1960s C10s all looking great. I didn't know enough to know what was authentic, but they sure did. @Komet mentioned the Third Gen guys are "big on this stuff". My dad had a 1930s Ford that was restored in the late 1960s. We've all know that Corvette owners are mostly insane when it comes to authenticity. Here's my take-away: a thirty year old car gets you more than across the threshold for when a car is worthy of an authentic restoration and the time to start collecting the details on correct colors, fabrics, markings, et cetera is now, while people are still alive who know the answers and good examples or original cars can still be found. @Komet's point about knowing the correct paint for a particular part is a great example of the type of information that should be collected. When I buy a new LMC dash, I don't even know what specific color to paint it for code 24I - out of all of the posts on this forum, you'd think I could find that answer. (See my post here.)
This isn't about promoting authentic restorations or concerning ourselves with the financial viability of a $100K restoration as much as it is about collecting information for the future, and for some of us, the present. My C1500 is all original, or 90-something percent original, less the parts that wear out so I've got mostly original parts already. Some parts are worn, like the interior and I just need to know the vocabulary of what I already have so I can find replacements. I may want to get my bolts replated, but with what? Phosphate? Zinc? Cadmium? What is the pile of the carpeting on the kick panel? I can ask for some of these things in a post, but I think a collection of information in a forum would be a good start on organizing this type of information.
