Do you have the "recreation answers", hope you are not holding info back on the boy's
Do you have the "recreation answers", hope you are not holding info back on the boy's
I DO.
I HAVE SOME OF THE PARTS FROM THE OLD CUSTAXIE, IF I WAS TO MAKE UP A CAR WITH THE PARTS THAT I HAVE WHAT WOULD YOU CALL MY CAR. A RESTORED ORIGINAL CAR OR A REPLICA OF THE OLD CAR.
well . according to post #13 on this thread, that would fall somewhere between a resurrection and a reconstruction......depends on the number of parts and what they are I suppose. What have you got?Originally Posted by CUSTAXIE50
Dear Custaxie50, I am sure that with a question like that, you are going to receive a veritable avalanche of replies. Now, starting with your 'nom-de-plume'....Custaxie50, one would have to assume that you have an intimate knowledge of the car, or of CustaxieI, as I have been calling it, so you are either Robbie himself, which I dont think you are, or a person who has parts of the original, which was by all accounts stripped of the GOOD bits and the rest taken to the land-fill. I always thought that the rear half of the CustaxieI still existed, but maybe I am wrong, however if as you say you do have some parts of that car and you decided, for whatever reason, to rebuild it, then the provenance of CustaxieII, which has been offered on trademe, is called into question. In fact we suspect that MOST of Custaxie II is new, so that would make your replica/recreation with SOME original parts more authentic, wouldn't it? BUT, if you did that, and at some future race meeting BOTH cars turned up, there could be a problem. One has to assume that you offered the bits you have to the builders of Custaxie II, but they decided that it was easier to start from scratch. As to what you would call your replica/recreation/rebuild/restoration......well take your pick. But actually I dont think you are going to do that, so it is a question that will be forever unanswered, and I think you are just winding all us armchairs critics up. I for one am quite happy with CustaxieII. I know what it is, or isn't, and is no worse than a lot of 'original' cars out racing that are claiming to be something they aren't. Robbie built CustaxieII so you cant get much better provenance than that.
It's just the old Grandpas axe thing, except all the heads and handles were replaced in one smack, instead of over a number of years. So in that respect there is no continuous history with the car, but it still does the business.
It may not be exactly like "Grandpa's axe". With a "Grandpa's axe", the axe always existed but with different heads and different handles from time to time. With the Custaxie, it appears that for many years it had ceased to exist only to be reborn in a configuration that may or may not be the same as when it originally existed.
With "Custaxie50" (which if he is the same "Custaxie50" on TradeMe is Norm from Manawatu) it depends what parts he actually has and what he does with them. If the parts are significant components of the original car (and can be verified as such) and they are used to build a car that really replicates the original Custaxie then, as Gerald says, there is a problem between the status of this car and the TradeMe "Custaxie" ............
Well, we will have to wait and see if 'Norm from Manawatu' if that's who Custaxie50 is, will tell us what he has of the old car. If he does have some significant bits, then the CustaxieI did NOT cease to exist, but was just dismantled awaiting restoration/reconstruction. Parts may have been lying under hedges and workbenches ready for the big push to a race-car again! Now, there is another car in a VERY similar position to the Custaxie.....the Dauphine Corvette. Here is a car that is racing around today with none of the controversy that surrounds the Custaxie. As far as I know, only the rear axle and it's components came from the original Dauphine....everything else is new, yet no one is jumping up and down proclaiming it to be a fraud. Like the CustaxieII the 'new' Dauphine has been rebuilt by the builder of the original, and has also been 'improved' along the way....a 350 Chev instead of the original 327, Richmond gearbox in place of the Muncie, and a new/old body. So it seems that it is only when these things come on the market that problems start to arise, but I dont see why they should. For instance, if I was going to buy the Renault Dauphine, and fork out a lot of money to do so, I would do my homework very very carefully on the cars history, and there are plenty of anoraks out there that could put me straight. I watched both these cars competing at Teretonga early this year and it was great to see them. Frankly I dont care that they were replicas, just listening to them howl round the track, and imagining the skill of the drivers to keep the bloody things off the grass was worth it..... and the skill of the builders to get these things up and running. I watched the drivers get out of the 'cockpit' after each race and by the look of them they had been through the mill!!! They certainly add a bit of colour to the classic racing scene, and when a few more come on stream......Morrari, Doyle/Dickie Anglia, and others, will make exciting watching, and may even bring back SMILES to the watching public.......wouldn't that be great!
With you AMCO. Wonder if it was another car from way back, or more to the point some one else who fronted up with the custaxie, would there be all this carry on. As mentioned above the "axe head and handle" theory exists in a hell of alot of classics out there, but at the end of the day they are classics/history (old or new) and people are peddling them around for fun, Opps sorry, no such thing as "fun" we are all so serious. Lets all relax, sit back, take a big breath and think why we are really there. Lets not be so precious about it all.
It was great to see Robbie back peddling and either way regardless of how you think of him, he can drive. (and putt)
In regards to "parts" that is a big field. What are they and are they still alright or would they need "upgrade". Be awesome to own some of that historic car. A guy in Matamata has the crumpled front guard and weslake heads off Moffats mustang, along with numerous other bits from famous cars, so there is a bit of history in that place. (know it is not him as don't even mention Chev within a mile of him)
Food for thought ,I have a whole shed full of bits that came from all sorts of Motor racing history over the last 40 or 50 years ,so what could I recreate from them it makes the mind boggle ,all I need is the time and money ,which I don't have ,but then if someone came along with the money ,how many cans of worms are sitting there ,that could be opened
And getting back to the selling thing. None of these 'old heaps of junk' is likely to be sold off shore, not even to Oz, so I think that the history that they have now will always be with them. Is not like a Ferrari or even a F5000 which could end up somewhere other than NZ, and be misrepresented. I wonder if they had log books in their day, cant remember, but if they did, and they were still around ,could muddy the waters a bit. Yes, there was a bit of 'theatre licence' in the ad for the Custaxie, but the buyer would have come from NZ and would be smart enough to check it out. I mean all us EXPERTS knew about it. NZ is only a little place and word soon gets around. And Bob, you would never stoop so low as to create fake history......you have a reputation to uphold, and once that is gone, your the one thats history, not the car.
Bob, I have some thing you can hide some of your bits in. Santa deliver a nice little Twin-cam I have been a good boy. If I do the dishes can i have some new wheels. And do the lawns for some tyres. Bob I have the time just the other is missing at moment.
Rod I'm struggling just to finish getting the one I have going ,I keep getting these inspirations ,but then reality kicks in,oh yes and my past is catching up with me on another thing I used to do,now I am being hammered to do some more of that stuff as well,I seem to be achieving less and the evenings are getting shorter
Stick with the car Bob, the other thing can wait (drinking with your mates, racing seats and getting lost in paddocks etc.)
Is this relevant to the main thread?
The main thread is....The Race Replica Debate. Here we have a picture of the original Custaxie, with the question.....'Is this relevant to the main thread? Is this a trick question? If not, perhaps Oldfart could expand.
Not a trick question, just a not so subtle way to drag the discussion back to the cars. Cute little Mini beside it though? It would be "interesting" to have a similar photo of C2 to compare though. Wasn't the reserve affordable too?
OK, thanks for that O.F. We do tend to do a bit of lateral thinking in these posts, and I am probably one of the worst offenders....just letting our thoughts drift along which ever way the wind blows. Not such a bad thing....amazing what comes out of the woodwork. Woops, here I go again!!!!!!
Last edited by pallmall; 12-07-2011 at 10:54 AM.
Front doesn't look right..not 'dropped' enough...Also, maybe it's just me , but the distance between the front wheel arch and the door looks a couple of inches longer
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