What does "original" mean?

[turbohounds]

Originally Posted by LT1 Burb

My Chevelle is all original.

Love it - I have a '65 also and can safely say the only original piece is the dash panel Unless you count NOS parts.

[TJ's Chevy]

Original means...COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED. Once a truck is "restored" it will never be original again...it can only be restored to factory specs....but never can be called an "all original frame off resto".....for simple reasons...the paint isn't the exact paint they used...tires aren't, hardly any parts are made in america...so...not original.

[chevyrestoguy]

Original: Unrestored, unmodified, as it was from the day it left the dealership.

To me, the most misused term in the hobby is NOS (New, Old stock).
A brand new reproduction part is NOT NOS.
A rusty, original part pulled from a parts car is NOT NOS.
NOS means that the part is an original GM part, in it's original GM packaging, and is unused (never installed).

Sorry, that term drives me nuts when it's misinterpreted.

[oem4me]

At the risk of being redundant, I'll restate that "all-original" would only apply to a vehicle which remained exactly as it rolled off the line, before ANY part of it was replaced or reconditioned. I think it's fairly safe to say that nothing like this exists in the classic car/truck world. Does that make it a useless term? No, not quite.
Arguably, the condition of a vehicle when new is the standard by which any partial or complete restoration is judged, or by which a claimed "original" is compared.
Similarly, the definition of "perfect" can be found in any dictionary and despite its common use, nothing truly perfect exists. Well, not here on earth anyway, but that's another argument.
So, rather than argue endlessly over word usage and true meaning, we all need to accept that the term "original" is going to be abused and that it's only good for comparison to an ideal anyway.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by oem4me

At the risk of being redundant, I'll restate that "all-original" would only apply to a vehicle which remained exactly as it rolled off the line, before ANY part of it was replaced or reconditioned. I think it's fairly safe to say that nothing like this exists in the classic car/truck world.

I can give a couple examples.

My '65 GTO is in original, unrestored condition. My dad was the original owner; he and I went down to pick the car up the day after my sister was born (instead of going to see her and my mom in the hospital).

It has the factory applied "born with" exterior paint, interior and driveline. All hoses, belts, plug wires, brakes, light bulbs, etc, are the ones originally installed in Pontiac. It has 4900 (four thousand, nine hundred) original miles.

The car is a reference to other enthusiasts restoring their car and I spend a lot of time taking pictures and responding to questions on routings and part markings.

The photos below were taken a couple years ago at what remains of the original selling dealership: Royal Pontiac, at 400 N Main in Royal Oak Michigan.

Further info, for those that might be interested in more history:

Short summary: http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...hp?albumid=184

Medium version: http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...=9990396621018

Long version: http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=560524

[Keith Seymore]

There is another car that I am aware of that is less molested than mine.

The late Ed Lis owned a black Kansas City produced '65 GTO which is purported to have 4200 (four thousand two hundred) original miles. Same deal: born with paint, interior and driveline, with no known modifications.

I do not know what has happened to it (or what the plans are for it) since his untimely passing. I tend to watch this one as it trades hands, particularly to track its value.

K

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Further info, for those that might be interested in more history:

Short summary: http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...hp?albumid=184

Medium version: http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...=9990396621018

Long version: http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=560524

Wow, Keith. That's one heck of a special car! I quickly read the short and medium version of the story and now I'm looking forward to my next chunk of quality "me time" so I can enjoy the long version. Pretty darn freakin cool!

[LT1 Burb]

Originally Posted by oem4me

Wow, Keith. That's one heck of a special car! I quickly read the short and medium version of the story and now I'm looking forward to my next chunk of quality "me time" so I can enjoy the long version. Pretty darn freakin cool!

Yeah it was, your dad was ultra cool too, great story.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by oem4me

So, rather than argue endlessly over word usage and true meaning, we all need to accept that the term "original" is going to be abused and that it's only good for comparison to an ideal anyway.

Similar to the word "survivor".

It seems these days that if a vehicle still "exists"....then it's a "survivor".

I'm a little sensitive about that one, as you might imagine.

K

[supercharged]

If you notice most folks that claim to have an all original car often follow up the boast with the same word..."except"...