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Amateur vs. Professional Restoration
- Thread starter Editor_Reid
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Bruce Bowker
Obi Wan
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[ QUOTE ]
There are good and bad in every profession. Nonetheless, as a general statement, I think it is safe to say that a person who makes his/her living doing something will be better at it than a person who does not.
[/ QUOTE ]
That is quite true but I think the idea behind the original question was if an amateur could do as good a job as a professional given the skills and tools etc. I for one think that is true.
Bruce
There are good and bad in every profession. Nonetheless, as a general statement, I think it is safe to say that a person who makes his/her living doing something will be better at it than a person who does not.
[/ QUOTE ]
That is quite true but I think the idea behind the original question was if an amateur could do as good a job as a professional given the skills and tools etc. I for one think that is true.
Bruce
anthony7777
Yoda
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one simple way to settle this,obtain a car"restored" by a good but yet unknown amateur,and get one from a "kurt tanner"type pro.switch the builders name tags,then push them out on b.j. auction block,wonder what car will bring the BIG bucks? who says a healey by any other name is still a healey? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif
pbraun
Jedi Warrior
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Confusius say : "The proof is in the pudding."
What matters is the final product, and the eye of the beholder.
Is the car a driver or a museum quality restoration intended to be an example of the marque as it was originally produced by the factory. For me, the first -- the driver -- would be an amateur restoration. The second - a car as it was built by the factory - would be a professional restoration, regardless of who did the work, provided it measured up to the way the car was really built, as the Austin Healey Concours Committee outlines in the Concours Standards
What matters is the final product, and the eye of the beholder.
Is the car a driver or a museum quality restoration intended to be an example of the marque as it was originally produced by the factory. For me, the first -- the driver -- would be an amateur restoration. The second - a car as it was built by the factory - would be a professional restoration, regardless of who did the work, provided it measured up to the way the car was really built, as the Austin Healey Concours Committee outlines in the Concours Standards
anthony7777
Yoda
Offline
pbraun,i totaly agree with your assesment,but there are a lot of people out there
'the unknowing
' as i call them,with lots a money that will just pay for a name.and couldnt pull the "proof out of a pudding
" with a crane!p.s when do i get to see th m.g.a? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
'the unknowing
' as i call them,with lots a money that will just pay for a name.and couldnt pull the "proof out of a pudding
" with a crane!p.s when do i get to see th m.g.a? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
anthony7777
Yoda
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pbraun,gimi the address,ill have it at your house in 30min.you drink wine? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pukeface.gif
OP
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[ QUOTE ]
Reid I hope you are enjoying this.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, thanks, I am. I think that it's a discussion worth having, and a subject worth thinking about.
I am leaning towards concluding that the labels are not very meaningful. Professionals can do wonderful or awful jobs of restoring cars. So can amateurs. The "professional" restorations seen at Barrett-Jackson are very nice cars, and would indeed probably achieve "Gold" in Austin-Healey Concours judging, but they do vary slightly, presumably for the sake of attracting and more and richer bidders. That's completely understandable.
And if a Healey had shiny dash pots and chrome wire wheels, I hardly think that throws it into the category of over-restored or non-concours. A Healey can have all kinds of deviations from the Concours Guidelines and still achieve Gold certification. "Gold" does not mean perfect or even "completely original." It means at least 95 percent original/perfect, and I estimate that most of the Healeys at the auction fell into that category.
How about you? Enjoying the discussion?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
Reid I hope you are enjoying this.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, thanks, I am. I think that it's a discussion worth having, and a subject worth thinking about.
I am leaning towards concluding that the labels are not very meaningful. Professionals can do wonderful or awful jobs of restoring cars. So can amateurs. The "professional" restorations seen at Barrett-Jackson are very nice cars, and would indeed probably achieve "Gold" in Austin-Healey Concours judging, but they do vary slightly, presumably for the sake of attracting and more and richer bidders. That's completely understandable.
And if a Healey had shiny dash pots and chrome wire wheels, I hardly think that throws it into the category of over-restored or non-concours. A Healey can have all kinds of deviations from the Concours Guidelines and still achieve Gold certification. "Gold" does not mean perfect or even "completely original." It means at least 95 percent original/perfect, and I estimate that most of the Healeys at the auction fell into that category.
How about you? Enjoying the discussion?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
PC
Obi Wan
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
...I think it is safe to say that a person who makes his/her living doing something will be better at it than a person who does not.
[/ QUOTE ]I won't disagree that that's true statistically. I can't agree that it's necessarily a cause and effect situation. I've met devoted, enthusiast amateurs in various fields who had far greater competency than the vast majority of people making a living in them, even in highly technical fields. It always comes down to the individuals involved.
The skills required to make a living are dictated by the market served. In most cases that's also the limit of their motivation. There's no reason to push the boundries and besides, going beyond the market is a quick way to go out of business. The individual is driven by their own passion and imagination, which can be far more demanding than the existing commercial market. He/she is only limited by resources.
PC
...I think it is safe to say that a person who makes his/her living doing something will be better at it than a person who does not.
[/ QUOTE ]I won't disagree that that's true statistically. I can't agree that it's necessarily a cause and effect situation. I've met devoted, enthusiast amateurs in various fields who had far greater competency than the vast majority of people making a living in them, even in highly technical fields. It always comes down to the individuals involved.
The skills required to make a living are dictated by the market served. In most cases that's also the limit of their motivation. There's no reason to push the boundries and besides, going beyond the market is a quick way to go out of business. The individual is driven by their own passion and imagination, which can be far more demanding than the existing commercial market. He/she is only limited by resources.
PC
tahoe healey
Yoda
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If you were in the market for a nice restored Healey you would pick the nicist one one you could afford regardless of who rebuilt it. Neither comes with a warrenty anyway.
SHG
Jedi Warrior
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<<And if a Healey had shiny dash pots and chrome wire wheels,>>
and if that Healey was my driver, and I was out on a beautiful day, and it wasn't a concours winner, I wouldn't mind it one little bit. If I was building a car to sell at B-J for top dollar, I'd let Kurt Tanner do whatever he wanted. Not that I wouldn't drive the car afterward, but it wouldn't have the chrome wire wheels that I enjoy so much.
and if that Healey was my driver, and I was out on a beautiful day, and it wasn't a concours winner, I wouldn't mind it one little bit. If I was building a car to sell at B-J for top dollar, I'd let Kurt Tanner do whatever he wanted. Not that I wouldn't drive the car afterward, but it wouldn't have the chrome wire wheels that I enjoy so much.
nevets
Jedi Knight
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Yes, I think it is a worthy and intriguing topic for discussion, and one that obviously has many points of view. In the end it’s the quality of the work that matters, not who did it. That said, I can understand why some folks feel better about buying a car restored by a known quantity rather than an unknown quantity. Consumers tend to choose name brands over no-name brands in many purchasing decisions. And just to throw a little gasoline on the fire...11 years ago, when I was shopping for a Healey, I looked far and wide, and was many times disappointed by allegedly restored cars. After nearly a year of searching, I finally found a car worth buying in California from a (then) little known shop run by a guy named Kurt Tanner. I remain very happy with my decision.