What about when people replace the power plant in these older cars with a modern engine? I see that on these restoration shows all the time. Isn't that just as bad if your goal is keeping it all "original"?
BTW, in many cases people don't care about keeping the entire vehicle original. They just want something reliable enough to use regularly. And in many cases you just can't get the parts to make it completely original.
When they do that , the car is no longer a classic. it is not longer valued as classic. these cars are not made to be driven daily. people who own those, have other cars for transportation. visit a classic cars show, you wont see any new engines in classic cars, cars are all restored with original parts, or they aren't worth much.
In that case it becomes a project car, and they almost never reliable, they are rarely finished. that is the reality, you want a reliable car, get a car that is reliable from a factory, and keep it original, do not swap engines, do not swap transmissions. just replace parts with identical when they fail. i
