This is a weird area to be in. It's like a VIN tag on a car. In the Ferrari world, it's the frame and the VIN stamped into it that makes the car real. The body doesn't matter. There are guys that have $45 million 250 GTOs and the body means nothing - they replace them - it's the VIN stamped on the original frame. In the things that matter to me, like Series Land Rovers, most people replace the frame which is often rusted with a galvanized one. It often makes it a better truck. Me? I have an original Series truck with an all-original frame. It's very clean. To me, it's the original truck - not the one with the new frame. I think this means something.
I don't think the seller is even close to be deceitful here. It seems like he's pretty straight forward about what was done, and what this is. It's been saved. Is it my cup of tea? No. I would like original even if it had patina and was tatty and ratty. Is this a better Tapper than the original? Probably. Looks like it. Looks like it's better than new. Is it original? No.
Is the price fair? Probably. It takes a lot of time to restore an original tapper to get it here.
So what do I have to say? It's nice. It's beautiful. If you don't want to buy it, then don't. It will sell.
I don't think the seller is even close to be deceitful here. It seems like he's pretty straight forward about what was done, and what this is. It's been saved. Is it my cup of tea? No. I would like original even if it had patina and was tatty and ratty. Is this a better Tapper than the original? Probably. Looks like it. Looks like it's better than new. Is it original? No.
Is the price fair? Probably. It takes a lot of time to restore an original tapper to get it here.
So what do I have to say? It's nice. It's beautiful. If you don't want to buy it, then don't. It will sell.
