I agree with Bob. But more to the point if the panelling is salvageable then repair keeps the car original. Intervention with new metal is a compromise. Very often it is required but immediately the car has become less of a machine, historically, as far as I am concerned. This is the difference between conserving a car and restoring a car and the subtleties are very often confused and missed. Often conserving is far more difficult than restoration but that is not an excuse to ruin a good original car. My collection is aimed at conserved original cars. I am not interested in remade, repainted facsimiles of supposed immediate post production cars either based on original or fake underpinnings. The majority are inaccurate anyway but the soul of the car is in 99% of cases missing. I have been responsible for quite a few myself and it just is not as satisfying as owning the real thing. This means I actually like a very small pool of cars in reality and goes some way to explaining my lessening interest in rallies. Of course the limited supply of such vehicles forces folk to own restored cars and that is fine. My TG500 will not be totally real, for instance. Many folk are quite happy with their restored car but there is a trend over time to obtain originals if you start to get the collecting bug. Likewise I never understand folk who get rid of genuine original cars in favour of a differing model/type which is clearly a fake/poor restoration of inferior 'value'. You must be really despirate to own the other car as it makes no sense in collectors, and often in investment, terms. Yet people do it all the time. Once again perhaps I am out of step and take to long a view but you will need a pry bar to get an original car off me if it fits my collection even if it looks a mess.
