Hello, dear Peter

WHAT A WONDERFUL POST THIS WAS !
THANK YOU !
I had missed the thread, the subject earlier. Just read it a few minutes ago.
Your answer, your explanation is fabulous, IMHO.
And John's response too, btw.

Your comparison, and bringing together the parallel subjects, was a great pleasure to read, and I can only fully agree.
I know some stories about vintage cars (and those magnificent '60s beauties) too ... but I couldn't have said it any better.
Well done, Mr. Best-looking-shirt-in-LCdF ;-)
Peter, have a good weekend, and I hope to meet again soon.
Too bad you sold the Lotus ... I know how it feels like :-/

Cheers,
Prost,
Olaf

: Hi Dean

: Two years ago Jeff Stein asked about Opinions on Reluming (But,
: Please, Not by Cake Decorator)
: This tread
: http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?md=read;id=41584

: Below is my answer, but in short I think that remaking parts that
: are no longer available is a natural thing. So I wish you the
: best of luck making Dauphine hands.

: --------------------------------------------------------
: --------------------------------------------------------

: Jeff, that is a very interesting question.

: I have a 40+ year old Lotus Elan S4. It is from 1968, the same
: vintage as several of my watches.

: When it was new, it was one of the most advanced sportscars, with
: double wishbones and disk brakes all around, electric windows,
: advanced quadcarb twincam engine and a weight/horsepower ratio
: way ahead of its time. (READ: One of the most advanced
: watched being the first automatic chronographs, modern case
: design, high-tech Corfam strap and connection to
: motorsport)

: The chassis was rotten so I fitted a new one with extra rust
: protection. (READ: Has the case refurbished with wonderful
: new sunburst grinding)

: The paint was faded and there were cracks in the fibreglass, so I
: spend a winter repairing the fibreglass and had the body
: repainted. (READ: Paint on the dial was peeling so I send
: it to Richard Bethge in Germany and had it refurbished)

: The fabulous Lotus 1,5 liter TwinCam engine didn’t produce the
: 115 bhp that it did when it left the factory, so I took it apart
: to rebuild it. (READ: The innovative calibre 11 movement
: didn’t run smoothly and the chrono wasn’t resetting to zero,
: so it was taken apart and reoiled)

: When the engine was taken apart I used the opportunity to have it
: bored and stroked to 1,72 liter and the cylinder head had a
: “fastroad” cam job by QED Engine Development, giving it 150+
: bhp (READ: The calibre 11 movement was improved to
: overcome weaknesses, thereby becoming a calibre 11 I)

: The old, stiff and very narrow diagonal tyres were replaced with
: modern wider radial tyres improving cornering speed and breaking
: a lot. (READ: The old Corfam strap was falling apart and
: the original sun buckle had vanished, so the strap was replaced
: with modern leather and a reproduction buckle was sourced from
: eBay)

: Emblems, chrome, gear knob and other fittings had faded and was
: replaced with new parts from the numerous British garage
: workshops. (READ: Found a new NOS bezel and had it fitted
: together with a new Heuer crown and pushers)

: Nowadays most people that I meet driving the Lotus, think it is a
: wonderful car with lots of history. They have stories about
: uncles or neighbours having a Lotus and they are impressed that
: an old car will do 0-100 km/h in less than 6 sek. But in the
: Lotus Klub Denmark there are a few nerdy purists that have no
: respect for my car, because it is so modified and
: “improved”. They prefer faded paint, narrow tires and thin
: chrome. (READ: They prefer unreliable unmodified calibre
: 11, yellowish faded lume, unpolished case and cracking Corfam
: straps)

: So where do I stand in the “relume” debate?
: - When it comes to my Lotus, making it able to take part in the
: modern traffic and beating Golf GTI’s, I am in favour of
: “reluming”.
: - For those of my watches that has survived untouched till today, I
: am a nerdy purist.
: - For a lot of my not so perfect vintage Heuers, I have no problem
: improving them, including a relume if that is needed.

: Not a very clear answer!

: Peter, Denmark
: www.watchsite.dk

: Tho Lotus was sold last month;-(((
:
: