Last month, we looked at various factory-supported programs that provide certifications of originality, condition and provenance of collector cars. But those are not the only “stamps of approval” out there. There are also third-party services that provide inspections and documentation to help establish authenticity, although these vary in scope even more wildly than factory programs.
Vital records
Numerous services can provide a “birth certificate” for your car. Generally speaking, these match your car’s serial number to original factory build records. The report simply confirms the equipment that was on your car when it was new. There are many of these services available for different brands, including the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT). It charges £60 (currently about $73) plus taxes.
“We provide a birth certificate for your Jaguar or Daimler. We can confirm when and how the car left the factory and will confirm if the numbers that the customer supplies, such as chassis, body, engine and gearbox numbers, match those of the car as originally manufactured,” says Matthew Davis, JDHT managing director. “What we don’t offer is any kind of post-factory authentication. We work from the original production records and will only comment on whether the car has retained its original color, trim, engine, gearbox and body, all based around its chassis number.”
For American cars, there are a few sources that have acquired original factory records, including PHS Automotive Services, part of the Pontiac Historical Society. For $95, it can send you a copy of the original invoice and billing-history card for any Pontiac made between 1961 and 1986.
“We started PHS as a way for people to verify the correctness of a vehicle before purchasing,” says Jim Mattison, PHS founder.
For Fords (as well as Lincoln and Mercury models), the source is Marti Auto Works, which contracted with Ford Motor Company for its production database for those vehicles produced between 1967 and 2014.
Especially in the world of muscle cars, this information can be invaluable in spotting a fake. On the other hand, birth certificates and production information are sometimes used to create a sense of rarity around cars that may be otherwise unremarkable. A car might be one of just a handful to leave the factory that year with certain color and equipment combination, but is that really important? It might be to the right buyer.
Delving deeper
Knowing how a car left the factory is useful, but the next level involves having a car inspected for originality or adherence to specification in its restoration. There are many individuals and organizations offering such services, most of whom specialize in particular marques or models. Among the leaders in this area are the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) and Bloomington Gold, both dedicated to determining pinpoint accuracy in vintage Corvettes.
“We can determine when the car was produced,” says Guy Larsen, president of Bloomington Gold, “and some of the unique models were produced only in certain parts of the year, and some features were only produced in certain parts of the year. As an example, in some production years, sidepipes were offered only in certain months. Sometimes we can point that out.”
The first step towards a Bloomington Gold certification is a full numbers check, to make sure everything matches expectations. Much of this can be accomplished online. The culmination of the process, however, is to bring the car to a Bloomington Gold show and have it evaluated by the organization’s experts. The process is similar to concours judging, except that the Bloomington team has access to a huge library of information and photos, which it uses to spot incorrect items down to the font used on the body tag.
“If there’s a deviation, we tell the owner and we will not judge the car,” Larsen says. “That’s usually not a happy ending for an owner, but it happens from time to time.”
Know your history
Establishing authenticity can also involve tracing a car’s history and provenance, a practice that is particularly important with high-value cars.
One of the most respected sources for such certifications for older Ferraris is Marcel Massini. For the past half-century, he’s been collecting a massive archive of documents, books, photos and histories. Massini offers inspections and vehicle-specific histories for all Ferraris from 1947 to 1976, as well as specialty models such as the 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari. The price for a “Massini Report,” as it is commonly called, starts around $2,000 and for some special examples it can hit five figures, depending on the amount of information available.
“I follow all these cars throughout their entire life, document everything, put it in chronological order, write a detailed history report from day one to today, everything that happened with a car once it left the gate in Maranello,” Massini explains. “Basically a curriculum vitae of one particular Ferrari.”
A third-party certification is one more tool to provide assurance that a collectible vehicle is genuinely what it is represented to be. Although the cost can vary from trivial to substantial, its value nearly always exceeds the expense. As Massini says, “Certification provides comfort to the newer buyers, who may have less experience.” ♦