<VV> protecting Corvair worth, was: arrogance WAS telecolumn

[Crawford Rose]

I personally have never heard of someone taking the telecolumn out of a running Corvair to sell to a Corvette restorer so I have to disagree with this whole line of thinking.  Let's consider the obvious. The Corvair is a car. Cars have a market value that is dictated by whether someone can legally operate it on a highway or use it as parts for another operating vehicle.  Many Corvairs are 50 years old and are not roadworthy and hence only have value as parts. This dictates that when someone sells the parts that they are price takers, not price setters.  Used parts do not have any inherent value except what a buyer is willing to pay. If I put a steering column for a 60 on ebay, it is likely to fetch $15 at most. If a 66 telecolumn obtains $800 because it is useful in other Chevrolet models for restoration purposes, how is it harmful to any Corvair? It seems that making Corvette people think that Corvairs are full of useful Corvette parts is a good idea to improve junked Corvair values. Consider, if your Corvair did not have a telescoping column, the original owner probably didn't need it.  In fact, if anyone did need a telescopic column, he or she would have have bought a car with it to begin with. Converting a Corvair to telecolumn, not originally equipped, may decrease the value of the Corvair because it is not original and may not have been safely installed. Be aware that exchanging columns is a complex conversion and your life is on the line where people take shortcuts to obtaining the correct hardware.  So, does anyone need a 60 steering column in good condtion? It is rare and I won't even fault you if you put it in a Corvette.

Crawford