To some people, resto-modding is nothing more than stripping a car of all its originality. This group of people are called ‘Purists’, a breed I totally respect and fully understand their views on maintaining originality, but there are some cars that just don’t warrant the expense of sourcing original parts, whether resto-modded or not.
Take the Mk1 Ford Escort above, for example, the base for a potential resto-mod project that could end up resembling the rally legend featured in Fast N Furious 6.
The Ford driven by the late Paul Walker in the Fast N Furious 6 was the legendary Escort Mexico, a car still used today for amateur rally because of its superb yet simple layout and chassis.
To find an original Mk1 Mexico in good condition today will set you back around £25,000, a car I’d personally like to see kept 100% original because of its adequate power and sufficient brakes. However, the Ford pictured at the beginning and below is just the 1.1-L Popular base model.
A half decent 2 door example can be sourced for around the £3-5K mark. Now instead of scrapping the poor car or parting it out, how about giving it a big heart transplant, disc brakes and a cool paint job?
Keeping a classic on the road with modern parts and technology is surely a good thing? Whether it’s an original Mexico or not, the finished project could still look like the car below. I’m all for keeping cars original, but when you can take a base model and inject it with fire breathing technology, I’m all for saving the underdogs of yesteryear.
As a side note, Paul Walker was a real petrolhead, a Gas Gargler like myself. He had a great ‘car guy’ collection. Check out my Fast N Furious personal rides piece here and see for yourself.
Gargling Gas 
I think you have the definition of resto mod backward. Purists don’t restomod, they restore. Hot rodders do restomodding. A restomod takes a car, usually an older classic, but it could be just a run of the mill, boring production vehicle and they MAKE it original with their own design twists. They usually add modern tech to it as well – better power plants, modern suspension, more comfortable interiors, etc. They definitely don’t fret about maintaining its original factory looks or specs.
A restoration is a car that is just like what rolled off the factory line.
A restomod is a completely original concept that pays homage to the original vehicle. Notice that there are two different meaning of the word “original” in that sentence.
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I understand the difference. I’ve had a go at both. I’m just going by groups where resto-mod projects are posted and purists slate them for not restoring them “properly”.
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