[newshirt]

As Mike said, "different strokes..." is perhaps the answer to this phenomenon. It answers the question of why people modernize their A's.

Not everybody wants a "historically perfect" car. For many, small modernizations don't bother them. There's no nagging worries over changing the car from it's original state. And there's no emotional need to "connect" with bygone times. The car is not a "time machine" as you put it. It's just a fun car to tool around in. Swapping out the engine and drive train make it all that much more fun, I suppose...

That may explain why rodding an old A is no big deal to some. It doesn't shock them in the least.

Here's an example: if you had a 1,000 year old Samurai sword, wouldn't it be cool to throw a red plastic handle on it?

This subject has been hashed over so many times on this forum. But it's helpful for me (therapeutic?) to attempt to articulate why I believe people do these things.