It's off-topic here, so maybe somebody can cut the last postings and open a separete thread.

I think the museum should invest more in real research. A full-time Bugatti historian would be really useful. They simply administrate what they have, and nobody seems really interested in the individual histories of the cars.

How about a flow chart starting from a cars ID numbers when it left the factory and following through known engine and chassis changes as well as when the car became "lost"? Individual assemblies could then be shown moving between different cars.

A massive task, but when researching the history of hundreds of individual cars, probably unavoidable.

Sophisticated computer programmes now make a project like this far more feasible. I have been told that when Mr. Sewell was in charge of the English Bugatti Trust he made a good start on a comprehensive Register of all Bugattis. However the project was wiped from the computer. Deliberately or accidentally, I do not know.

If Volkswagen really does have long-term intentions with the Bugatti brand perhaps it could demonstrate good faith by setting-up a study centre at the Chateau St. Jean and appointing full-time staff to run the project. Crumbs off the table compared to the cost of developing the Veyron.

2009 is the centenary year of the Molsheim Bugatti. What a good time to extablish a serious project like this.

This is exactly what I am doing since years....
The data contain also race records, registration numbers, and conversions. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle, each little part is valued and put in place. Main sources are photos and period press reports.
However, at this moment only the 8 cylinder cars from T35 to 51 are included, the T37/37A only as an accumulation of notes.

Utmost respect.

As previously stated, that is a massive task!

Regards


SB

It will never be finished, I know.

The WIKI and photo server are great tools for this (actually, much info is gathered there already. If anything else re. software is needed, please let me know. Perhaps I can find the software, or even have it written. It all can be brought back to one giant database.

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Vive la Marque !!

I could also create a seperate sub-forum for investigation purposes, if needed. However, up till now I think we are OK here. Perhaps in the future, when things get bigger.

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Vive la Marque !!

Both tools are focused very much on actual data, with history touched only sidelines. I also do not like the anonymity of the entries, I prefer clear sources for my research.