Just finish it Correctly!!.....Or at least cool!!

I hate to sound like a negative, cynical jerk all the time, but I'm amazed at the people who spend astronomical amounts of money restoring a car, and then have one glaring, huge mistake that stands out like a sore thumb. And the "Glaring" mistakes I'm talking about aren't something ultra-anal like -"That's not a 1969 date-coded smog pump for a California model Boss 302".  No, the stuff I'm talking about is something that costs less than a couple hundred bucks, but when it's wrong, really takes away from the car and causes people to scratch their heads and go-"Why'd they do that?"  Here's a few examples I've seen this week as Hot August Nights rolls into town.  # 1.  I saw a gorgeous 1971 Chevelle SS454 convertible. The car was flawless, except for the steering wheel. Instead of the plastic, 2-spoke wheel that said "SS" in the center-that all SS Chevelles and El Caminos had, this one had the rubbery, 4-spoke model that was used on Vegas!!  For god's sake!  If the owner couldn't find an original one, he could have at least put an attractive wood-rimmed or leather-wrapped aftermarket Grant wheel on it.  That would have looked a lot better than the Vega unit, and people would think that was just his personal preference.  For me, it ruined the car. I mean if I bought the car, that wheel would have to go the first hour I owned it!!  # 2. I saw a beautiful 1969 Camaro that was a Z/28 Clone. The owner admitted it was a clone, not a "Real" Z/28. Again, it was flawlessly done-it had a Cowl Induction style hood, the paint and stripes were magnificent, the wheels were period-correct Rallys, and the engine, while not a 302, was a period-correct hot-rodded 350. By period-correct I mean it had headers and an Edelbrock Torker intake and a 750 Holley carb, and a point-type distributor- no Vortec heads, or HEI distributors, or serpentine belt drive-so far so good.  Then I was crestfallen as I looked inside. The seats were not 60's style buckets, they were out a late-70's Camaro or Firebird. You know the type-they were also used in Vegas and Novas.  And worse yet, the shifter was the kind with the trigger that you had to pull up on to engage reverse-used on Saginaw 4-speeds in again- Vegas! and the later Monza/Skyhawk/Starfire/Sunbird models!!!  I'd have forgiven the seats-maybe he thought they were more comfortable than the originals-but he didn't have another $150 for a Hurst shifter?!!  If you drive the car at all-those body-mounted Vega shifters are horrible. They bind up even at half-throttle!  Arrrrgggghhh!  # 3.  I saw an awesome 1971 Pontiac Trans-Am. It was Lucerne Blue with the white stripe, and black interior. It also had 15X8 "Snowflake" wheels that were available from 1978-81! Why? Wheel Vintiques make Rally IIs in 7,8 or even 10 inch widths if he wanted to mount bigger tires. Or he could have gone aftermarket-American racing and Cragar make Torq-thrusts and S/S mags even in 16 or 17 inch sizes if he wanted to mount modern sticky, Z-rated tires, and still have a period correct look.  But the later snowflakes stood out badly, and made the owner look like he wasn't smart enough to get the correct wheels for the car.  # 4 GM owners weren't the only felony offenders here. I saw a gorgeous green 1967 Mustang Fastback. Instead of Torq-Thrusts for the ubiquitous "Bullitt" look, or Magnum 500s, or even stock steel wheels, this one had Aluminum wheels off a 2001 Ford Ranger Pickup!!  I know the bolt-pattern is the same, but they did not look good on the car. # 5 This one really offended me. Even if if the car was restored to dead-on original specs, the owner should have deviated a little to make the car look better!!  It was a 1972 340, 4-speed "Cuda. It had a "Pistol-Grip" shifter and a "Tuff" steering wheel, so the interior was right. However the car was painted black with Turqoise stripes going up the hood!! And it had steel wheels with '70's Duster/Dart style hubcaps!!  For the life of me, I don't know why the guy just didn't leave the stripes off, and get some Chrysler Rallye Wheels or Magnum 500s from Wheel Vintiques, or some Cragars or Center Lines to make it look really good.  I mean this Cuda was ugly the way it was, and several passers-by said so. "Why wouldn't the owner put some decent wheels on it?" "And whose Idea were those god-awful stripes?"  People can do what they want with their cars, but I still think you should do things right, and not cheap out at the end and mess up an otherwise great car.  Mastermind