Believe me it's much worse here in Thailand. The classic/vintage car scene is not big. The first question people ask you about a vintage merc' is 'what engine did you fit? Honda? Toyota? They keep the old engine til the next year check then after it's noted in book they throw the original in the scrap heap.
It's changing slowly but I can't begin to imagine the number of classic engines etc that have been binned.
If you have some time take a look at a website called Thaivisa and check thru for the forum on Super Cars in Thailand, in the Thainews forum. It's entertaining. 😆