Importance of "original" parts

Greetings. I have recently developed an interest in collecting classic computers and after (mostly) lurking on this list, I have a question that you all might be able to answer. How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is it worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together? For example: I have an original Mac 128k. However, I believe that the motherboard has been upgraded to the 512k "Fat" Mac. I purchased it at the University of Michigan's Property Disposal warehouse, which means I was lucky to find a matching keyboard and mouse and I have no hope of finding the original manuals or shipping boxes for it. Should I even bother to restore this machine to it's original state by purchasing an original (but not _the_ original) motherboard, assuming I can even find one, or should I just use the machine as is and forget about any attempts at historical accuracy? At what point do I wind up with Washington's Hatchet, or does it even matter? Thanks for any input. -Neil ---------------------------------------------------+------------------- "There is more to life than increasing its speed." | Neil McNeight -Mahatma Gandhi | mcneight(a)umich.edu ---------------------------------------------------+-------------------