Well I have had 6 letter cars, four of these were original paint unrestored cars. An F, a G, a J and a K. none had any signs of paint on the door latches, same with all the other 60-61 cars I have had so I'm not buying it. Perhaps some of the cars did and some didn't, due to different production plants or assembly times or whatever. Hood hinges were kinda the same way it seems, some painted, some not. I would consider this more of an assembly line goof more that the way it should be but that is up to the owner. To me it seems there are two ways to do a correct restoration. You can duplicate all the assembly line flunkies mistakes and poor build quality, also paint drips, dry spots and overspray, make sure the panel and trim alignment is only adequate at best and there you will have a car like it was when new. With a crossram car make sure it doesn't run that well too. Or, you can restore the cars the way the designers envisioned them, without the assembly line mistakes and shortcuts, fully detailed like they envisioned these cars. This is how I like to do my cars and I believe most people like to see them that way as well. I am fairly confident that at auction a well detailed car will bring more dough as well. Remember the black 300G convert at Barrett last year? Brought something like $206,000. That car was a 10 year old Greg Groom resto that Jeff Carter did a bunch of work to for that auction, nice highly detailed car and it brought more dough than any other car to date as far as I know. Now some of you are going to start moaning about that its not about the money and yadda yadda. Well, I think that's crap. Everyone was watching the auction and this listserver was going bananas during that time, wondering if their own car is going up in value etc. now, you may not be interested in selling your car but I would be willing to bet if the price gets high enough that rig is down the road. If you don't sell it your kids will. At the estate sale. I'll be there. Enough rambling for now. Lee in San Diego -----Original Message----- From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John J. Hertog Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 3:23 PM To: 'Lee Meyer'; 'Brandt Jimerson'; Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Chrysler300] Dave Clelland's G, Concours or show!? Hi Lee, Brandt and all : Re: Dave Clelland's 300G : it is definitely an extremely nice, extremely correct, honest #2 condition car. I know the car intimately, and Dave is my friend. Lee, one quick comment. On 300F's and 300G's, door latches are supposed to be painted - that goes for the latch assembly in the door as well as the striker on the doorpost. Cars left the factory that way. So is the hood latch assembly. So are the hood hinges. So is the trunk latch - all painted. Cad plating is for Chebbies. Check out the all the pictures of Steve Albu's original, never restored 300F on the Club site (tech section). What's a #1 condition car ? Truly, I do not believe that such a critter exists. A car can only be original (and perfect) once - when it is brand new, leaving the factory. Any "restored" car will be just that - a RESTORED car. No longer original. Brandt: Dave's car is (was) an excellent, correct, restoration, very well executed, with extremely minimal wear since it was restored. The car was mostly trailered to and from shows, and driven very, very few miles. Everything on that car is correct, period. Even the painted door latches ! It's a seriously and correctly restored, #2 condition car that anyone would be happy to own and display or drive. John Hertog Sag Harbor NY -----Original Message----- From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lee Meyer Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 11:52 AM To: 'Brandt Jimerson'; Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [Chrysler300] Dave Clelland's G, Concours or show!? Howdy gang, I was at Barrett-Jackson and checked out Dave`s 300G vert in person. The car was behind ropes most of the time so I could not crawl underneath it or check out the trunk but I did get to see the underhood, doorjams and interior pretty well. Please understand that I am not picking on or ragging Daves car. It was a very nice, pretty car overall. I would say the car is a #2, but with further inspection of the undercarriage and inside the trunk that could change. I am sure many would disagree and I am sure I will get hate mail for this but I will explain. Most people look at a car as the big picture, the whole thing and wow what a nice shiny new car! In the glossy overall little details are not seen to most. I am a restorer and I like to look at details as well as the overall picture. It is little details that will bring a car to a #1 car. Please also understand that it is very difficult to do a #1 car, as every nut, bolt and part must be in as new or better than new condition, including all the parts and assemblies that you can not see. The standards these days are such that it has to be Way better than new. In many cases to bring a #2 car up to #1 means to car will have to be partially or completely re-restored. If your goal is to do a #1 car you should plan for it at the beginning and stay the course to the end. It will cost quite a bit more time and money to do a restoration this way. I am not going to go on about every little detail on Dave`s car but I will bring up one thing, as I hope it will lead to some restorer somewhere building just a little nicer car in the future. When I talked to a couple friends of mine, also restorers, who asked about the car I told them it was a nice car but the door latches were painted. That's pretty much all I had to say and they understood. You may ask, "What's the big deal about painted door latches?" Here is the big deal: the are not supposed to be painted, they are either zinc washed or cad plated, so if they are painted that means they were never removed from the car during restoration, which means they never were cleaned or rebuilt, which means the other inside door mechanisms or parts were probably ignored as well, which means the car was probably not completely stripped during resto and on and on. It's just a dead on giveaway to an amateur resto. So let the hate mail begin! Lee in San Diego -----Original Message----- From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Brandt Jimerson Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 10:10 PM To: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Chrysler300] Dave Clelland's G, Concours or show!? Hello to everyone! Just wondering if anyone knows the condition of Dave Clelland's G convertible that sold at Barrett Jackson (for $185K before premiums). Was it ONLY trailered at a #1 cond. and basically correct to the last nut, bolt, and washer, or was it at a #2 cond., (show)? 'Melissa' wants know! Sincerely and 300ly, Brandt H. J. w/ a 'curious G'. --------------------------------- Relax. Yahoo! Mail virus scanning helps detect nasty viruses! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm Yahoo! 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