RE: [Chrysler300] Dave Clelland's G, Concours or show!?

["Victor J. Selvaggi" <vics@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lee, I could not agree more!!!  The purpose of a restoration, in my
view, is to bring a vehicle back to its former glory. Granted there may
have been some misadventures on the assembly line and this would have
varied with the shift and day of the week. But to bring it back to the
way it was designed and envisioned by the design team should be the goal
of every person restoring a vehicle. For some folks, restoring a car is
like playing Wall Street. You put money in hoping it will not be lost,
all the time looking at the prize down the road and at some point you
say enough is enough. That is when unrestored heater hose clamps,
painted a/c plenum boxes etc,in part ,cause a car to be a #2 . Others
restore to enjoy the vehicle on the road and trying to achieve a #1
status would be a waste of time and energy, given the condition of our
roads and their effect on a vehicle driving on them.  If we restore to
preserve the car for future generations to enjoy, and in doing so they,
become trailer queens, then we do it, to the best of our knowledge and
ability ,to be a # 1 .and hopefully our children ,who we have brought up
to be "CAR CRAZY" will do the same in caring for the car .
  
Off the soap box in (so far) snowless Long Island
   Vic Selvaggi


.  
-----Original Message----- 
From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Lee Meyer
Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 12:38 PM
To: 'John J. Hertog'; 'Brandt Jimerson'; Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [Chrysler300] Dave Clelland's G, Concours or show!?

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'.
		
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