DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I came across what I believe to be an original 1972 T with all its internal and external finishes intact. I think it can make an excellent reference car for restorers that are seeking to produce original finishes. May the internet gods forgive me if I am wrong and this is actually the world's worst concours restoration

Some very nice reference photos although it's worth noting that the car has been cleaned to death and it appears to have been 'dressed up' with evidence of the fuel tank, headers and A-bars etc having been painted in situ to tidy them up.

The black paint that would have originally been under the arches has also been cleaned away; the blue paint that can be seen in this area is overspray.

I've never seen a smugglers box lid in that finish either, maybe they forgot to fit it prior to paint if original?

Ultimately looks like a very nice original car. Thanks for sharing.

My smugglers box is black like that ... Although I'm looking on an iPhone so are you talking about the actual finish ?

Darren65 wrote:Some very nice reference photos although it's worth noting that the car has been cleaned to death and it appears to have been 'dressed up' with evidence of the fuel tank, headers and A-bars etc having been painted in situ to tidy them up.

The black paint that would have originally been under the arches has also been cleaned away; the blue paint that can be seen in this area is overspray.

How do they clean one layer of paint completely off while leaving overspray in tact and undisturbed. Them's some special cleaners

sladey wrote:

Darren65 wrote:Some very nice reference photos although it's worth noting that the car has been cleaned to death and it appears to have been 'dressed up' with evidence of the fuel tank, headers and A-bars etc having been painted in situ to tidy them up.

The black paint that would have originally been under the arches has also been cleaned away; the blue paint that can be seen in this area is overspray.

How do they clean one layer of paint completely off while leaving overspray in tact and undisturbed. Them's some special cleaners

Thinners probably. The black paint under the arches would only ever have been a light coat to mask overspray etc and the surface would not have been keyed. You can see evidence of the black paint still there under the arches and obviously it's still there in the engine bay. The metallic blue will also have been covered with clearcoat.

There's some very good factory reference photos of 72 production that clearly show under arches and the engine bay in black.

hot66 wrote:My smugglers box is black like that ... Although I'm looking on an iPhone so are you talking about the actual finish ?

The colour James,

Every reference photo I have shows the smugglers box dusted with overspray....

1970.....



1971....



1973.....



And a late 73.5 (just)....



I'm not saying it's wrong, I guess there's the possibility it was missing from the car when it was painted, the tell tale would be inside the smugglers box and if there was any body colour in there which wouldn't have normally been the case?

With all this stuff there's always anomalies......check out the first photo above of the 700 mile S where they'd 'forgotten' to paint the chassis number in black. If anyone did that today they'd be told it was wrong!

For reference here's the floor of the yellow 73 above which also shows the underside unpainted....

Darren65 wrote:....I'm not saying it's wrong, I guess there's the possibility it was missing from the car when it was painted, the tell tale would be inside the smugglers box and if there was any body colour in there which wouldn't have normally been the case?......

Can't be 100% , but I'm pretty sure the underside of my car hasn't been painted yet it's showing body colour all over

hot66 wrote:Can't be 100% , but I'm pretty sure the underside of my car hasn't been painted yet it's showing body colour all over......

...I wasn't there James so cannot be 100% certain either!......but then I can't see them doing it here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVU3Ym8 ... playerhttp

When looking at this 1973 video of the cars being painted at the factory I guess it's possible that after painting the top of the car as shown in the video, they then took the shells off the jig they were mounted on, bolted them onto another jig, flipped them over and then repainted the underside.......after masking up the whole car of course to avoid ruining the finished body paintwork just completed.....after all some customers might look underneath!

I guess they just missed the underside of the low mileage, original first paint car that I posted photos of above!

Can you please show a better photo ( ie , that we can read the words ) of the six stickers on the engine slam pannel, I thought there should only be 5 ?

What year and market is the car ?

Thanks in advance.

Just for balance, in case anyone reading is interested, I agree with Darren on the smugglers lid but I agree with James on the underside.

Majordad, yes, 5 stickers on a 72

Regards
Mike

As the OP on this...i concur on the smugglers box lid. They usually have overspray over black paint. Perhaps this one was changed for some reason.

The floor is clearly correct and original. Ditto arches. What i do not know ia whether the factory or someone else added a thin layer of black paint over the arches. I had exactly the same on my 71 Mercedes Pagoda and removed it with white spirit..much in the same way as this car had its removed.

Here is a 73 car for sale at Canepa Classics..(said to be original including original paint!)