Quote: I got burned by an NOS dealer that had the 1969 B-body washer bottle. At the time, the reproductions had the lid opening the wrong direction. So I paid double for the "NOS" one. Come to find out, this "F"ing dealer was one of the first to get the correct opening reproductions. Also, I'm seeing a lot of "NOS" diecast emblems at swap meets lately. They are just in clear plastic bags. I have a feeling they are current reproductions that have the Pentastar and correct part number cast into them.
There are a lot of things going on like this in the Mopar restoration arena. Unfortunately, a lot of people are getting ripped-off by some vendors. Plus, all these "Authentic" items licensed by Chrysler/Daimler/Fiat - they've tossed in a lot of inferior products on the market too. I wish Chrysler/Fiat would do a better job of monitoring these products.
My experience with Chrysler licensing is that Chrysler uses a subcontractor to facilitate the after market license process. They are happy to collect an up front fee for each product and a percentage of each part sold. The manufacturer bears all costs up front and the ongoing perpetual percentage on the licensed part. The process is more of a marketing approach and not so much how accurate the part follows the original design.
