I'd built up a bike from a mail-order frame I got from the TI Raleigh Racing Team in Ames, Iowa and parts from everywhere. I built the wheels myself on Hi-E hubs and got most of the rest at parking lot clearance sales and mail order. So when it came time to determine a replacement value, the insurance company paid me (it was a traffic accident so my collision insurance covered it) based on the full retail value of all that.
I took the proceeds and had Bill Holland customize a frame from a run of stock 53 cm frames. I substituted Reynolds 653 for his usual Columbus SL, added external cable stops in place of his "Jet Tube" cable routing, turned the rear brake bridge around so both brakes were serviceable from the same side, and chromed the stays, front drop-outs, and the front derailleur hanger.
Joe Bell tried to get the effect I wanted (Electric Blue) with a metalic blue Imron and pink pearl clear coat. Didn't work. I settled for purple with white seat & head tubes and god/white decals on the (free) repaint.
I tweaked the front triangle of that frame against a bollard on the Marina Del Rey bike path. This time I had it repaired with Reynolds 531, and Joe answered my request for Ferrari Red with the remains of a can of Glasurit he'd used on a frame for an Indycar driver who wanted his bike to match his road Ferrari.
I had a head-on collision with another bicyclist in July 2010, and Joe and his frame guy Rob Roberson just finished the frame 10/20/2010. USAA paid up again, this time on the Homeowner's Policy.
Joe lined the lugs, and Robert Gagnon did the stripes and the stylized thistle (I'm mostly of Scottish descent) on the downtube. You can Wiki Limax Maximus. It's self-deprecatory humor.
Dura-Ace 9-speed drive train except for the Campy Chorus Crank. (I like the looks.) The brakes are ancient Modolos, and the wheels and Brooks B-17 Titanium were Christmas presents.