Greg well said ! I don't know about that pasta thing though!:lol:

This turned out to be a very good thread for any new car builds & builds that are in progress to use as a gauge for there projects.:lateral:



Randy(D&Z Customs LLC.)
[email protected]
1-262-347-9741

i get depressed when i cant buy billet hinges ,lsx engine, paddle shift ect.then i start to think about a few years ago when i was in the hospital for 14 days .my half ass pro touring camaro is a luxury in my life and it will wait for me no matter how many years it takes.
i used to make very good money,i bought 5 vipers 3 vettes numerous hot rods ect all in like 6 years.someone underbid all my contract work and now im out.it was a life changing ordeal but i have my health.i buy a few small parts here and there now and ive learned to live with doing without stuff .it sucks that alot of guys get frustrated and sell but everyone has different things going on in there lives.not being able to finish a car build is better than losing your house .sorry for my grammer im working on it.:unibrow:

Well... I wasn't trying to write a book, but thanks to those that 'understand'. I was just trying to convey what the hobby is for me. I know it's different for everyone... but the history of the hobby is more about a bunch of guys building stuff together... with what skills and parts they had to offer...

Lat G is kind of a modern version of that... we can meet whenever we want to... and offer what we can - encouragement - disgust - the finger (from Todd) - ideas - and the camaraderie.

I want the pro builds to be awesome... and if my stuff can just copy 10% of it - I'm a happy guy... without the pros and the pro builds we will have lost something to dream about. SO kudos to all of those guys! To me - the pro builds are like Pro athletes... without the pros - we wouldn't have millions of kids out there trying to be just like them...

I had no idea there were so many dirty shop floors out there!!:lol:

On a serious thread related note, we are currently building a shop car that (i hope) most people will relate too. In a sea of current high caliber / high profile builds, i set out to build a car that most people can afford. After years of trying to keep up with the jones's etc the reality is that most of the people calling or visiting the shop cant relate to why a car of that caliber costs so much. I as much as the next guy love a great piece of eye candy that can and will whip up on a new vette but the bottom line is that most people cant afford such a build. I get a few calls a week from people that want a complete custom pro-touring with the usual LS, 6sp, 14" 6 pistons mini tubed, paint, interior etc etc then say they have $10k cash. What am I to say to that ?
So after a long design and thought process it was apparent that I should try to meet the demand of those who inquire. First we chose a car we believe is becoming very popular right now. Then we set out to minimize cost by lessening the amount of fabrication (which simply is time multiplied by hourly rate) and focuss on attention to detail while using for the most part aftermarket bolt-on parts in lieu of over the top fabrication mods. It will most certainly be as eye popping and appealing as most high end builds without the extra performance mods that drive a TRUE pro-touring machines build cost up and place them in a performance catogory of there own. That said, will it compete with them ? Definetly NOT because most people will do more street driving than track racing. Will it be of the same caliber as one ? Definetly NOT by a longshot. But it will make people think that something practical can be built with somewhat of a normal mans wallet.
We'll post a build thread soon.

ps... great thread.

Chad you are so right, those are the memories that matter most... not a day goes by that I don't think about the times spent with my Dad. Great that you have this in common, enjoy every possible minute. -Rob

Hi, my name is Jeff and i'm an addict. isn't that the first step, admitting you have a problem? I have one car pretty much finished and I have very little interest in it. I've moved on to the next one. For me it's all about building, fabing, gathering the parts and making the decisions on which way to go. When the ideas get completed I move on to the next challenge. I also have a hard time letting go of them even though I dont dricve them or do anything with them. I only seem to let go when space is an issue. Do i need help or what?

I just don't get it. How can you spend 1000's of hours and not drive the car. To me that's like chasing a hot chick, taking her out dancing(I hate dancing), romancing her, and you finally get her buck naked and don't go the distance. Getting that far was good enough. That makes me want to bang my head on the wall just thinking about it. :rofl: Just seeing mine ripped apart in the garage is less than exciting. In fact, I'm almost to the point where I only work on it so I can drive it or make it faster. Of course I'm towards the end of a very long build here. The do overs aren't that great either. I guess if you never drive them you don't have to worry about that now do you? LOL Maybe I'm just bitter because mines broke!

For me, reaching the end of the excersize has never been the point of the excersize. You have difficulty seeing why someone spends all that time on car that doesn't drive just like I have difficulty seeing someone give someone else a six figure sum to build them a car.

I could always pay someone else to put a car together for me, but what does that give me other than an empty wallet?

When I finish a project and get it on the road, the only thing I can think of is "ok, what now?". That is not to say I don't enjoy driving the cars I build, I just happen to prefer the building process. And that's (a) why I'll never get rid of my projects in a half-finished state and (b) why my projects are never finished.

There are times when I would rather dump the car off a cliff than work on it, but I always come back to it.

Been there, done that. My wife actually printed up $1000 bills with our picture on the face because every time we turned around, we were dropping another g note because we figured "we've gone this far, we may as well add that".

Now my Camaro went the same route, with half of the DSE catalog on it and more billet widgets than you can count on your fingers and toes.