Lateral-g Forums - Shop Build Rides

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Lots of good feedback ....I'm glad I asked the questions.

I just can't see how someone can wait so long Over 3 years or more to get their car back to them.....especially if the customer has the money. I guess it's basically pure relief to just get your car back it seems and you deal with whatever problem arises later...LOL

I have lots of good information to go by when looking for a good shop and will ask for some customers to call for feedback.

What are you looking to have done and what area?
You can get plenty of suggestions from the members here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBasher (Post 503212)

Great discussion and real world advice so far. I gotta ask the question of warranty on these high dollar builds. I know Greg had issues with the 32 built in Orygon, what all is covered?
If the chassis developed a rattle or the paint blisters or the 20k interior is wonky after a few months what happens? Are builders standing behind the work?

Blows my mind on what is spent on some of these cars:headspin:

Dan

Great question Dan....

The reason I ream some Orygone azz (otherwise known as STEVE FRISBEE) every chance I get is because not only did I not get a decent project outcome (as far as running and driving)... AND the idiot tried to charge me for fixing stuff I'd already paid to have done right the first time! Now --- MINE was a brand new build -- and it went back to the shop within days of picking it up -- on at least 3 or 4 separate occasions!

If you actually plan to DRIVE your car... beware the "show car builder" you see around at indoor car shows but you've never once seen someone actually driving their stuff!

On the extreme opposite side of the above mentioned bozo --- was Jeff Kugel of Kugel Komponents who not only sent me two complete sets of "stub axles" -- he then paid to have the complete rear end disassembled and had CUSTOM one off stub axles built -- NO CHARGE.... zero zip nada!

WE are friends now! He's a great guy... and never once made excuses. He just worked towards a solution.

I would "like to think" that most shops want a happy customer - and frankly - when you get all done -- you should be good friends not just "a customer"...

There's going to be "issues" when you're doing custom builds... and I would think most shops are going to help you resolve them.

I'm going to bet price isn't always the best indicator of quality either, high or low. Youknow if it's too cheap, You know it, don't kid yourself or say that it's just a good deal. That deal is going to cost you some where down the line.
But, the flip side of that is a high price doesn't always get quality either. I'd be willing to bet GW spent more on the car he was unhappy with than the car he is going to love.

Jeff-

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Eric@Griffith Metal Shaping, built my '71 Camaro in little over a year. It would have been quicker, but the Body Shop took longer than expected. This was a complete build front to rear. It was the main car he worked on that year, but he is a workaholic..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ketzer (Post 503253)

I'm going to bet price isn't always the best indicator of quality either, high or low. Youknow if it's too cheap, You know it, don't kid yourself or say that it's just a good deal. That deal is going to cost you some where down the line.
But, the flip side of that is a high price doesn't always get quality either. I'd be willing to bet GW spent more on the car he was unhappy with than the car he is going to love.

Jeff-

NO QUESTION!!!

And the sad part is.... The Briz was my FIRST CHOICE to re-do the '32 but I gave The Bozo the job because he'd built the car originally in 1994.... I've regretted that decision ever since!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Streetking (Post 503268)

Some of us have been to Eric's shop --- AND seen his work! I'd put him right up there with the others I named! Like I said - when I was typing that I just couldn't come up with every name I'd have liked to! Hey! Damn it! I'm old! I once did mach 2 in a turbo Ferrari.... I have a little brain damage....

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregWeld (Post 503272)

That really was fun to watch! :)

I'll second SW's opinion on Eric. If you are in the Texas area and looking for a shop to do some great work, and most importantly, someone to stand behind it (I cannot express enough how great Eric has been in that sense), you should make a road trip to Austin to check out his shop and work. He doesn't have the biggest shop to house 10 projects at once, but his attention to detail is amazing on the projects he's working on...

I was a little hesitant to respond, but a common mistake I see often is what I refer to as bodyshop builds. I see a lot of people trust there builds to body shops. Now dont get me wrong i know there are very capable builders who have body and paint capabilities on site and I'm not referring to them, but to shops who's main business is collision type work. Because a shop may do incredible paint work, doesn't mean they have the knowledge to properly build a car from ground up. I mean properly set up suspensions, stance, brake systems, electrical, hydraulics ect.
Ive seen cars if they were engineered correctly from the start, there wouldn't be drilling into fresh paint, to install things that should have been prefitted before paint. I see hydraulics with improper line types and fittings. improper wiring sizing, wrong fluid transfer hose types and sizing, wheels with wrong offsets, sizes and rubbing issues with tires, wrong brake pedal ratios and MC bore sizes, calipers not shimmed correctly. Incorrect driveline angles Ect.ect.
There are some great "bolt on" parts out there these days that make it easier for a lot of people to minimize these mistakes and I don't think these shops are purposely trying to half ass anything, but there specialty is not the technical aspect of the build, it's the body and paint. A lot of times they realize they're in over there head after the car is painted and assembly begins, then the car just sits forever with fresh paint and nothing gets done. We get many calls from people with cars in this situation
I don't want anyone to think I'm referring to all body shops, just the ones who who say " sure we can do all the mechanicals on the car as well as the paint, how hard can it be" - WITHOUT, knowing how hard it can be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBMC (Post 503319)

I was a little hesitant to respond due to the fact I may offend some people out there, and I'm not referring to anyone in particular but its a common mistake I see often. It's what I refer to as bodyshop builds. I see a lot of people trust there builds to body shops. Now dont get me wrong i know there are very capable builders who have body and paint capabilities on site, but because a shop may do incredible paint work, doesn't mean they have the knowledge to properly build a car from ground up. I mean properly set up suspensions, stance, brake systems, electrical, hydraulics ect.
Ive seen cars if they were engineered correctly from the start, there wouldn't be drilling into fresh paint, to install things that should have been prefitted before paint. I see hydraulics with improper line types and fittings. improper wiring sizing, wrong fluid transfer hose types and sizing, wheels with wrong offsets, sizes and rubbing issues with tires, wrong brake pedal ratios and MC bore sizes, calipers not shimmed correctly. Incorrect driveline angles Ect.ect.
There are some great "bolt on" parts out there these days that make it easier for a lot of people to minimize these mistakes and I don't think these shops are purposely trying to half ass anything, but there specialty is not the technical aspect of the build, it's the body and paint. A lot of times they may realize they're in over there head after the car is painted and assembly begins, then the car just sits with fresh paint and nothing gets done. We get many calls from people with cars in this situation
Like I said I don't want anyone to think I'm referring to all body shops, just the ones who who say " sure we can do all the mechanicals on the car as well as the paint, how hard can it be" - WITHOUT, knowing how hard it can be.

Agree 100%. on the flip side I have found that with out having the ability to do inhouse paint, the project also falls short. in "Most " cases the builder then looses control of the time line. as well it allows the build to progress with both mechanical and paint being done at the same time which I feel saves time and money for the customer.
I strive to do the mechanical and "engineering" to the highest level expected from the build budget. There has to be some compromise always to some degree other wise you will always end up over budget. Not all cars need to be built to NASA or Race Preped specs.(for lack of a better comparison) things like brakes, steering, NEVER get compromised on that would be STUPID