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Quote:

Originally Posted by GregWeld

No the tire guys aren't going to call and give you free stuff....

Wait...what?, no free tires?...that's it, i'm done. Anyone wanna buy a 'Cuda?...

First thing Jonathan Ward of ICON says on this vid...

"You know sometimes, I can hardly believe I get to call this a job."

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJD Automotive (Post 660384)

Wait...what?, no free tires?...that's it, i'm done. Anyone wanna buy a 'Cuda?...

LOL ----- Good one!

I know that might come as a surprise to a lot of people..... Hahahahahaha

I'm certain though -- that your car is already invited to SEMA - and right after that - it will fetch three times what you spent building it at Barrett Jackson....

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregWeld (Post 660430)

I'm certain though -- that your car is already invited to SEMA - and right after that - it will fetch three times what you spent building it at Barrett Jackson....

No intentions of ever selling, but if I were, the only reason I might possibly break even is that I don't pay the slack ass to build it...which is why my shop just fixes late model cars and doesn't build them. I know how to make money fixing cars, never could figure out how to make money building them without it costing the customer a fortune or me losing my ass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJD Automotive (Post 660441)

Well the "YOU" was kinda meant as an "everybody"..... not just YOU -- I should have perhaps written that better....

And yes --- The shops that actually make a legitimate profit (as opposed to those that just over charge and never really do much work)... It has to be really hard to make a buck. The amount of space it takes - the tools - the time - the QUALITY employees..... is a large amount these days. It's little wonder that we've seen these build costs skyrocket.

And yes --- The shops that actually make a legitimate profit (as opposed to those that just over charge and never really do much work)... It has to be really hard to make a buck. The amount of space it takes - the tools - the time - the QUALITY employees..... is a large amount these days. It's little wonder that we've seen these build costs skyrocket.[/QUOTE]

It has to be run like a business and not a hobby shop or fund the owners toy box.

I don't think its a environment that you get into to become rich. Because with a conscious and wanting to sleep at night. You have to bill in such a way you get paid for you time but also take into account that no one person is 100% efficient and your business is supported by people that its a hobby to them, not a necessity. If the past dictates the future all our customers become return customers, and they were all referred to us. So we have to be thankful for that and continue to give a product that warrants it.

I am thankful for this discussion. Greg we talk a few times on Facebook through your recovery. Your process to recovery has allowed me to shed light to several friends and help them. So, again thank you for that as well. I certainly hope the guys in Texas get your truck on the road soon and you get in enjoy it.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Thom Speed
Saltworks Fab
Sarasota Fl.

ALOT of good reading on here Greg! Thanks for sharing.. And happy to hear your project is back on track. Those guys seem to have a system going down their.

It always interests me on what other shops are doing and handling everyday things. Seems just about all of the shop share the same common problems.

I have not been on here much lately (between the shop and LIFE) its great to get on and click on some great builds people are working on and read some great info and thoughts from people with experiences like you.

Hope all is well!

>It's little wonder that we've seen these build costs skyrocket.

Well, that and the fact that the cars have gone totally out of control.
Even as recently as the 90's a hot custom muscle car was still 100% factory unibody, maybe a few massaged panels, the same 15" (or if you were exotic 16") wheels that were commonly available and tires that cost slightly more than your passenger car (my new tire bill is $1800+ now). Brakes were just swap parts from the heavy duty model. Now a car doesn't get a second glance without a full chassis, 75% modified sheet metal, 15" brakes and forced induction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DutchBoys (Post 660575)

You are one of the good guys Paul!!

When we had HellFire and JackAss together in Texas -- YOUR work on HellFire was so far ahead of whoever did JA..... it was just a WOW.... You should be very very proud of your shop and quality of work.

Life is good buddy! I'm glad you're busy! Busy is a good problem to have!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregWeld (Post 660009)

Pinkee's may eventually figure out a couple reasons for why they lost this project....

#1 - When you provide detailed billings, and every single item - page after page of work items - they're all "magically" 10 hours per item....

Funny.... Some of these guys must think the customer was born last night. I've personally done ALL of the work to build a car - many times over - in the last 40 years.... and have had 3 high end cars professionally built. No work - ever - takes exactly 10 hours. End of story. I don't care what the explanation could be.

****** Just so people understand***** a builder is never BILLING ME..... they are always working off of a cash deposit that is paid IN ADVANCE -- usually 20 to 25 grand at a time (more if the project is just getting started - so they can order stuff and have it ready to go). I understand the needs of small business... cash is king... I expect my projects to become "important" to the builder. I'm the kind of customer any shop should want to have. I understand the process... I know exactly what I want to have built.... and I pay up front. What more is there a guy could do?

#2 - Once again billing issues.... Funny that all the "freight" items are in even dollars. Never a $197.65 --- nope! $200..... Not a $10.95..... that turns into a $20

Well of course it did. LOL

#3 - All that metalwork -- and there's still patch panels left to do in the cab area? WTF.... That seems real efficient - floors are out - firewall is out - corners of the cab are cut and replaced.... and the cab is mounted on the chassis - fenders mounted - doors mounted - hood mounted - bed mounted - and there's still holes in the cab..... YEAH NO! Just stupid.

I've learned a few things when dealing with these shops.... #1 -- when you become suspicious or just plain unhappy with the work - or the speed of the project etc -- MOVE IT!! I should have pulled the Frisbee '32 project about 2 months after starting it. I disliked the guy and his shop manager from the start - not pulling it was a big mistake.

The best builder in the universe so far? Brizio. They tell you "about" what the job is going to be - they were so close..... Quote was "$250 to $275+ depending on all the choices" - actual $283. Car was virtually perfection. There were many upgrades that weren't included in the initial cost discussions (which were broad brush stroke discussions). The car was finished in MONTHS (18ish) not years.....

I didn't have him build this truck - because I didn't want a "300k" daily driver pickup truck. Pinkees labor rate is $50 an hour - Roy's is $105 - (one is in expensive SF bay area - one is in Colorado)..... when you just factor the hours to build stuff like this ----- 1500 ish ----- that labor rate is a big swing factor. But I've said it here before, many times. If the "expensive guy" bills you one hour for something and the "cheap guy" bills you 4 or 5 hours for the same thing.... now who is "expensive"? I remember looking at the labor billing for the exhaust system on the '33 (Brizio)... it was $800 TOTAL.... I've paid that and more for "exhaust shop" work on normal cars! Pinkees billing might have looked more like -- 10 hours for exhaust tips -- 10 hours for cutting exhaust -- 10 hours for welding exhaust tips -- 10 hours for mounting exhaust -- 10 hours for removing and checking exhaust clearances..... :BlahBlah: :BlahBlah: :BlahBlah: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :bang: :bang: :bang:

We'll see how this next shop does. So far - the conversations with the shop foreman have been spot on! The ideas of what should be done from here - right on the money. We'll see if performance is on par with the "talk". After building these cars all my life - I'm pretty hard to BS. The work "flow" --- What it takes -- yeah.... I understand all that really well. The talk and the fact - that's where we get down to the nitty gritty. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Makes me feel good that Troy did my car after reading this,that's for sure!. We bumped heads a couple times but I never once needed to question him on one single invoice I received . The interior guy well ....... Will leave that alone.:getout: