guidance from vegas / barrett jackson
 

hello -

long time reader but first time poster ( really didnt have a need to post)

I first need to publicly thank Scott Gulbranson for his help over the last couple of days.

I have flown to vegas to bid on a firebird/trans-am that some of you might know as "empty nest" ( BJ catalog lot number 702. and your own g-machines october 08 car of the month) I first came across the car when Frank and prodigy customs took it to the 2008 goodguys show in columbus ohio and the car has always "peaked my intrest" considering i grew up with a 69 trans am in my family.

now when i ask the below question -please bear in mind that im not new to the "automotive hobby" I currently have a couple of cars in my possession that would be considered exotic and /or vintage muscle BUT i am new to the " g-machines/ restro rod pro-touring aspect of the hobby.

now most have asked me "well do you feel safe in the car being represented correctly and i say based on the research i have done on the car itself i say yes ...... but ..........

my general question to the members is this - Is there anything above and beyond that i should be looking for (problems concerns red flags proof of build quality that go past what one would look for in the market of a musclecar considering the amount of extra work and engineering needed to build this type of car and make it functional.

I am guessing that i will have one last chance to look over the car sometime late saturday afternoon before it becomes crunch time and i have to be on the floor. I am doing all of this work and research from a blackberry and will look in on and read any responses as i walk towards the car for its last look over- any guidance that the members are able to give me would so be appericated

Frank and Prodigy Customs are both highly respected on this forum and in the muscle car / pro-touring community as a whole. You can safely know that what you are getting / bidding on is a top-notch build with zero corners cut and best parts money can buy.

Best of luck.

what he said ^^^^.

normally when puting down the kind of money for a car like empty nest you MUST be able to see pics from ALL stages of the build to make sure no corners were cut because once its on the ground painted with interior you cant see what beneath it...with that said when it comes to frank and prodigy even if emptynest's build wasent fully documented you cant rest assured these guy DONT cut corners and to make you feel even more confident this car was built for his wife lisa (female car nut)lol and she was there and part of the build everyday and you better damn well believe she made sure EVERYTHING on that car ws perfect!:unibrow:

good luck on your bidding, hope you get the car!
on top of that car being super bad azz believe its really rare sisnce its a true vert.

If you like it, and want it, that's all that matters.

Bid as high as you need to, or can. :thumbsup:

My bet is if you get it bought, you'll have a couple of new friends in Frank and Lisa and any questions you may come up with in the future will be promptly answered.

Two comments:

You have the advantage of looking back over the entire build on that car. It is well documented for start to finish and has just gone back through the shop for complete repaint to make it perfect and get the road nicks taken care of. That car, like most here has actually been driven, so hence had road nicks.

Secondly, John Parson's car last night proved that real cars, done right are worth the money. Everyone in the community should be proud and happy this morning because now we have proof that correct cars are worth the effort.

Good luck and bid with confidence tonight!

This goes for any car you're looking to buy.. check the areas that are hard to see.

Are the rockers painted as nice as the tops of the fenders? Was the color sanding done right, even in the hard to do places?

It's easy to get caught up in the big areas of the cars but it's how the little areas were done that seperate nice cars from great cars. I use to judge show cars and cars won or lost based on the out of the way places.

Frank does great work and he's an upfront guy so ask lots of questions and take your time going over the car.

Good luck with the auction, hope you win the car... But, if you get outbid I know of a nice prowler orange '68 Camaro.. lol

There should be a lot of build pics on that car. Frank is a great builder/planner of these cars, pro-touring/restomods. I do believe that this car was built for him and his wife to enjoy. I can almost bet that it is done to the fullest and best that Frank and his company could do.
Frank is truly a stand-up guy and well respected on this forum and other forums as well. Also a sponsor on a couple of forums too. That should speak volumes about him and his word and how he runs his business and Prodigy Customs.
GOOD LUCK!!!:thumbsup: :cheers:

Here's the "freshen up" build thread:

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45622

Original build thread:
http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36086

More:
http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35679


The point is that is a well documented build... Again, good luck in Vegas.. I hope both you and Frank end up happy campers.

A good sign also is how one of their follow up cars finished the Bull Run successfully.

Just saw it on the cover of Super Chevy.

Very good point, another one is that this is Lisa's personal car, built by husband Frank, son Michael and the rest of the crew at Prodigy Customs.

Good luck on your bidding.

As an outsider with little exposure to the car and the owners I would be asking the same questions you are and I would be a bit nervous too. Over the last two years I have gotten to know Frank and Lisa and can honestly say that I would have no problem buying any car from them sight unseen. I have that much trust, faith and respect for them. It would be hard to give a higher recommendation.

Best of luck to you in your bidding and now that you're a member stick around and have some fun with us.

:captain:

Frank is highly respected and is a fantastic car builder. He has built alot of very high profile cars as well as builds for SEMA so I would not worry about quality. He also is a dealer for alot of high end parts that forum members have bought.

Here's a link to Emptynest as a feature on this site:

https://lateral-g.net/members/serafine/

Plus it was on the Cover of High Performance Pontiac not too long ago. :thumbsup:

Good luck and hope you get the car :yes:

So......... Did you bid on it?

Was just gonna ask if we are talking to the new owner of the car here. :)

Ahh jeeze guys, thanks a million for all the kind words! You guys realy have no idea how much that stuff means to Lisa and I.

I never met this gentlman, or at least he never intorduced himself. Funny thing is someone would ask all this information on the forum and not speak to me or ask me any detail questions in person? John or I was with the cars litterly every minute from 8AM to the second they sold.

1000s of people looked at them, tons of complimentary comments, but I have to admit on Saturday I really did not have any "really strong" buyer interest, so I knew going up it would be weak.

I don't know who he was or if he bid, but if he flew to vegas just to buy Emptynest, and quit at $80K, he missed a hell of a deal!

It's because you're kinda scary!

:lol:

Seriously, congrats Frank and Lisa on having Empty Nest, many peoples dream car, be seen around the world and making lots of new fans of Prodigy Customs.

https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=23086

Jody

hello frank,

we spoke on Friday afternoon - my name is Stuart . Considering the amount of people you spoke to im not sure if it helps to attempt to put a name to the face or person but i am in my mid 30' but been told look much younger. I was wearing a pair of black and gray plaid type golf shorts and white mid sleeve shirt, a black "oakley hat on backwards, had a scruffy face, orange lense sunglasses across the top of the hat and was holding a amp energy can (im always holding an amp energy can) i looked at the car a few times sometimes just walking by real slow. when we spoke the trunk of the car was open and there were a few people around the car - you were speaking to another person and i was just staring hard at the front end of the car
when we did speak-
one of the comments i made to you was was the fact that it looks as good as it did when i first saw the car in 2008 in ohio at the goodguys show- we spoke about it then as well for about 15 min. - we talked about ride height during the run - i dont remember if it was you or scott that drove that run.
( lisa was in the pass seat - it was in the large parking lot close to where everybody was staging to make their run in the north side of the internal fairgrounds parking lot the far side from the main internal "drag" for the ohio fairgrounds.) south side was holding cars ( my car was located in front of the ohio highway patrol building)-

the Vegas conversation was very brief - there was a gentleman approching the driver door and leaning in to take a look and .... well it was clear you were very very busy ... and i was well aware and understood that ( and i had my own internal kinda conflict going on)

i really didnt ask any questions cause i really didnt have any - I had kept track of the car via this site and the such and my post here was based out of "internal jitters and nerves. besides - im the kinda guy that is more comfortable in a face to face keeping a low profile.

if none of the above brings me back to your memory this might - you posed the question of intrest - my reply was "Very much so but if all goes well for you .... it will end up way past what i am able to afford and then i wished you luck

on a side note - like most guys you see a car and you come up with a couple of different thoughts about it - Empty Nest was one of thoes cars that kicked me in the teeth when i saw it for the first time at 2008 goodguys and that never went away. In the past be it business or personal - taking a chance has paid off or not paid off - me going to vegas was taking a chance and worth the risk - i would have hated myself if that was my chance to try and i didn't move - i knew the budget on the car was weak i had kinda prepared for that and im guessing when i say that is why i made the above comment to you.

i have made it home now - and find myself still pissed and backtracking about the fact i didn't get the car due to MY budget constraints good thing is i still have the money and i damn well know that 100k wont get empty nest duplicated but my young daughter being wise beyond her 7 years- simply stated "just build one daddy you designed this house- how hard can a car be? ..... wisdom out of a seven year old .....

it may not be today .... and it may not be next week ..... but frank (and i ask this out of school) ..... any thoughts on a empty nest v2.0 ?? ( you ponder and ill work on it from my end - my end being the check :thumbsup: )



Stuart

Nice post Stuart... thank you for sharing your journey with us. It puts a "human touch" to the whole affair.

I will say this about budgets - and sticking to them...

When someone says to you -- man! you should have bid again because that car sold for 85K man! And you were already at 80!

Well let me tell you that - if it was that simple - it would be nice... but the simple truth is - had you been willing to go to 100K - someone else might have been willing to go to 125K..... and that my friends is something we'll never know. Don't second guess yourself about it... it is what it is. When bidding - stick to your $$. Remember the song - you've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em....

Cars are like buses.... there's another one coming by every 15 minutes.

:cheers:

Ok, I do know you. Emptynest 2? I will do a much softer version for Lisa to play with, not nearly as radical. But you may be able to get the real Emptynest as it failed emmisions and the buyer cannot regester it in Nevada! So don't know what is going to happen. So the saga continues. I am not sure if this makes it my car or BJs car. I will let you know. In the meantime hit me up at [email protected].

even as strict as California is, they don't smog a car that old. Well, will be interesting to see what happens here. Unless the contract states the car has to pass smog, I don't see how it would be your problem.

Jody

Frank --

Makes it the buyers car - or BJ's car -- they WARN BUYERS about NEVADA emissions before buying... and if they don't... then they sure as hell should.

The SILVER AUCTIONS at Hot August Nights state this repeatedly during their auctions.

YOU sold it --- so not your problem.

BUT if you could make a deal to save the buyer a hassle -- and BJ wants out of it... then maybe you could swing some kind of a deal and make everybody happy.

Wow, so all these cars are sold at BJ subject to passing smog in the buyer's home state? That seems odd.... I would think it's an "as is" sale with regard to that.

It is - AS IS WHERE IS....

SMOG is the buyers problem...

NEVADA is worse than CALIFORNIA when it comes to this stuff. Like I said - SILVER warns and warns and warns buyers about Nevada smog.

It's not easy here at all. You must pass smog to get a collector plate and a limit of 2000 miles per year. In fact, even if you pass smog at a station, you must then retest at the dmv to verify. My car blows as clean as a prius. LOL

Do tell!

frank -and thoes following the saga

i am sitting here reading posts about products and builds ect - my brain has hit the chip in 6th gear all the while my daughter plays with a 69 firebird hotwheel at my feet :D
i read the post and as i work on my affairs ill be sending you a note here or via your email in the next few days. - but i will ask this does anybody know where i can i find 1st gen firebird (non vert) safe to assume -body and frame taking importance over motor and trans?? :D

I agree with the posts above, but if some of the other posts I have seen are true, Frank does not have a check in hand yet. I wouldn't be too sure until I was paid, or the had a call from someone from the auction.

It should be the buyer's problem. I would doubt there is anything in the contract about it.

If you are looking for one to build I would have to think the guys here would be able to turn up a better one at a better price and get you on your way.:cheers:

Edit: NOT a better one than Emptynest. I had posted about another one near me that may be a decent one to build. A 67 all stock and original 'bird with a 326 and auto trans. Sorry if the first part of this post was confusing.:D

i became a fan of empty nest for a handful of reasons - alot of thoes reasons has to do with the work and style installed by frank and his crew at his shop - most important i have some very strong childhood memories around a 1st gen bird (1969 trans am to be exact) father bought car new and in 73 thru 76 it became my mothers (baby seat included :) - so it just seems logical to me that if i were to buy or build - that's the car . given the fact that empty nest is not in my garage - of course my brain shifted to the thought of building/ having one built. and it seems to me considering im blaming frank :D for putting empty nest in my head ..... least i can do is buy the guy a double tequila and a steak and pose the question of version 2.0 ( thinking coupe 50/50 split track vs street) got to have the forgeline snowflake wheels ....... (christ ... what have i started) "shelby (my daughter) ready to start eating mac and cheeze and the 99cent wendy's menu again just like we did when daddy was buying granite by the semi truck?? ) :unibrow:

You were in trouble way before you ever saw Emptynest. You named your daughter "Shelby". It is a nice name, but the first thing I think about is Mustangs and Mr Shelby himself when I hear that name.:D I am thinking you might have had cars on the brain for a very long time huh?

actually it was her late mother that liked it ..... we had been talking about names for what seemed like ever and she was driving me nuts (like females sometimes do) and the name came across in a "car and driver" mag i was leafing thru while we were in the dr office waiting on one of the many checkup kinda things and i threw it out there being a smart ass and it stuck.

am i car guy? .....oh yea very much so ... i got a couple of things in a garage.... i just cant have any fun with them .... and they will be used to put the kid thru collage.

You mentioned a 69 in the earlier post. Here is one for ya. :lol:

I will get you some pictures of a real car tomorrow.:D

Stuart, I like your Idea of Building an Emptynest Version II. I'd build it as a hard top, with a LS motor and a slightly toned down interior. :thumbsup:

I am sure Frank can source a solid body for you to start with. :yes:

The emmisions is not on the buyer. The buyer CANNOT buy it until it clears emmisions at the auction. Sounds like they do not want it released so the guy could "buy" a emmisions clearance. It is a little fat right now. I am unclear if I would be allowed to clean it up a bit (programming) to pass, I offered to go tune on it. But it sounds like that is a big no. So at this point the buyer is 100% out and not by his choosing. The buyer and I had a nice phone call, the car WAS NOT for the little girls BTW. She was just a excited girl. He and I will possibly be talking about building something though.

So as it stands, it looks like it is going to Scottsdale with a PRIME TIME number as Barrett Jacksons car. I think it was pretty obvious by how many times Steve stopped the auctions, BJ has high numbers in their head for this car. So I think they are "rolling the dice" with this one. I actually am liking that idea anyway especially if they want me to come promote it again. What a great opportunity for us. For now it will probably dress up Craigs collection for a while.

I will keep you tuned in.

Oh the drama!

At Mecum there's a sticker that says you bid you buy, as is where is, if you bought the car and the second after the motor explodes to bad its your car, sounds like a bunch of bs to me and I wouldnt take anything to bj auctions, just my 2 cents.

Wow,what a story Frank.I would never have guessed the whole smog thing would be an issue...what do all the other Nevada buyers do?:_paranoid

If you're happy with that arrangement and can wait to receive the funds,it'll probably work in your favor with all the additional promotions BJ will have to do in order to market it properly...how could that be a bad thing for you and your business?

I would have thought Vegas would have been a better venue for it than Scottsdale but all things considered...I bet it brings over $100k there.:yes:

Wanna bet...?:unibrow:

I may have read your post wrong
 

but are you saying....

The car does not pass, BJ pays you for the car and keeps it, they plan on selling it at Scottsdale in Feb?

If that is the case, it sounds to me there is some funny business going on there and they think they can make a good amount on your car.

If they are running it back through and you get the cash, that is a different story.

I have never heard of a car not passing and the state not giving you the opportunity to fix the problem and re-test.