Hey Guys...
Yes that was my car at Race Rodz too.....
Tony and I both got screwed, but I think Tony got the worst of it. At least my car is still in metal and so far all the stuff I've found can be fixed. Its just gonna be more time and more $$, but its all fixable. Having the car in paint really makes it alot harder....alos who knows whats hiding under it.
Back in Nov last year I was looking for a shop to do some metal work and made a post on here. Got a few replies and started doing some inquiries. Alot of the shops were pretty far away and basically couldnt give me a reasonable estimate without seeing the car or their price was just too high for my budget or their shop was full and they werent taking anymore projects etc.
So Tony contacted me about Race Rodz. He was very happy with Chris at that time and we talked on the phone for quite awhile. At the time he had nothing but good things to say about how is project was going. At the time Jody was also looking at having Chris paint Malitude. Chris was also making a spoiler for Penny. I gave him a call and we talked about the project and he was going to be coming through my area soon, so he could look at the car in person and give me a quote. He stopped by Jody's also....
When he came over he seemed like a nice guy and I asked alot of questions....he seemed like he had alot of metal fab knowledge and seemed like he was really motivated to make a name for himself on the west coast.
We talked alot about getting the car alot of exposure and helping build his reputation. Just like Tony, it seemed like we could both benefit from working together.
After talking with some other shops and Chris some more, I decided to give him a chance. I took the car up in Dec and was hoping to see Tony car all done. When we got there it was still being wet-sanded and was covered in compound etc, so it was pretty hard to evaluate. The sheetmetal looked pretty straight and well aligned etc.
So my car was supposed to be about 2 months.... I figured at least 3-4, so the saga began. At first he made some good progress and I got alot of updates. He hand fabbed the tubs and they looked pretty good, so I felt like I was in the hands of a good metal fab guy. Felt comfortable early on......
Then about 3 months in, the updates slowed and the progress slowed.....many many promises of the "finnish date" came and went. Every time I talked to him, I felt really comfortable that he was commited to everything.
Then in April/May I find out he's going back to school to be a CNC operator. He's struggling to pay the bills and support a new family. That was a really kick in the gut. I felt really uneasy at that point. His reasoning was that he was having a hard time keeping the cash flow going since he was commited to doing quality work. He couldnt get himself to rush stuff and do crap work so things took alot of time and when projects arent leaving in a timely fashion, theres no cash flow. He assured me that he was still doing his best work on my car and we were about 80% done at that point, so I didnt pull the car......
Well I picked up the car about a month ago and you can read my other post....its real rough but fixable. Not happy but not devasted either....its metal and it can be fixed. More $$ and more time, but it can be fixed
So, to sum it up , both Tony and I got sucked into the enthusiasm of a young builder that wanted to build a reputation for himself. He seemed very commited and appeared to have the skills. We took a chance and lost......
I didnt feel the need to get on here and rip Chris apart... theres no point......his shop is now closed up, he's back in school and wont be a pro car builder again........ so trashing his reputation wont spare anyone the grief Tony and I are feeling. Dont get me wrong... I'm pissed, but ranting and raving isnt gonna fix my car.
To all the shops I talked to that post on this board...... you we're right...... there may be lower price shops, but you get what you pay for........
Places like IronWorks, Fesler, Bruning etc are worth every penny....its just that some of us dont have that many pennies and need to try and work on a smaller budget.
So my plans.....fix what I can myself, and then I've been talking to TJ at Bruning to see about bringing my car to them to finnsih and improve the metal work...as for paint.....Best in Show is my choice right now, but thats a good year away....
My car will be top notch if it kills me.....
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