Race Rodz strikes again :(

[jmax]

Originally Posted by 96z28ss

He was a shop that was just starting out. Tony decided to bring the car there cause of the price and the owner talked a good game and promised it was going to be awesome, to get his name out there. While the car was there Ned and Jody also had their cars looked and quoted to get work done.
Jody declined but Ned took him up on his quote and again promised his car was going to be killer. Long story short everyone got screwed.

that sucks man,thanks for the follow up,sorry to hear that ned

[MODO Innovations]

Originally Posted by radrambler

family comes through............mike thats very cool

tom

For those who have never dealt with Mike at MuscleRodz... he is a great guy. Customer service is excellent and he knows his stuff.

This is very cool.

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by 96z28ss

He was a shop that was just starting out. Tony decided to bring the car there cause of the price and the owner talked a good game and promised it was going to be awesome, to get his name out there. While the car was there Ned and Jody also had their cars looked and quoted to get work done.
Jody declined but Ned took him up on his quote and again promised his car was going to be killer. Long story short everyone got screwed.

fortunately he bid mine stupid high, which got me off the hook. I feel bad for Tony and Ned, but people here have really stepped up to help out, beyond all expectations. Great community.

Jody

[Aschle]

I love reading posts like this ! No, I don't like reading the upsetting portion, but the final outcome makes up for it in SOOO many ways ! Great job guys !

Jason

[qship510]

This has been a learning experience for me, but not in the way you might think.

I too was trying to get something off the ground in the fabrication world, my target audience was the Datsun 510 crowd. I've built parts for a lot of years for these poorly supported cars, have painted a few, and generally can pretty much do anything when it comes to making 510's go fast and handle. I got a pretty good reputation, and got some referrals from some very respected shops in the SF Bay Area for customers looking for work in my area (Sacramento). So I took on one project, and it went pretty well. All the mechanical and tuning went great, I was very timely, to customer was happy.

So with this new found confidence, I took on another project. This project failed miserably. It was my fault, I'll admit. I returned the owner's car, and have been paying him back for about a year now for his deposit. He has been very patient and understanding, and did not share the details of our bad experience as far as I can tell.

What I have learned is this; just because you can work on cars doesn't mean you should (for others). I became bitter and board because I couldn't get any time to work on my own car. I even rented a shop to have more room to work on customer cars and my own also, that didn't work out. I hated the pressure of knowing that my time belong to other people beyond my 9-5 job (more like 6-6). So now I've moved all my stuff back to my tiny garage, and I've gotten to spend some time on my own car. And it feels great! I spent 3 hours working on a transmission crossmember last Sunday, and it ain't finished, but I don't care. That 3 hours was stress free, my creative juices were flowing, I slept better, felt better and was more productive at work Monday than usual.

You guys should not have had to go through what you did. But, I would bet that Chris feels horrible about it all. And I bet that if he had the means, he would repay you all the money you gave him, and pay to have your cars built. At least I hope that's the way he feels.

To you pro builders, my hat is off to you. The more I learn about business and finance, the more I know that I need to stay in my field and just grind it out during the week, and keep my personal time for myself. Maybe someday I'll hit my stride and go out on my own, but for right now, I'm content tinkering in my cold little garage...

[Lenie]

Ned, it was good to meet you at the Lateral dinner in Vegas. Good luck.
Lenie

[conekiller13]

Originally Posted by qship510

This has been a learning experience for me, but not in the way you might think.

I too was trying to get something off the ground in the fabrication world, my target audience was the Datsun 510 crowd. I've built parts for a lot of years for these poorly supported cars, have painted a few, and generally can pretty much do anything when it comes to making 510's go fast and handle. I got a pretty good reputation, and got some referrals from some very respected shops in the SF Bay Area for customers looking for work in my area (Sacramento). So I took on one project, and it went pretty well. All the mechanical and tuning went great, I was very timely, to customer was happy.

So with this new found confidence, I took on another project. This project failed miserably. It was my fault, I'll admit. I returned the owner's car, and have been paying him back for about a year now for his deposit. He has been very patient and understanding, and did not share the details of our bad experience as far as I can tell.

What I have learned is this; just because you can work on cars doesn't mean you should (for others). I became bitter and board because I couldn't get any time to work on my own car. I even rented a shop to have more room to work on customer cars and my own also, that didn't work out. I hated the pressure of knowing that my time belong to other people beyond my 9-5 job (more like 6-6). So now I've moved all my stuff back to my tiny garage, and I've gotten to spend some time on my own car. And it feels great! I spent 3 hours working on a transmission crossmember last Sunday, and it ain't finished, but I don't care. That 3 hours was stress free, my creative juices were flowing, I slept better, felt better and was more productive at work Monday than usual.

You guys should not have had to go through what you did. But, I would bet that Chris feels horrible about it all. And I bet that if he had the means, he would repay you all the money you gave him, and pay to have your cars built. At least I hope that's the way he feels.

To you pro builders, my hat is off to you. The more I learn about business and finance, the more I know that I need to stay in my field and just grind it out during the week, and keep my personal time for myself. Maybe someday I'll hit my stride and go out on my own, but for right now, I'm content tinkering in my cold little garage...

That's the thing though, Chris really didn't seem to have much if any remorse. He knew he was in over his head but rather than admit defeat or failure he took people's money and ran. By the time Tony and Ned's cars were done being butchered He said "I guess I'm cut out to do this." Closed his shop and moved on, with thier money already gone. No offers to repay or make good on his promises.

Anyway, Ned I hope this is the last surprise You find. I remember seeing Your car down there when Tony and I dropped off his car for the second round. I recall thinking you were lucky he wasn't painting yours and just doing metal work. As people have said here don't settle with what's wrong. If means it takes longer to get done because the budget is running out so be it. If you let slide you'll end up hating the car and tearing apart again anyway. Trust Me I know from experience.

[gearheadgarage]

Good luck to you Ned. Things have a way of working themselves out. You're amongst good people here on Lat-G.

Try to remain optimistic, you'll love it when your done!!

[DRJDVM's '69]

Hey guys...

I havent been online for over a week now....and thats very unusual for me. I'm usually on here 2-3 times a day at least. I just needed to step away from the car for awhile.

Last week was probably the lowest I've felt about the car. I was depressed when I first got it back but before last week I really thought I was past dealing with all the crap work Chris did. I really felt good about the status of the car and then I got this kick in the stomach and it all came back.

The work needs to be done and in the long run it will turn out way better. I have no plans to give up on the car. I dont give up that easy.

The thing that depresses me most is that I had alot of plans for different aspects of the car. In reality most of those plans were probably alittle "high in the sky" for my budget etc, but I still had them. You all know how that goes. For most people, reality sets in and they work with what they have.

For me, reality has kicked me in the groin, smashed all me teeth in and then continues to kick me while I'm on the ground. I still plan on getting up and continuing the fight, but its not easy.

Every time there is another set back, I have to scratch another plan off the car, becasue the $$ has to go to fixing the crap work. The car just isnt gonna be what I had envisioned at the start. Yes, that vision was probably beyond my reach, but it was still my dream. It will still be top notch and nothing to be ashamed of, but it will always eat at me on what it could have been if I hadnt hooked up with Chris.

I also try and think abou the big picture....its only a car... it will get done someday....and I'm better off than alot of people out there that have much bigger problems than I do.

So....trying to move on again......

A big thanks to Mike for the help with the quarter panel. Any help I can get on parts helps me offset the labor costs (which is what is consuming my budget). I cant thank him enough.

TJ and Tim have been great. I know it hasnt been easy dealing with me at times. I'm kinda picky and these setbacks arent helping my enthusiasm for the car. Tim is doing killer work... I only wish he had shown up here alittle sooner.

[DRJDVM's '69]

Here are some pix of the quarter Chris installed. It was a quarter skin rather than a ful quarter since most of the panel was in good shape.

Basically the body line of the car is too low and drops down near the bumper recess. The body line should go all the way to the very back of the car, ABOVE the bumper recess. With the way Chris did the install, the body line ends at the bumper recess "corner". I'm still baffled on how he did this. The quarter skin included the bumper recess and the body line in the right spot. From the pix he sent, it looks like he cut the body at the "right spot" to fit the skin, but then later cut the skin and moved the bumper recess to fit where he cut the body. It just makes no sense....

Race Rodz photos



Bruning Design photos showing the body line issues