CHARGER-LAND!

[MxRacer855]

Hey guys!

I have no doubt that many of you have heard of this guy who collects and builds Chargers for people. He is located around Gurnee Illinois. That last I saw, he had around 16 or 17 of them... all in great condition (newer paint and all, do NOT look like junkyard finds).
The majority of them are '69's.

Such a beautiful sight to see every time I drive by! I cringe seeing how they're all outside though...

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

Another pic.

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

 

[MxRacer855]

Hey man, I'm currently an NIU student!

[remta1]

Wow they look in really good condition , I don't think they will rust outside as I doubt they have much metal in them

how do I go about buying one  ,hopefully they ship to where I live in Nigeria ,I just need a bank account from them to start the process.

[C_stripes]

Is this that ripoff artists place? Johan or Hans or something like that?

[MxRacer855]

Go to:

Truemusclecars.com

There's email addresses and contact information. I spoke with the guy before and know that he ships out of the country. They're between 25-50K depending on how you want it built. And you're correct, everything is completely gutted. I know that they put 100% fresh motors and transmissions in them, rims and tires, freshly paint them, new interior, brake lines and exhaust, and go through the rest of the car. The guy took me around the place shortly after these pictures were taken and explained everything.

OH.... and they're almost all R/T's!

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

Is this that ripoff artists place? Johan or Hans or something like that?

Not that I know of... this is Mr. Norms.

[Troy]

That is most certainly NOT Mr Norms. Truemusclecars.com is what was formerly known as Hans Luedtke Performance Auto Group (HLPAG for short). They are notorious scammers. They LOVE to ship overseas because the buyer has no idea how big of a pile of crap they are getting until it's delivered AND has no legal recourse. They have a loooooong history on this site and there are many threads about them.

Troy

[Indygenerallee]

Yeeep, Famous General Lee bondo buckets!!! Scammers at their best...

[C_stripes]

Looks like they claim to have a Mr Norms car. But for sure nothing else to do with Mr Norms...

[JB400]

Where the dreams of enjoying classic muscle cars go to die.

Just looking at the site, his inventory hasn't changed much in the last few years.  His prices are higher than heck anyway

The best you can buy
http://truemusclecars.com/subpage_0001.html

[skip68]

Run forest, RUN!    Anytime I hear Illinois it's always those idiots.   Scammers and thieves ×100.    The only thing they server fresh is bondo and bullshit.  They are one of the worst (if not the worst) places to get a car from.     

[tan top]

what the other guys say  

Looks like they claim to have a Mr Norms car. But for sure nothing else to do with Mr Norms...

yeah   ,  the last couple of years they have had a  number of black  69 chargers  that were Mr norms cars  , also  a couple of b5 blue 69s too , pretty sure we can call them     , one black 69 was originaly bronze , & was rebodied , there is a thread on it somewhere on here , they have an out let for their cars in California too I believe , a guy anvertises with exact same cars same pictures & everything   ,

[polywideblock]

if they are claiming to be affiliated with mr norm I can see a law suit coming up

have heard nothing but bad reviews about them(HLPAG) like everyone else has said turn around and run don't walk away 

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

Hey man, I'm currently an NIU student!

Very cool.  Lets hope we get into the Fiesta Bowl!

I'm out there all the time doing barn find hunting.  I could show you some stuff out there you wouldn't believe!

Did that guy say he is affiliated with Mr. Norms?!

[MxRacer855]

Sorry guys if I mislead anyone. I just came across that a year ago when I was searching for my '68 and thought it was pretty cool. While organizing pictures on my computer, I saw those two that I took and thought I would throw them up on here. I spoke with the people briefly about what they do there and relayed that on here. I know absolutely nothing else about the place.

From what I've read, I'm glad I never pursued anything with them and found my car elsewhere!

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

That is most certainly NOT Mr Norms. Truemusclecars.com is what was formerly known as Hans Luedtke Performance Auto Group (HLPAG for short). They are notorious scammers. They LOVE to ship overseas because the buyer has no idea how big of a pile of crap they are getting until it's delivered AND has no legal recourse. They have a loooooong history on this site and there are many threads about them.

Troy

Thanks for the information Troy! I live just south of Chicago (which is an hour and a half from that place) and get questions from people all of the time about it and don't really know what to say to them. I always told them what the people there told me and tell them to contact the place themselves. I'll be sure to mention what I've heard on here and steer them clear!

Jeff

[JB400]

No fault on your part   This just gives a nice notice to those new in the hobby

[hatersaurusrex]

Yeah it's pretty disappointing to come across something very cool and want to share, and then realize that what you're looking at is NOT what you thought it was.   Bondo or not, they're nice to look at.   Kind of like a girl with fake boobs, spandex, and a ton of makeup.   You think it might be fun to ride until you realize what's 'under the hood'

Thanks for sharing and welcome to the group.   Lots of great resources and people here.

[69charger2002]

Hey I live in Chargerland.. thats Trademarked! J/K. PLEASE don't associate my place with that sh-ithole. I love the comment about them sitting outside won't hurt because there isn't much metal left to rust. That's freaking hilarious.. I went and looked at a 69 here local a few months ago. Guy had paid 25k for it. 318 barely ran, rear end was SCREAMING. all interior was rattle canned black. I asked where it came from, he said.. oh this company that build GL's in IL built it for me.. Geez what a terd the car was. 15 spokes, paint cracking all over hood and quarters from bondo, roof drip channel was flaking paint off from bad prep. it was a mess. Even the carpet looked like the stuff you get on sale at hobby lobby for $9.99. It was sad

[billschroeder5842]

RUN RUN RUN!

This place is in Lake Villa, Illinois and I grew up only a few miles away. They do a VERY cheesey job and you will over pay for a rusty bondo bucket with a moderate paint job.

Careful.

[MxRacer855]

With everything you hear, it's wise to take it with a grain of salt. There's two sides to every story. We all have different opinions, right? But in this case... one would be extremely ignorant to go against your advice gentleman! Not a single post in defense of the quality that place produces. I wish I became a member on this forum last year when I was seriously considering that place an option. I feel like someone that would leave a concert early and later find out that a plain crashed into the venue. I definitely dodged a bullet when I found the beautiful '68 that I did down south opposed to grabbing a car from them.

Thinking back now, it's a lot easier to see the WARNING signs that were present. The guy told me that I could pick one off the lot and they would have it ready within 2 weeks. That included painting the car, installing full interior, installing the motor/trans, the whole 9 yards. Even then with my extremely limited knowledge with cars I thought that was really fast to do all of that work. I guess if it sounds too good to be true, you've got to assume it is!

[jessejames]

This guy is bad news!! Saw him at the Nationals buying another charger. Wish someone would run him out of town!

[remta1]

as the robot says......

[Dino]

Not a single post in defense of the quality that place produces.

You cannot defend that what does not exist.

The cars they sell are worth no more than the cars you find rotting in someone's back yard for decades.  That shiny paint is just lipstick and makeup.  Once you strip one of those to do a proper job, you will find there is not much left to work with.

They are crooks and everybody knows it, yet they can continue to rip off people day after day.  Why this is allowed to happen is a mystery to me, but c'est la vie.

[polywideblock]

their still going because  they sell to overseas buyers  , by the time you get your car 3-4 months has gone by and your ass is in the wind   same as buying of ebay etc  buy the time it gets to your door buyer protection has lapsed .  if only more buyers got on this site (or others) and found out the truth "before" any money changed hands  people like this would go out of business .   what did they do before the internet ?   

[1974dodgecharger]

you gotta admit its nice looking at the pics though at their website 

[skip68]

Their disclaimer / warranty is a joke.   It's been posted here before and it protects them.    Basically states they are NOT liable for any verbal facts they might say about the cars.    Etcetera etcetera etcetera ............and other things.      Just sad.   

[ws23rt]

This is a good example of the many values of this web site.  As we talk about this issue it climbs the ladder to where folks that google stuff end up

The fact that we talk about it makes a difference.   It's like voting 

[NHCharger]

We had a member here buy a Charger through ebay from them without having a board member or someone check it out. It's not pretty.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,3692.msg44279.html#msg44279

[Ghoste]

They sure take advantage of the free ads in MCG now too.

[MxRacer855]

We had a member here buy a Charger through ebay from them without having a board member or someone check it out. It's not pretty.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,3692.msg44279.html#msg44279

I just saw those pics and feel absolutely terrible for the poor guy! All I can say is WOW!

[nvrbdn]

hey mxracer, im illinois also.  near st louis. 

[MxRacer855]

Hey nvrbdn! Nice to meet ya. I'm Jeff. Looks like we've got a lonnnnng winter ahead of us! I'm just south of Chicago by 40 miles. I just got home from night class and was out in the garage working on dropping the tank on my '68. It's 2 degrees up here plus the windshield! I saw you guys got pounded earlier this week with snow. It just hit us.


Jeff

[tsmithae]

I'm yet another member from Illinois, Chicago for me!   

[Dino]

It's 2 degrees up here plus the windshield!
Jeff

Did you mean wind chill?  If so, you've been working on that car for too long.   

[Ghoste]

Typing fingers are frozen.

[nvrbdn]

yep, pretty cold here. snow on the ground. didnt want to put the car to bed quite yet, but now they have salt all over the roads.

[Ghoste]

If its like here, the first light dusting of snow gets absolutely POUNDED with salt.  Apparently its like tune and test for road crews here, they make sure the equipment all works and everyone gets a refresher training course.

[HAZZARDJOHN]

I feel bad for guys in Illinois. I am in the process of finding the right 68-69 Charger to purchase and I would not touch a car from Illinois because of this clown. If I see Illinois in the ad, I just write the car off for fear it could be one of these cars. It might not be right, but since chargers are rare here in the land of lakes if I have to buy one off the internet, I feel it is safer to write off the whole state of Illinois.

[nvrbdn]

if you have the fear of buying a car from these guys you might have to be careful of buying cars from the rest of the states also. being that someone could have bought one, found all the problems with it, and wants to unload it now.  so some tips for that would be:

   if the car has a sledge hammer thrown through the wind shield, it probably came from these guys.

   if the car has fresh paint that is bubbled up every where and screw drivers poked into little rust holes all over, it probably came from these guys.

   if the dash and seats have cracking paint and the floorboards are patched with metal from a dryer, it probably came from these guys.

   if you check between the body panels and they are being held into place with foam sealant, it probably came from these guys.

   any other things to look for?

[Ghoste]

 

[MxRacer855]

if you have the fear of buying a car from these guys you might have to be careful of buying cars from the rest of the states also. being that someone could have bought one, found all the problems with it, and wants to unload it now.  so some tips for that would be:

  if the car has a sledge hammer thrown through the wind shield, it probably came from these guys.

  if the car has fresh paint that is bubbled up every where and screw drivers poked into little rust holes all over, it probably came from these guys.

  if the dash and seats have cracking paint and the floorboards are patched with metal from a dryer, it probably came from these guys.

  if you check between the body panels and they are being held into place with foam sealant, it probably came from these guys.

  any other things to look for?

FOR THE RECORD, I live just south of Chicago and do NOT have a car from these guys! Haha
Lol, again, I'm so glad that I bought my '68 from out of state! I almost didn't know any better last year. WOW, did I luck out! and yeah, unfortunately the salt and snow is out... we have to just grunt out the impatience to drive our beauties for at least another 4 months...  

Jeff

[nvrbdn]

i wasnt posting for you mx, im posting for all us illinois guys with chargers that didnt get our cars from this guy.

  just saying his cars can end up anywhere. not just illinois.

  need to get you down here for mega mopar in april.

[MxRacer855]

Haha, that post wasn't directly in response to you nvrbdn. I got a few messages from members begging me not to buy a car from there (implying that I'm still looking). Nice gesture on everyone's part! I was just making the point final to deter any confusion.

Did you say that you were still looking for a '68/'69?

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

Sorry nvrbdn, that was HAZZARDJOHN that said he was looking for one.

[nvrbdn]

yep he is, you got a line on one?

[HAZZARDJOHN]

I am looking for one. I want a good driver quality car. I have been out of the game for a few years. Here is a synopsis of my situation, built a 400 HP 95 Impala SS, got married, sold the car, got divorced, became bitter, became happy, Got my dream job as a designer at Polaris (designing Off Road vehicles and Motorcycles), rebuilt my savings, moved back into my house I was renting out, was looking to buy another car (another Impala or something cheaper than a charger but cool to me), and decided to quit screwing around and get my dream car.

When I was in the game, you could get a good car for 20-25K, rare ones were 35K plus, but now all I see out there is $5K basket cases and $35K+ cars. Nothing in between. 5 Years ago 25K was unreachable for a toy, now I can afford that but 35K is too much. Seems like these cars increase faster than my income! LOL

My Dream car is a 69 B5 Blue, and I don't care if it is a 318 car with no options I would be happy as a clam. But I would be happy with a good car painted metallic pea from the Vacation movies at the rate I am seeing right now!

I should say I am not totally against buying a car from Illinois, but when the car seems  like a deal and it has Illinois in the Ad I move on. I remember a few years ago they started posting cities other than Lake Villa in their ads when people got wind of their game.


~HJ

[MxRacer855]

I'm only 25 years old, so unfortunately I haven't been around long enough to see the value of these amazing machines rise. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what a '68-'70 B-Body Charger was worth. Kelly Blue Book is absolutely worthless when it comes to everything. Sure I heard what people here and there had to say, buy most of the time, I will admit it's relative to opinion.

What I did was this... I began saving cash. when I got about 20K, I began to hunt seriously. that's where the place in this post came into play. I found them immediately (fortunately pulled away just as fast). I looked on eBay, Craigs List, and a dozen other auto trading/selling websites day after day for a good 5 months. I saw what people were listing their cars for in the condition they were in. Whether they had a base model, an R/T, an SE R/T, 4-speed, Hemi, I saw how long they lasted before they sold. I paid attention to all of them. The people that were asking too high of a price for their vehicle in whatever condition it was in would obviously show that by the persistence of their listings. The cars just would sell. The good ones for a great price obviously went fast. After watching these cars as long as I did, I felt comfortable knowing what I should pay for one. I figured I had to pay at least 30-35K. I was lucky enough to have the buyer that I purchased my '68 from lower their price from 30K to 25K. I certainly don't have a 4-speed Hemi, but overall I'm extremely happy to have gotten the car I did for the price I paid. It looks great and is turn-key.

After all of this rambling, I guess the purpose of it is to just say I agree with you gentlemen. It's incredible how expensive these cars are for just being in decent condition! I will certainly keep an eye out for you HAZZARD... I'm still always checking stores and ads across the country for dream Chargers just to entertain myself. You never know what you'll find! I saw a Hemi go for 52K one time in great shape because the owner needed cash fast! Wow.

Jeff

[hatersaurusrex]

Got my dream job as a designer at Polaris (designing Off Road vehicles and Motorcycles),

~HJ

Right on.  I have a '99 V92C sitting in my garage waiting for me to figure out why it won't start   Love that bike.  If I ever get another, it'll be another Vic.

[HAZZARDJOHN]

If you have 99 Just be careful of two things. Valve springs and transmissions. We build great bikes, but the first two years were plagued with problems. There are updates to fix these things available. I love Vics, but I have been working on the new Indians for so long (Indian and Victory are treated like seperate companies here) that I want a 2014 Indian Chief Vintage. If it wouldn't eat into my Charger fund I would have one now. They are amazing bikes.