A question about Galen V. Govier

[myrtle]

Please,do not take this the wrong way, nor am I looking for beef with anyone.
BUT
What does he offer to our community that Is so valuable? I know he decodes vehicles fender tags, and Built sheets, and enters cars into the "CHRYSLER REGISTRY".
Now unless im totally missing somthing big here, I have done all that with my car already. I have decoded the fender tag completly, I know where the car was built, when it was sold, etc.
I got all this information from the internet, some of the codes were hard as hell to figure out, but I did. I also foud the necessary requirements needed to mail to the chrysler registry in order for it to be submitted.
Does he have special documents,or access to Dodge records or somthing?

again I applogize if this question stinks of ignorance, thats not my intention. I just dont understand why people pay money for a fender tag decome, build sheet tear down etc,.. All stuff that is at our finger tips. If there is more to his services then plese fill me in. Im a die hard Mopar fan, and will give credit where its due. I would just like a better understanding of what he has to offer to us..

Now as far as Appraisals go, yeah I kinda understand. Its nice to have one of our own give us a $$ figure, but every insurance company i talked to say that they have their own appraisers,...

If he offers more than what I have listed, Id love to send him some $$ and find out everything I can about my car. I love my Charger with all my heart, and want every spec of info on it.

Good fellowships please

Ramiro

[deputycrawford]

I have met him twice. He is an alright guy. I believe he bought the actual records from Chrysler themselves. He has all the build numbers and production documents for most of the old Chrysler's. He has also testified in court against some of the fraudulent "Hemi" cars that are trying to be passed around out here. He does his best to keep the Chrysler community in line.

[bull]

Here's the long version: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,8080.0.html

I'm not defending him, praising him or knocking him, I'm really kind of neutral on the subject regarding him as a person, but when you say "All stuff that is at our finger tips" it's all there largely because of the vast amounts of footwork done by Galen. He's not without his flaws but he's probably the main reason you find this info on the internet now. Someone else would have done it eventually but he did it first and today when he decodes a Mopar his name provides an air of authenticity to serious collectors.

[6pkrunner]

When multimillion dollar cars change hands, and you are only into a Mopar as an investment, then its nice to have someone to sue if your investment is a fraud.
Al lot, not all, the high end cars are investment for guys who have as much interest i these cars as cotton candy. The learned of the word Mopar when the cars became the top of the collector heap years ago. They never swung wrenches on the cars, nor know a Sure Grip from a sure thing. So to cover off your ignorance and hedge your bets, get a guy who does know the cars and is willing to put his name on the line. That way if it all goes south - you're covered.
Sounds great in theory huh? I am not out to neither praise nor tear down as no car I own will be in that rarified atmosphere. There have been some rumblings over missed cars, bogus certified as gospel and such, but you even get gossip in church groups, so there will always be contraversy.
Sort of like havnig DaVinci's sister verifying the Mona Lisa. Sure she's close to the manufacturer, but how close?

[charge-it]

Who`s Gaylen Grover???

[Spike]

http://www.gvgovier.com/

[no318]

Although, much of the info. about fender tags and such is available to be found on the internet, in books, magazines, etc, some people don't know where to look or would rather not spend the time looking.  It is like hiring someone to rebuild an engine, some people can do it themselves, some people THINK they can do it themselves, and some people would rather pay the professional to do it for them. 

[resq302]

Ive talked to Galen at a couple of shows and even helped him measure the vinyl top seams on MoparJohn's sunroof car last year.  I did ask him a couple of questions pertaining to my 69 charger as it seems that my car never had the wiring tab holders tack welded to my firewall.  The indicators are there where they should be but the tabs were never installed as there is no weld marks or cut off marks.  I inquired with Galen about this at the Englishtown show this year and he said that he has never seen another one like that so far but it was probably one of those Monday morning mistakes.

My second question to him (that he was not aware of) was about the trunk tail light cover having two different sizes.  He was not aware that there was different sizes for the tail light housings or covers.  So he took a digital photo of my cover and moved along.  He did ask me if mine was a repro and I told him that I did not think so as the only repros being made currently were the narrow depth ones and mine was the deep version.  The funny thing is I saw at least 3 other 69 Chargers at the Englishtown show that had the deep version.

Later that day, Galen came back and was checking out my K frame on my car and MoparJohns car.  He wanted to check and see if our cars had a 70 style K-frame with provisions for the 70 style sway bar or not as our cars were built 3 days apart from each other and both were built in early May of 1969.  Both of our cars did and both are original to our car that we are aware of.

Over all, after talking to Galen at different events over the years, he seems like he is a good guy.  A bit distracted and rushed at times, but seems to have a wealth of information.  Personally, I do not have what I consider to be a hi value car as it is just a factory 383 4 bbl 4 speed console car with the tic toc tach and power disc brakes.

Again, it has been proven that Mopar did some unusual things for unusual circumstances and without proper proof or documentation, we will never know these cars ever existed.  Do I disagree with some of the things he does?  Yes, but I do not bash him.  Do I think he offers a wealth of information to the hobby?  Absolutely!  Is it done in a timely manner that a business should do it in?  Absolutely NOT unless it is stated that it might take at least a certain amount of time.

But again, thats just my opinion.

[Brock Samson]

Well now we have the internet, but it wasn't allways so,..
pre-internet i think his knowlage was alot more valuable then it is with MOPAR specific sites such as we have today.

in '84 when I started, a couple books and magazine subscriptions were the source of all my info and sometimes incomplete or just plain wrong...

for example I really wanted a six-pack motor for my baby and in a magazine i read where a 440 six-pack could be differentiated from a 440 Magnum by the stamping "HP2", well i didnt find out till a few years ago and on this site that that's not true...
  That is but one example...
dave

[6670charger]

What Galen brings to the table is a thing called "legitimacy."  It's true that you can find most any of the information he can provide in other sources.  Look at it from the perspective of the average guy.

If the average guy has a health problem, he has two basic options:  One, is to do all kinds of research on the issue.  He'll spend tons of time reading, and maybe talking to a few people with a similar problem.   The result is that he has a wealth of knowledge about the problem, can probably talk about it somewhat intelligently, but, in the end, still doesn't know exactly what to believe.

Two; he goes to a doctor.  The doctor has established himself via schooling and years of practice.  The Doc has in most cases seen this problem many times, for several years, and usually knows what he/she is dealing with and talking about.  The feedback the doctor gives is more often believed  by the patient than not.  The perception is that doc knows what he's talking about.  Doc has "legitimacy."

Galen has spent years working in this field, and has established himself as an authority on Mopar's.  He has written articles which have been published, and has authenticated hundreds of cars.  He has probably saved more people money by his guidance than any single person in this hobby.  True, he does charge for his services, and his fees aren't necessarily cheap.  Every once in a while he makes a legitimate mistake. But, more often than not, he's correct and gives sound advice and feedback; just like the physician.

[Chris G.]

Personally, I do not have what I consider to be a hi value car as it is just a factory 383 4 bbl 4 speed console car

Brian, you are completely WRONG!!! Your car is definitely a nicely sought after car. Not everyone needs an R/T to be cool or accepted. If the gods ever look down on me and help me, my next Charger will be a 383 4spd. I'm sure your car could fetch some nice coin. 

And your summation of Galen is pretty good. He does have a busy schedule and I think he wants to just blow through the showfield telling people what they want to hear. I mean can you imagine being him for a day in Carlisle? The questions must never end.

One thing I have never been clear of, is that if he does "certify" a Hemi car (or whatever), does he hold any liability if the cars is revealed as a fake at a later time? I have heard he has been fooled before. Does that mean the guy spending 200K on a car Galen says is legit can go after Galen if the car is later revealed as fake or rebody? I have never known how his service works and what his guarantee is.

[dkn1997]

I was in the boat when I first bought my car over 10 years ago, there was not much intenet going on with the hobby.  I had him decode my tag and reproduce it for me, the original was trashed.  slow service, but got what I paid for...

I think he realy comes into play with the huge money cars, though

[bull]

Personally, I do not have what I consider to be a hi value car as it is just a factory 383 4 bbl 4 speed console car

Brian, you are completely WRONG!!! Your car is definitely a nicely sought after car. Not everyone needs an R/T to be cool or accepted. If the gods ever look down on me and help me, my next Charger will be a 383 4spd. I'm sure your car could fetch some nice coin. 

And not just because I own one. R/Ts are definitely more desirable but any 383 four speed 2nd gen is going to be the next best (and most valuable) thing.

[69CoronetRT]

MCG described Galen as sort of a 'head librarian' for Mopar documentation. Can you image the data base of info, documents and pictures he's amassed over the years and the number of cars he's looked at?

How many of us rely on the "The White Books" that he complied, wrote and published or asked for information provided by the Options and Accessories reports? (How many.....??)

Is there a 'downside' to working with GG? Yes, on some things, but on whole, look at the benefit he's provided. I think the scales tip toward the good. For better or worse, his "blessing" on a car means something.

If you are unhappy with your encounters with him, establish your own service, compile the data yourself and try and duplicate what he has done. He makes his living working with old Mopars. How cool is that?

[Lowprofile]

I've always heard good things about Galen. He put a lot of hard work into his research and has created quite a nice business for himself. My hat is off to him.

[resq302]

Chris G and Bull,

thank you for the reassurance but I still think that my car is "just a nice, clean, correct car" and nothing more than a 69 Charger that came with a factory 383 4 bbl, 4 speed w/ console, tic toc tach, and power disc brakes.  I would have been happy to find the build sheet in the car thought but no such luck.  At least I still have my VIN and fender tag.  The only thing that I could wish for that my car could have had is a hole in the roof. 

MoparJohn.... my offer still stands...... I'll gladly trade you my car for yours any day!

[41husk]

I'm sure someone can put a hole in your roof.  How big would you like

[Brock Samson]

  this ougghta keep ya' busy for a while.. 

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,8080.msg96906.html#msg96906

[6670charger]

Totally agree.  The people making all the accusations have a reason for doing so.  Galen is only human, and as such, is like the rest of us:  Not perfect.  I'm sure there may be a handful of people out there who have a legitimate complaint about something Galen has done. 

By contrast, the amount of good Galen has done, and the wealth of knowledge and resources he has amassed and also published far outweigh any mistakes he may have made.  Bear in mind, some of his so-called "mistakes" were actually intentionally placed or made for the purpose of rooting out the con artists who would pass themselves off experts.  Many of them have been exposed for what they are due to Galen's "mistakes."

Any time someone attains the status that Galen has in any given area, someone is bound to disagree or start throwing stones.  Usually it's out of jealousy or inadequacy.   Consider the source when you hear them spout off about people.

[Beep Beep Dave]

Another thing to consider about decoding fender tags is...do you know if its an original or a repop. I would think Galen would have a good handle on this.

I am sure he and pretty much anyone else can be fooled.

Dave

[FastbackJon]

The build records from 1968 on up a few years were destroyed in a fire. So if you have no fender tag or if you lost yours and you have this year of Mopar you have no way to tell what it originally was. Unless Galen took a picture of it at a car show or a previous owner registered the car with the Chrysler Registry. Then he could hook you up with a new fender tag. Seems helpful to me. It is all about gathering as much info as you can about these cars and putting it all together.