Looking to buy a General Lee? STAY AWAY FROM BK AUTO!! It's almost over!!!

[BKautomotive]

Oh, sorry to but in again, but i have been getting more emails pointing out specific posts. I'll shed some light on some of these things that I thought were interesting or of note and then leave the board to the guys it belongs to.

I have put the posted notes first with responses in italic.


Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.


They put a new pan down , as you can see. They left rotted corners in the trunk and filled them in with fiberglass. You can (or COULD) see through to the ground from each corner of my trunk.

-we did major pan, but not trunk extensions. there were holes in the trunk extension, and by holes I mean a few that you could see through. Its in the trunk. If I have to explain this,.... I think the decision making is evident here.

Their "custom subframe connectors" were an absolute joke. They may as well have used exhaust tubing.. The welds on the end were something your 10 year old son could do with a blindfold on.

-thats actually funny. Anyone who knows anything about subframes or mopars knows that these are the best subframes you can buy or build. they were welded by a frame and structureal designer/fabricator that has built things for indy cars. they were correct thick wall tube and correctly welded. Since the major welding was done in this car and it was off the twirler it was made to be a bolt-on connector. Just to be safe, it was welded on by the installer, so I can see it being rough welds where it attatched to the car, but thats because it was already bolted and the welding didnt need to be perfect.

Gee, let's weld a couple of cool looking bars under the hood and then brag about how they'll take the torque of the Hemi.. When in reality they are welded to a thin pc of metal known as the FIREWALL. These things have about as much support as a 2X4 would holding up a bridge..

-They are not welded to the firewal. They are welded to a 1/4" steel plate reinforcement on the wirewall. And yes, they are very strong. It has been proven on the track with high hp and high $ cars. these braces are built by XV who produces $250k base model super-muscle cars. Its ridiculous to say they are anything but perfect.


See all the open holes on the firewall? Well, to rectify this situation, they simply took some Dynamat from the inside and spray painted it black in the engine bay.. Problem solved, RIGHT??

-right. since the buyer said he was installing an a/c and heater system once he got the car, so the firewall needed to be left alone. I put dynamat over the holes so I could test drive the car without choking to death on fumes. And nothing in the engine bay was spray painted.


Let's brag that all of the gauges have been sent out and rebuilt, yet we'll install them and NONE OF THEM will work. Sounds reasonable.

-Auto Instruments rebuilt the gauges, and have done mine and many others for many, many years. Its about $750 worth of work for the basic package and I have never had them not work. they worked when they were installed. I would look at the ratty wiring harness before I considered the gauges.


Let's do a 4 wheel disc conversion but leave all of the drum lines/hardware under the car. Who needs a T in the back, a little duck tape will hold the lines in fine.. The leaks? Eh , there nothing..The ENTIRE brake system had to be taken out.

-all i can say is there was no ducktape used, there was a T installed and there were NO brake leaks when it was here. If there were leaks, it would have been redone. And I don't recall any original brake hardware left in place from the drums. the front, rear and e-brake were all new, front to back.

The front end.. That's a good one. They took it apart, sandblasted items(ball joints, tie rods), painted them and reinstalled them. THEY WERE ALL TRASH. The front end virtually fell apart in our hands. The wheel bearings were toast, and the alignment was WAYYYY off.

-the car was blasted befoer the front end parts were put on and we do not reuse front end parts. everything on the front end was NAPA new. I'll bet he alignment was off, since it was never done. I didnt do an alignment on that car and advised the buyer it needed to be done if he wasnt going to have it done here.

[BKautomotive]

Reply Part 2

Let's look at this picture.. All looks good, right?? WRONG. The steering column had no guts and swiveled around about 6" in a circle. It wasn't bolted to the firewall and had one bolt barely holding it under the dash. The center console has nothing securing it to the floor. The shifter isn't bolted down and there's no wires running to the lights in the console.. In fact, there are no interior lights PERIOD. They buried the dome light when they did the headliner..

-I know it didnt leave that way. the column was bolted down. I cant say that the column was in mint shape, it was whatever came with the car, but it was bolted in. And no, we don't install interior lights in the base-models. And the dome light in a general lee is a bad idea. the heat radiates off the rollbar and makes for a very hot rollbar, and at best melts the padding, at worst burns someone. In almost all cases, it melts the new lens. We havent put domelights in those for 8 years. And unless the car was a console shift, I don't run wiring for the console lights, they are there fr looks only on base-models.


The torque converter.. I was told it was a 3500 stall. It's an stock converter.

-then someone lied to us and sold us the wrong convertor. That is something that should have been addressed and exchanged under warranty. It is supposed to be a 3500 stal convertor, thats what was paid for.



Ok, I'll leave the board now. i don't have a problem with these things being said. In fact, I am happy to discuss the details with anyone. If I am anything, I am honest and upfront. I had several people call me directly to ask about the car and how it was built, I know at least one definately chose not to buy it based on the information I gave him. Not trying to kil the sale, but wasnt trying to lie either. I told him the truth, which I would have done for anyone who asked me. It is what it is. I wouldnt pay $60k for it, because i don't think its built right or worth it as is, but there was alot going into it that was not up to me.

It left with Royal Purple, orange coolant, no leaks, working thermostat, trans seals... I don't know what to say except something is missing in between. You have a specific question about what it had, I always answer the telephone and email.

I think these forums are a good thing. I just want to make sure it is truthfully represented. this is a tool for someone to use when looking to have work done. they hear good things, then bad things, then see for themselves and make an educated decision. I see some un-truths being put out there and want to correct the record where it needs. the car did have problems, but to say its something that we were paid for that we didnt do right is not the case. I think its great that the new owner is going to fix them and make the car what it should be, best of luck.

Things that were major, I fought to get done and some did, some didnt. At the end of the day, I will not spend my money to build someone else a car. And there is no double billing going on here or anything like that, and I can back up every record I have.

Bottom line: the car is what it is. It was never and is not a restored charger. he spent about $70k? Well out of that only around $20k went to us in labor. To build a complete car for that, it was a damn nice car. It did was it was supposed to. It looked good. I drove the thing at 65 MPH with no problems. It had bad points, but some are superficial and some didnt exist when it was here, don't know what to say about that. I could make perfect General Lee replicas for $65k but no one would buy them and there would be another thread on here calling me a jerk for charging too much. I can't make everyone happy, but I do pretty good. To say this is indicative of what we do here is wrong, and I think it is obvious to anyone who takes the time to see what we are about. everyone needs to make a living, but we are here because we love what we do and want to help others enjoy it as well. I gave up a career that paid twice as good to build this business because it is satisfying... except for days like this i suppose.

thanks for the time and space. I can't think of anything else I need to bother posting about, so back to you in the studio. The information is available for anyone who wants to know. I am only a phone call away.

Bk Automotive LLC
www.bkauto.net
www.blackknightchoppers.net
713-996-9655

[hemi68charger]

 

[PocketThunder]

    sickdawg??..?...??   

[moparstuart]

 

[BB1]

Save some for me. 

[SFRT]

I'm going to make nachos. who wants some?

[skip68]

I'll take some please, but go easy on the cheese

[charger01]

   sickdawg??..?...??   

Remember there are 3 sides to every story.....right?

[Drache]

I think it's officially come down to sickdawg's turn to state opinions! 

[jb666]

I'm going to make nachos. who wants some?

Save some for me.. I just got an email from BK.. Apparently they think I've posted something other then facts/truth here (which I haven't) and they've told me they WILL NOT be helping me with the repairs. I expected that, so this is no surprise, I just gave them the excuse they were looking for.. They NEVER PLANNED ON HELPING ME!!  

I'm sorry, but Brian was NOT a wrench turner, so I can promise you he did nothing to this car. Anti-Freeze wasn't drained, he never changed the oil and he most certainly didn't cause everything to leak. Even still, you are defending ANTI-FREEZE?? WHO REALLY CARES? You haven't addressed SAFETY ISSUES. You knowingly shipped this car from your shop WITH YOUR TAGS ON THE CAR knowing it could get someone killed.

Back to the anti-freeze. The waterneck was rotted on the inside and this was the T-Stat.. You tell me this had anti-freeze in it?? I think what was drained out is exactly what the car was shipped with.





And you think that build up was bad? You should see what came out of the radiator/cooling system when it was flushed.

Excellent seal on the fuel neck.. And I love the vent line.. Who needs it.



Do I really need to continue? You get the point..

[jb666]

I think it's officially come down to sickdawg's turn to state opinions! 

I just emailed him a link to the thread again and asked him to come in.

[jb666]

I just went through BK's rebuttal from this afternoon, and I'm not going to go through it line by line, because it's PAST the point of humor.

I AM wondering, though, who painted the backside of the Dynamat?? I peeled this back and it's all painted black in the areas where it's applied (just as it is in the photos while the car's still in your shop). Here's a shot of the painted Dynamat and the awesome wiring harness on the firewall.



And this shot  , I'm wondering if you kept the brush that you applied the rubber roofing with?? You may not be able to see it in this shot, but they had the reverse lights ground out on the gas tank.



Luckily that's all cut out of the car by now..


And last, Mr BK, do you not know how to physically tell the difference between a STOCK stall converter and a 3500 stall converter??

I loved the electric choke that was installed on my Demon.. Way to go jumping the power off my voltage regulator.. That's a great power source.

[charger01]

Argh, I dispise mudded over rear valance corners.....

[skip68]

You know something jb666, I'm sick of you complaining about the car and the shop that did the work.    They only got $20,000 for labor and $25,000 for parts so what do you expect. "just kidding"   I bet the tires are nice, You didn't tell us about those.    I'm sure that the seatbelts are nice too.      Oh crap, now what will you do without BK's help ?   We all know what you are going to do because of their help.     Hang in there brother.         P.S.  Thank's to CB I have a car I can send you parts from.     Chuck.................

[jb666]

You know something jb666, I'm sick of you complaining about the car and the shop that did the work.    They only got $20,000 for labor and $25,000 for parts so what do you expect. "just kidding"   I bet the tires are nice, You didn't tell us about those.    I'm sure that the seatbelts are nice too.      Oh crap, now what will you do without BK's help ?   We all know what you are going to do because of their help.     Hang in there brother.         P.S.  Thank's to CB I have a car I can send you parts from.     Chuck.................

:lol:He'll appreciate that!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure what I'll do without BK's help. Wait.. BK's "help" is what got me into this in the first place 

[ac_knight]

OK, I have to weigh in on this.  I see this guy saying that a $70k job isn't going to get a car restored.  WTF?  I know a guy here in Indiana, of all places, that works at a body shop, albeit not a "restoration shop" and he does excellent work.  How good you ask, well he restored a car in his "body shop", once again not a "restoration shop."  He took that car a Corvette or something like that, it was a Chevy so I didn't care too much, anyway took it to the Nationals, in Pitt. PA. (I think it was PA) and won best of show.  I saw the trophy, saw the plaque.  Just for SaGs I had him look at my car, as a driver to be repaired and to do it at the level of the Corvette.  To paint and all body work, $10k, for a driver "restore", and for a high level job that might have won a best of show in a major even somewhere, $30K.  So where in the hell would that other $40k go, where?  If you have that much overhead in the 4th largest city in the US, move.  My word, I could build two show winners for the price of his one, and have $10k left over.  

[skip68]

OMG.   After seeing those pictures I have to say  (and I can't believe I'm saying this)  that HLPAG does cleaner work.

[charger01]

I thought maybe they had 70 grand in it because they spent 30 grand on a hlpag car then added a 20 thousand dollar hemi drivetrain, and charged 20 grand to put it in....sound about right?

[Go Hogs Go]

Dude.

[69bronzeT5]

Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.

Wow

[charger01]

Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.

Wow

Did he just say the frame rails are not structural to the car?  Always thought they were pretty damned important.

[jb666]

Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.

Wow

Did he just say the frame rails are not structural to the car?  Always thought they were pretty damned important.

You've seen the pictures, do they look SMOOTH to you? 

[69bronzeT5]

Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.

Wow

Did he just say the frame rails are not structural to the car?  Always thought they were pretty damned important.

That's the reason why I DON'T drive my car. Mine are rusty, I want them fixed PROPERLY.

[Old Moparz]

Rotted frame rails covered in fiberglass.. Check out the "patches" and the holes. In person this rail is disgusting.

-There were rust spots in teh rails, almost completely confined to the rear, behind the axle and under the trunk. you can even see in the photos its mostly complete, with holes dotting teh rails. They were blasted to remove exterior rust, glassed over to make them appear smoother and undercoated. the trunk rails are not structural to the car. 99% of the weight and structure supporting i done between the front and rear wheels. this could have been done alot better, but as it has little importance to the track or structure of the car this is an area where money was saved.

Wow

You know, I reread that part of BK's post twice, to see if I misunderstood what he wrote. How can anyone, especially one claiming to know auto restoration, say that the rear frame rails are "not structural parts" of the vehicle?     Aside from knowing the basics of what holds a car together, I've seen many cars with rotted out frame rails that sat low in the back. When you open the trunk, the spring perches are on the underside of the quarter panel tops. Maybe I can remove my frame rails to save some weaight & get better MPG.