WOW SCREWED BY MY BUDDY OF 25+ YRS!!! another bad resto story....

[HITMAN 149]

hey wing....
yea you don't wanna mess with her!! i don't wanna mess with her & i carry a gun!!!!! and have a big dog.. well ok she spioled him so he's on her side!!! lmao wooof!!!

elacruze...
NOOOOO SHOT AT THIS POINT!! not from me anyways!!! 

yes at least its home!!!! now back to the drawing board!!!!!! lol
thanks sooo much guys!!!!

[69bronzeT5]

I think we all need to get on a plane and go to Joisey and get that bitch running and driving for summer!

[bull]

What I am saying is that I know how much you want your Charger. We all want Chargers, especially those of us on this website. It's not a cheap hobby either, and eventually you have to pay for it - one way or the other. For people who don't have the skillsets needed to restore a car, I suggest buying one already finished. Thereby you avoid the pitfalls of having to rely on other people (and their generosity or fallibility's).
For those that cannot afford to buy a restored Charger, finding a "Project car" is usually the alternative. And this is what it is too: a project.
For me (and others) it makes sense to approach a project by doing a bit of self analysis before starting into it. Can I restore this car myself? Am I financially able to carry out this project to the end? What can I do for myself?
If the answer is that you cannot do the work, or don't even desire to attempt to learn how to do the job, then maybe buying a "project car" is the wrong thing to do?

Again, this is not directed specifically at you HITMAN 149. It's a bit of advice for others to help them avoid getting screwed by unscrupulous body shop owners.
My  

So you've apparently managed to miss out on all the threads where people bought finished cars and got burned just as badly, sometimes worse, than those who've gone the restoration route. You've heard of Hlpag and BK Auto, no? There are and will be more businesses like that out there. And don't forget all the knowledge of what all was done to the car during the restoration process relies on the word of people you have no history with. Unless the work was done by a renowned shop and well documented you don't if the guy knew his trade or if he was a 13-year-old patching rust with beer cans a duct tape once the paint is on. No matter what route you choose you have to rely on someone's word at some point be it an appraiser, seller, shipper, etc.

My other point sort of mirrors the opinion of jeryst, and that is that many people cannot afford a lump sum payment of $20K-$50K or scheduled payments on such a purchase. I refuse to go into debt over this 68 of mine so it gets done as the money comes in. I worked hard and saved up enough to do the body work in one installment, the paint in another, the engine and trans in another, etc. When I get done it will be paid for while many guys who bought one with a loan or a cash-out home refinance will still be paying for years to come. Those are the guys who will most likely have to sell at a loss when times get tough.

[bobs66440]

Hey, look at it this way...you were planning on going to get it anyway. At least you didn't have to pay the tow bill.  What a jerky way to end it though. Man, I've heard some stories before but...

[stripedelete]

he also said in the note that he would try & make some time at night & weekends... but he just can't work on my car at the shop anymore...

Ok, I see the backdoor open there.
Disclaimer; I don't know either of you. Here's my opinion, feel free to disregard it.

25 years is a long time. Ask yourself, 'how much fun have I had with this guy, and what has it cost over all those years?'
Showing some willingness to work on the car, even outside the shop, is an out for both of you. It's an open door to reconciliation.
Does he own the shop? Is he losing business, marginal profits? Hard times, very stressful. Maybe not personal at all.

Pardon my saying so, but New Jersey guys don't have a reputation for man-hugs and making up, so one of you will have to be the first to get calm and salvage the friendship, if there really ever was one.
If you spend a lot of time with the guy, and his family, sounds like a friendship. If he's just a guy who's been in the same places at the same times without any real life-sharing, a toss may be in order.
One of the things I've learned while studying people and relationships is that friends come at a price. What's a friend? A guy who will miss work and drive 9 hours to help you get your broke shit home? A guy who'll post bail and front the money for a lawyer? Yeah...that costs him though, which we lose sight of because we'd do it for him without a thought too.
The money's spent; but so are the years, and the car can still be finished.

There could have been an opportunity to get the car out of jail and get some markers for smaller jobs in the future on other stuff which would have left both parties monetarily "whole" over time.   

But, once you mix the estrogen in ............. It's done.

[mikepmcs]

John
Sorry for your troubles. Pretty much the only friends I have are here on this site for a lot of the same reasons I'm reading in this thread.
It sucks but the car is home.

It looks badass by the way! Love those wheels on it! 

[HITMAN 149]

thanks cody!!!! hahaha

and yes ive given him tons of other work.... whether it was my other car/truck or bike... or other peoples!!!

welllll im trying to stay positive & move forward!!!!!!!!!!


OHHHH AND ON ANOTHER NOTE... NICE!!!   my GF used the whole "hey who's that guy in the front of the driveway lookin towards your charger??? trick... to get me outta bed so i could go get bagels!!!! and of course the dopey dog was in on it too cause he was barking up a storm, like when there is some one outside the house!!!!!!!!! wooof wooof!!!!
nice... i was had!!!!!!  lmao

[HITMAN 149]

yea thanks mike!!! 
it's a driveway ornament right now!!! lmao

[b5blue]

Get ready for all the fools wanting to bang on your door asking if you will sell it.......for 600.00! (Do yourself a favor and put an alarm on it and a big "NOT FOR SALE" sign in it.) I know your pain on a smaller level, I have been screwed by EX "friends" too.

[resq302]

welllll im trying to stay positive & move forward!!!!!!!!!!
 

OHHHH AND ON ANOTHER NOTE... NICE!!!   my GF used the whole "hey who's that guy in the front of the driveway lookin towards your charger??? trick... to get me outta bed so i could go get bagels!!!! and of course the dopey dog was in on it too cause he was barking up a storm, like when there is some one outside the house!!!!!!!!! wooof wooof!!!!
nice... i was had!!!!!!  lmao

Staying positive is always a good thing.  Now as for "man's best friend"..... as you've seen.... they can be bought or paid off!     Time to look for a new dog!   

[Cooter]

Just remember for the ones that connot/will not restore their own cars for whatever reason...As long as a business is doing resto work for MONEY, the 5 years or so WILL NEVER BE for the love of the car to them, as it is to you..How many have spent countless time in the shop working on their Charger, only to reallize in the end that they haden't reallized how many hours were actually in it?

When it's a shop, OR A FRIEND doing the work FOR YOU, you can bet yo' ass he's gonna know EXACTLY how many hours he's put into it and that he just might have bitten off more than he can chew at that point...The road to hell is paved with good intentions...While the heart is in the right place when the agreement is made, willing these cars into reallity is harder than just going down to the bank and taking out a loan..Yes, taking the loan out is hard enough, but it's about an hour and it's all over... While the Charger is gonna be a continuous battle for 3-5 years, maybe more...Some people are "Great out the gate" when it comes to restoration, and some are great on the long haul...You have to reallize that while all your buddies are out cruising their $20K,$30K,$40K,$50K, cars they signed the loan papers on, you on the other hand will be staring at about 3-5 years work..I myself, have NO PROBLEM knowing that I'm not looking at a $850/month car payment on a 40 Y/O car when I'm on the raod with whatever I'm redoing...Too many people today have a disease they don't know how they got it, don't know how to get rid of it, don't care to get rid of it either...This disease causes HUGE payment books, Second mortgages to be taken out, etc...

The name of this dibilitating disease??? It's known as "Instant gratification" Disease..It afflics more and more Mopar hobbiest every day..One minute they are fine with taking their time on a 5 year resto, doing most of it themselves to save $$, and the next they have given up and taken out a $35K loan...

[SFRT]

this is the reason I did my resto/rebuild whatever im my own weird way, which everyone thought I was crazy to do, but I got my car done really well in a relatively short time.  total 'downtime' was 13 months over a 30 month period. My approach was to do as much as I could myself and the rest was farme dout to a variety of people I knew in the various trades that I could trust with the car pretty much under my supervision almost every single day.

theres pictures and threads of my build in every stage on this site. fairly complete documentation, check it out..thats what your getting in to. it is not easy.

I did all the research and parts acquisition as well and NO part of the project was started until I had all the parts done and sorted and on hand. that right there saves a lot of time and hassle. I am sure I was an annoying asshole for alot of the build that I didnt do, constantly hovering, but I never argued the prices and helped as much as I could  and in the end everyones happy and proud of their work on the car. during the process I improved or learned many skills and next time around will be able to do even more. maybe all of it.

In short, doing a car correctly within a non aggravating span of time is going to cost a lot of personal  time and a lot of money. Your going to have to re-arrange your life for a while, and make sure your wife, family and job can handle the stress. its a major deal. but the end result I think is worth it. but I believe preparation is KEY, I probably spent more time BEFORE I got the car getting ready for the project..SAVING UP CASH...gathering tools, a space, contacts, parts etc than I spent on the time it took to fix up the car. thousands of hours.

also..it is completely impossible, unless your a wizard and got a free car, to do it for an 'even' amount of money. no matter how you do it, you will lose your ass. what you are really buying is the experience and the fantasy and the bragging rights when it is done. what is that worth to you? it better be more than what you can flip the car for.

I wish it was different, but its not.

[HITMAN 149]

pretty much dead on sfrt!!! 

wellll a good buddy (a REAL FRIEND!!!) came over today all the way from queens ny (@2hr ride home in traffic!! lol) with his pops to cheer me up & look over the car.... he said not to bad to get her running like a champ!!!!
so it made my day!!! thanks big ed!!! 

[Yeahmate]

pretty much dead on sfrt!!! 

wellll a good buddy (a REAL FRIEND!!!) came over today all the way from queens ny (@2hr ride home in traffic!! lol) with his pops to cheer me up & look over the car.... he said not to bad to get her running like a champ!!!!
so it made my day!!! thanks big ed!!! 

Sorry to hear of your misfortunes dude, it's looks better in your driveway anyway.
Close that chapter out in your big book of life and start a new chapter.
Nothing is for ever, move on, keep smiling. 

[HITMAN 149]

thanks trev.....
i have a great support staff on my side!! you guys!! and my GF!!! ohh and the dopey dog!!! woof lol
my buddy's 73 year old master mechanic dad workin my carb!!!! GOOO POPS!!!! he's like a maestro leading a philharmonic orchestra!!!! ahhhh the sweeet sounds of a 440 BB!!!!!!! lol

[General_01]

Nothing cheers me up more than hearing my car fire up. Hope it made you feel the same way. Good friends you got there. 

[HITMAN 149]

hey general...
yea it sounded sweeeet!! to bad my drive shaft is in my trunk right now!!! lmao yea a ride wouldv'e defff been a bigggger cheer up!!! lol
@ 2 yrs ago i bought pop's old 67 caddy convert off of them, and we've been friends ever since!! great family!!!! 

[41husk]

Glad to see you got your car out, things could have been much worse.

[ChgrSteve67]

I would have had that drive line in there in less than 10 minutes and been terrorizing the neighborhood.
Takes my fat ass about 5 or 6 minutes to jack up the car these days.

Glad to see you have help!

[HITMAN 149]

ohhhhh trust me steve..... if i had the rest of my friggggggin ujoint for my driveshaft... there wouldve been black stripes alllll over my street & town!! however... they are at the shop still.... hmmmm how convenient my "taker" left them and a bunch of stuff out when he so cowardley dropped my car off at my house when i wasn't home on fri!!!! GRRRRRRRRR
the shop will get a call & a list of stuff first thing mon morn!!!! 

and he doesn't wanna EFFFFF with me too bad.... cause i could EFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF with him worse!!! i've known him for 25 yrs.... everyone's got some skeltons in their closet!!!! muahahahahaha

[resq302]

ohhhhh trust me steve..... if i had the rest of my friggggggin ujoint for my driveshaft... there wouldve been black stripes alllll over my street & town!! however... they are at the shop still.... hmmmm how convenient my "taker" left them and a bunch of stuff out when he so cowardley dropped my car off at my house when i wasn't home on fri!!!! GRRRRRRRRR
the shop will get a call & a list of stuff first thing mon morn!!!! 

and he doesn't wanna EFFFFF with me too bad.... cause i could EFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF with him worse!!! i've known him for 25 yrs.... everyone's got some skeltons in their closet!!!! muahahahahaha

Or tickets that haven't been written yet!   

[HITMAN 149]

  brian

[b5blue]

Hitman....when you do get it back on the road a few stripes of rubber where ex-buddy lives may inspire him to "man up" a little! 

[HITMAN 149]

muahahahahaha 

[ChgrSteve67]

I think I missed it but what was the list of he still had left to complete before returning your car to you?