(5 years later) Man - I'm so dejected right now I don't know what to do

[440]

Well, there is no way around it. The first shop I went to was $110hr   and some of it would be done by this guy, something else by another guy. So I went down the road to a local fab shop which is a one stop shop, it has a reputation for needing to bring your banker along with you every time you visit. The guy was really cool and they should be able to get everything done, as a bonus they were cheaper at 95hr. It's a good days work if everything goes smoothly.

[Dino]

95/hr in CA?  That's not bad.   Woah, never thought I'd say that!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll work out.   

[440]

I about choked when I heard 110hr... When I left they were around $75hr....   

[440]

Well, the car is off at the shop now. Fingers crossed they can get it sorted in time...

[bakerhillpins]

UGH...  I hope all goes well.      The country is going to hell in a handbag and this BS is just one example. 

[Vainglory, Esq.]

I about choked when I heard 110hr... When I left they were around $75hr....   

Sorry to hear everything is so expensive. Although if you need to buy time, you might "sell" your car for, say, $100 to someone to whom you also pay a nominal rent for a garage spot, and then once everything is sorted "buy" it back and ship it. Of course, you'd need someone you trust.

[440]

The guys at the shop where I sent the car are actually really nice and understand my situation. I was a bit taken back actually. They have always "appeared" on the outside to be a snooty shop that charges top dollar (bring your check book) and if it's not a big dollar car they don't want to know about it.

They ended up being cheaper then Joe Smith from the corner service center, they build some killer rides, and the guy rings me a couple of times a day to update progress like stuff he's ordered or what they've done. My car isn't a big dollar car but it's pretty nice. I hate paying someone to do the work I can do but I don't really have a choice, and they seem to be doing a good job, going to the extra detail of things like putting dielectric grease on the connectors, they removed the resistor wire for the HEI and re-wrapped the harness like original. They worked out the wheel/caliper clearance issues, I had to buy new calipers though and send my new ones back for cores They also drilled out and replaced the booster studs....

They say it should be tested and ready Tue afternoon given there aren't any issues with the front brake lines, its gone smoother than I thought so far which is good. $760 for a fulls day work isn't too bad I guess, I just hope there aren't any hidden charges... Anything over 1K and I'd boo hoo a bit. At least I was fortunate to get it done on such short notice, most shops wont work on and almost finish your car the same day you drop it off.      

I highly recommend them so far....



On the flatbed on the way to the shop at 8:00 this morning

[Fred]

I'm truly glad it's all working out for you mate.  What a relief for you. 

[440]

I'm truly glad it's all working out for you mate.  What a relief for you.  

Thanks Fred, I was stressing out big time. I literally had 5 days to sort it out or stood a good chance of losing a car I've had for 8 years. I really had grave concerns for it, maybe the shop owner saw it in my face. I have no idea what Chevelles go for these days but I'd only get a partial amount back of what I've put into it, especially being a project.

I'm still not happy about handing over roughly 1K but it is what it is.... At least I'll be able to keep it, that's the main thing.

[Bob T]

Good news 440, caught a lucky break just in time

[440]

The car was finished last evening and I was able to collect it today. Thankfully it passed and I got the certificates for it. The bill was a bit of a shock at 19hr's but only charged for 17hr's + parts    What can you do, at least it's resolved and was completed in less than a week.

The DMV was another 2 hour matter this morning but she's all done. She's got new plates and registration sticker now so technically she can be driven on public roads now. Title will be mailed to me and the car should be collected tomorrow.

[Dino]

The car was finished last evening and I was able to collect it today. Thankfully it passed and I got the certificates for it. The bill was a bit of a shock at 19hr's but only charged for 17hr's + parts    What can you do, at least it's resolved and was completed in less than a week.

The DMV was another 2 hour matter this morning but she's all done. She's got new plates and registration sticker now so technically she can be driven on public roads now. Title will be mailed to me and the car should be collected tomorrow.

That is quite the bill but I'm sure it would've hurt you much more to lose the car so I'm glad you got it sorted out.   

[440]

Yeah, I was expecting maybe a $1500 bill but it wasn't meant to be. It needed about $350 in parts. Financially I would have been better off to sell it at the start of the whole ordeal but at least I still have it and can slowly make progress on it from here on out.

The bright side is since they wired the engine bay, checked the wiring, moded the harness to HEI, I can technically start her after 8 years of sitting. Maybe it was kick I needed to continue along.   

[Dino]

Yeah, I was expecting maybe a $1500 bill but it wasn't meant to be. It needed about $350 in parts. Financially I would have been better off to sell it at the start of the whole ordeal but at least I still have it and can slowly make progress on it from here on out.

The bright side is since they wired the engine bay, checked the wiring, moded the harness to HEI, I can technically start her after 8 years of sitting. Maybe it was kick I needed to continue along.   

And that kick as we say is priceless!  There'd be more classics on the road if that kick happened more often.  Forget about what you have in the car and focus on what you can get out of it, a whole lotta fun!  Love those Chevelles and wouldn't mind having one.

[Fred]

A happy ending. 

[440]

It gets even better actually, the gods must be smiling down on me.

Yesterday I happened to pick up these NOS babies pretty cheap and was over the moon. I've been trying to find a set of Vectors ever since I've arrived to ship with my stuff, but had given up. Bummed nonetheless, at least I had the caps so I was still happy, and they are harder to come across than the rims.

At any rate, upon trying to stick a few leftover automotive items into the Chevelle for transport, I pop the trunk and what is staring me right in the face? A set of 4 Vectors    I sort of stood there staring for a minute in disbelief. I must have stuck them in there 4+ years ago and forgot they were there. I tried to take a picture but my camera was dead. I have to take photos of the car tomorrow prior to transport in case of any damages so I'll snap one then.    

[resq302]

There ya have it!  Take care of your baby and your baby will take care of you!

[Fred]

It gets even better actually, the gods must be smiling down on me.

Yesterday I happened to pick up these NOS babies pretty cheap and was over the moon. I've been trying to find a set of Vectors ever since I've arrived to ship with my stuff, but had given up. Bummed nonetheless, at least I had the caps so I was still happy, and they are harder to come across than the rims.

At any rate, upon trying to stick a few leftover automotive items into the Chevelle for transport, I pop the trunk and what is staring me right in the face? A set of 4 Vectors    I sort of stood there staring for a minute in disbelief. I must have stuck them in there 4+ years ago and forgot they were there. I tried to take a picture but my camera was dead. I have to take photos of the car tomorrow prior to transport in case of any damages so I'll snap one then.    

I'd like to find that $1ooo.oo note I stuck away somewhere and forgot about. 

[FLG]

It gets even better actually, the gods must be smiling down on me.

Yesterday I happened to pick up these NOS babies pretty cheap and was over the moon. I've been trying to find a set of Vectors ever since I've arrived to ship with my stuff, but had given up. Bummed nonetheless, at least I had the caps so I was still happy, and they are harder to come across than the rims.

At any rate, upon trying to stick a few leftover automotive items into the Chevelle for transport, I pop the trunk and what is staring me right in the face? A set of 4 Vectors    I sort of stood there staring for a minute in disbelief. I must have stuck them in there 4+ years ago and forgot they were there. I tried to take a picture but my camera was dead. I have to take photos of the car tomorrow prior to transport in case of any damages so I'll snap one then.    

I'd like to find that $1ooo.oo note I stuck away somewhere and forgot about.  

Fred,

Maybe its another Australian thing, but WTF is a 1,ooo.oo note? We use 0's over here in the states, not o's     

BTW do you guys actually drink that Fosters crap? Or is it just marketing making us think so?

[Fred]

It gets even better actually, the gods must be smiling down on me.

Yesterday I happened to pick up these NOS babies pretty cheap and was over the moon. I've been trying to find a set of Vectors ever since I've arrived to ship with my stuff, but had given up. Bummed nonetheless, at least I had the caps so I was still happy, and they are harder to come across than the rims.

At any rate, upon trying to stick a few leftover automotive items into the Chevelle for transport, I pop the trunk and what is staring me right in the face? A set of 4 Vectors    I sort of stood there staring for a minute in disbelief. I must have stuck them in there 4+ years ago and forgot they were there. I tried to take a picture but my camera was dead. I have to take photos of the car tomorrow prior to transport in case of any damages so I'll snap one then.    

I'd like to find that $1ooo.oo note I stuck away somewhere and forgot about.  

Fred,

Maybe its another Australian thing, but WTF is a 1,ooo.oo note? We use 0's over here in the states, not o's      

BTW do you guys actually drink that Fosters crap? Or is it just marketing making us think so?

ha ha!! ............round is round, it's the number in front of the 0's that's important  
And as for that Fosters crap.........we don't actually drink that here..........we just ship it off to you guys! ENJOY  

[440]

This is the surprise I found when I popped the trunk     I'm still shocked I forgot they were there. Unfortunately I still need 1 vector as one of these is a uni-lug  , but I can keep that one as a spare for either the Chevelle or Charger. One Vector is fully restored but I can't figure out why for the life of me I would only restore 1 out of 4.  

[440]

Well, after 5 years from being shipped out here I've finally looked under the hood, and for the first time in 13+ years I've seen lights. I bought it in 04 without engine and trans and nothing else in the engine bay.

I will try to fire it up pretty soon but unfortunately I never planned to move to Australia so I didn't get or care about a few crucial parts that I needed. They are readily available in the US but impossible to find here and shipping really puts a brake on things.

Since we are moving soon I thought I'd get it going so it's easy to move around under its own power, might have to Jerry-rig something from the junk yard just to get it going.

Still, it's pretty exciting considering.... Just gotta squirt some oil in the cylinders and turn it over, find a radiator, radiator hoses, power steering hoses, trans lines and she's ready to fire.

[JR]

What crucial parts do you need? If they're mechanical ones, you should be able to find something suitable from something over there. The Holden/Opel restoration crowd is as massive there as Chevy guys are here, right?

Holden built millions of RWD, small block Chevy powered cars over there, there has to be at least  some interchangeability with the American stuff I would think.

Just curious, what kind of work do you do? How'd you end up in Australia?

[440]

The main thing is a radiator, trans lines, power steering lines and a fuel tank. Most of it can be improvised but I need to make Chevy/Holden contacts. I haven't seen many GM A body cars here, I've rung American car part suppliers here but they only do chassis parts.

PWR has made a few and can make one for around $2,000  

My background is manufacturing but that's dead here so I work a retail job. I got married and thought I'd give it a go in Australia for a few years and been here ever since.

[JR]

Make what for 2k?

A radiator?!?

Or a fuel tank?

If you just need the car functional for a while, I'd fabricate my own hoses and lines out of AN hose, find a close enough radiator from a comparable sized Holden with the outlets on the correct size, and source a used fuel cell for now.

You could always bolt on the correct parts later?