dfreeman616

From The Buffalo News link...

The Matco rep I talked to hasn't ran my credit yet, but that is the next step. I can understand that, they are putting out a fair amount unless you throw the full $250k down at once, after all. I haven't heard back from Snap-On yet, what do they do to help you start? Matco (the only one I've had any real discussion with) has a fairly in depth training and start up program, but that's not financial help, although they do have financing. Like I said, haven't talked with Snap-On, Cornewll, or Mac yet. I've heard too many bad things about the franchise program from other sources now, since they were bought out by Stanley while back. I may take you up on that sometime, got a number I could call? I was thinking about the buying out a retiring distributor, but that requires finding one. Aside from working on my own cars, I have state certs for all areas of auto repair and currently do it for side income. I don't know all the tools, but I certainly know how important the right tool is and how much difference simple things like a ratcheting combo wrench can be, much less some of the custom pullers, sockets, and other tools can be. Thanks for the input so far, I still have a lot more to look into to be satisfied with the decision either way. Today I did get to talk to a Matco distributor who says he wishes he'd started 10 years earlier, so it depends on the situation.

Anyone on here a distributor for them? I've been giving the idea some consideration, and I'm looking for some insider opinions that don't come from the guys trying to sign me up for one. I'd like to know good things, bad things, time commitment involved (realistically), and if you don't mind some idea of the profits and what kind of time it took to start seeing a reasonable income. If you don't want to post it on here, feel free to just shoot me a PM about it. Thanks for any help.

that guy is on another forum i'm on, greatlakes4x4.com. he sells a lot and has a good rep, although i have not dealt with him personally.

be careful doing that, it may violate some laws to do that...i'm not sure, but check before doing it. it'd hate to see you being out more than you already are over this loser.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned them yet, but JCR Off-Road (http://jcroffroad.com/) has a line of Comanche rear bumpers and sliders, and off course the front bumpers from their Cherokee series bolt right no as well. They make an awesome product, I had one of their first sets of Cherokee sliders (one of the prototypes) on my first Jeep. They've been growing quite a bit over the last few years. They also seem to have pretty good prices, and the guys are great to work with. They also have some steering components and some DIY parts.

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

really? you need a hole in your foot? most people avoid that :D

:agree: 89 was a cross-over year for 5-speeds. i've seen both in them.

ford makes some AWD's now, too. i don't know about the focus, but i know the fusion has an AWD option. i don't recall too many problems with those cars back when i worked at a ford dealer in the warranty department, although we didn't have many AWD's period.

with 31's, there's no way that's 5.5" lift. even not knowing the tire size, i was guessing 3-4" lift

Time for a new parts supplier, my friend!!! Friends like this, who needs the problems!! :D CW Actually I was a little hard on the boys from O'Reillys. Usually they are pretty good. The real blame is with the morons who do the drop shipping from Wagner. My local O'Reillys had to order most of the stuff direct from Wagner. The boxes showed up w. the correct part numbers on the outside, but the parts were wrong. Lesson learned: OPEN ALL parts' boxes before leaving the store. :eek: i've had that happen before...or order a hardware kit for the front, which should have 4 rubber caliper slide pin boots and 4 anti-rattle "clips", only to find one of each :nuts: today, i moved a bunch of brush and towed a saturn home to replace the cracked head for a friend.

hi i'm dave i live in grand rapids mi.

anyone see this clip? it involves lions, water buffalo (bison?), and crocodiles.

swapping the seat back and recovering it shouldn't be too hard. the back removes with 2 torx bolts (1 per side) where it pivots forward. it's a pretty good size, i forget if it's T50, T55, or T60.

well when i mentioned i'd been there to one of our customers at work, he said he was getting parts from there when he was in high school, and he's probably in his 60's or 70's...so at least a good 40+ years

i should have mentioned that in the post about the MJ's, but there was a lot there. the place is called joe's auto parts in spring lake, michigan, if anyone else wants to stop by.

:offtopic: but what kind of dogs?

they use to be cheaper, i think, but they are waaay too much for what they are. i'd rather build my own old cruiser. but then, i don't think too many of us will be buying an AEV Brute, either...just one of those 'that'd be nice' things.

anyone else seen these? the current issue of popular mechanics has an article where they took one for a road trip, mostly off-road. http://www.icon4x4.com/

part of that may be due to the kind of people who partake in illegal activities, too. typically, someone who doesn't care about following the laws of the land isn't going to care much about doing things well for someone in authority over them (employer). if weed was legalized, it would free up a lot for the harder, far more destructive drugs out there. there are places that weed is legal, and it's not that bad in those areas. then there's the medical use for marijuana, which may be a large reason it's still illegal. pharmaceuticals probably don't want cheap, more effective drugs to deal with certain chronic and terminal pains (kind of like i was getting at with the alcohol fueled cars). also, the current ban on marijuana also bans other plants related to the one people smoke, but are no good for smoking. they are, however, good for certain textile uses (competition for cotton and synthetics). by the way, i've also known people who have used weed (probably still do) that are good workers. anecdotal evidence only goes so far.

that article has some good points, actually. basically we have a policy of prohibition on drugs much like there was on alcohol 90 years ago. that worked out well, didn't it? al capone wouldn't have been a big deal in chicago if alcohol had been legal at the time. also, much of the drug traffic is for weed, but weed in small amounts isn't any more dangerous than alcohol and has less long term health problems than alcohol or tobacco. that article just kind of skims the issues, but there's also a lot of profit for the US government and businesses for the "War on Drugs." on a similar note, around the time leading up to prohibition of alcohol, henry ford was pushing for alcohol based fuel cars, while j.d. rockefeller of standard oil pushed heavily for oil based fuel (surprise!). both put a lot of money into their viewpoints, and prohibition lasted long enough to kill the alcohol cars of that day. by the way as a disclaimer, i've never used nor do i care to use the drugs that are currently illegal, even if they do become legal.

i think that's about the most accurate statement in that listing

applied my 12" ComancheClub.com decal in the lower left of my rear window, and a Great Lakes 4x4 decal in the right side of the rear window :cheers:

just a reminder, the directions for applying the stickers are here in the old thread: http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1569&p=13540&hilit=sticker+apply#p13540