Restoration - Part Deux

[87MJTIM]

I have returned to get my MJ restored - for a 2nd time.  The first shop was highly recommended.  However, it was a collision shop.  It didn't do restorations.  I could write a lengthy description of my experience, but not now.

 

Less than one year after it was "finished" it had to go back to fix rust that wasn't properly addressed.

 

A few years later, the bondo they used around the rear wheel well was cracking.

 

I started my search for a restoration repair shop that would do it properly.  I think (and hope) I found it.

 

I dropped it off in early December and the owner started work right away.  I will upload pictures of what he finds and the repairs he does.

 

These are the first round: the gas tank skid plate, the floor pans (something the other shop was supposed to have addressed), and other misc. pictures.

 

[87MJTIM]

Floor:

 

 

[87MJTIM]

Bed Frame:

 

(That is an original GPW in the background of the last picture.)

 

[Pete M]

a restoration shop is definitely a step up for a regular collision shop.  

[87MJTIM]

More pictures:

 

 

[87MJTIM]

interior/floor:

 

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Looking good! I did this same process this summer!

[89 MJ]

How's progress, Tim?

[87MJTIM]

I hope to have a final update very soon.  I will have a LONG dissertation about the process.

[89 MJ]

[87MJTIM]

Restoration Part Deux – Part 1.

 

I want to follow up and give a conclusion to the MJ restoration that started more than two years ago.  Let me start from the beginning.

 

In 2012, I took the MJ to a body shop (BS) to get the rust repaired.  The shop was recommended by the owner of a local auto repair shop.  He said that the BS did really good work.  I took it to that BS for them to look at my truck.  They said they could do the work, and it should only take a few months.  After eight months, they were finished.  (Lots of drama that I won’t go into.)  The work done was not of the quality I hoped for.  They replaced the floors and the rear wheel arches.  The floor was a hack job, and the arches were filled with bondo.  The flares were cut up and glued to the bedside.  After a few years, the bondo was cracking. 

 

This started my journey to find a shop that would do a proper restoration.  I searched for shops that advertised restorations.  I tried contacting them to see if they would take on my project.  Just about all said no.  While driving one day, I passed by a shop with restoration in its name.  I searched for the shop on the internet and sent an inquiry about taking on my project.  I got a reply that he would like to look at it.  I met the owner and showed him what I wanted.  He showed me his shop and what he could do.  One of the vehicles he was working on was a ’43 Ford GPW.  You can see it in the pictures I posted previously.

 

He was a young guy – late 20s, early 30s.  I’ll call him “P”.  He seemed really hungry for the work.  We arranged for me to drop it off in late November 2022.  It started out well.  P would send pictures of the work he had done along with a progress invoice.  I got progress updates for the first three months.  That was about the last time I posted on the work, February 2023.

 

There are events that occur that make you question how things are progressing.  The first one for me was when P sent a progress invoice with the request that I pay soon so “he could make payroll this week.”  That is what you would call a Clue.

 

(Some background about me.  I am CPA with almost forty years of experience working with business for accounting and tax needs.  I have seen many businesses fail.  One common reason for failure is not making payroll and not paying Uncle Sam what is due.  P was on that path.)

 

Not long after the last invoice, I got a call from P.  He says he is moving his shop to another location.  He will be partnering with another shop owner.  He assured me that my truck will be taken care of and work will continue at the new location. 

 

A few weeks go by without hearing from P.  (Keep in mind that my work schedule keeps me very busy from January through April 15.  I couldn’t do much to follow up with P.)  I finally got a call.  He tells me that he is hiring a lawyer and says that the guy he “partnered” with ripped him off.  This was mid-March.  Not a good time for me.  P says he is opening his own shop again in a much farther location than his first shop. He wanted to know if I would transfer my truck to his new location.  I said don’t do anything until I can speak to the other shop owner and see the condition of my MJ.

 

After April 15, I reached out to the shop with my MJ.  I told them who I was and that my MJ was in their shop.  They were very surprised to hear from me.  They had no idea who owned that truck!!!

 

My wife and I went to the new shop.  A large, open area garage with ten bays for vehicle and a professional paint booth.  The owner (“J”) showed us around and told us about himself, his experience, and his business.  He is someone that knows about making payroll.  He showed some of the vehicles he worked on.  Some were restorations and others were resto-mods.

 

J also filled us in on his “partnering” with P.  P was in way over his head with running and operating a business.  In addition to the payroll issue, he was several months behind on the rent for his shop.  J offered to pay all of P’s expenses in exchange for P coming to work for J.  J bought all of P equipment and tools and all 12 project vehicles P was working on.  (Twelve projects for one guy and one employee is too much, in my opinion.)

 

J told us that if we wanted, we could have the MJ shipped to P’s new shop.  We decided to leave it with J.  This was May 2023.

 

End part 1.  Intermission.

[89 MJ]

That sounds like a headache. Hard to find a good body shop anymore.