Technical Mild rant: anyone else finding it hard?

I've got a good body shop to do most of my work. I use Street Rod Glass for my glass, My Tin bender is slowing down as he's almost 70, my upholstery guy of almost 35 years retired and these young upholsters all think they're Sid Chavers by their prices which has nothing to do with quality and time, the local machine shop that's made the parts for my T5 kits for over 20 years told me the other day to call ahead as he bought a motor home and he and his wife are starting to travel. My local auto parts store has kept a list of all the parts I use in my business so that's a bright spot. Maybe the fact that I'm almost 74 is telling me something?

 

Absolutely nothing new and nothing specific to vintage cars or their services.
First of all, I saw all this already over four decades ago and became convinced that at least 9 out of 10 individuals or business' engaged in whatever service(?) they supposedly provide, shouldn't, but fortunately for them, at least 9 out of 10 individuals or business' requesting/paying for those services(?) don't know the difference and/or don't care.
Secondly, above ball-park estimate applies to just about everything in life, not just (old) car related stuff and I apologize for stating the obvious, but is clearly evident even with individuals and business' here.

Can't you see the rather moronic contradictions in your above statements ?
This is exactly why I always cringe when I hear or read people ordering all their (mostly Chinese) "stuff" from online megasuppliers (i.e. CockAuto, Summit, etc...) or their cheap-choice chain-stores (i.e. Walmart, Pep Boys, McDonalds, etc...). These individuals are the ones shooting themselves in the foot, but with their short-sighted aim, manage to take out any and all small, independent, local "mom-and-pop" operations some of us go out our way to support, even if it costs more and might takes a day or few longer.
These battles were lost decades ago and no amount of imposed tariffs is going to change that.

 

For the next time check out Broadway Glass in Lumberton n.j. , and Al's custom interiors in Mt. Holly is a great interior shop that will do full jobs to repairs . Broadway cut the glass [all flat] for my 31'.

 

I quit relying on dealerships for parts on cars 10 years old over 30 years ago, unless it's a Mercedes.

 

They screwed up my vent glass... wasn't even close. They sent me another set... wrong again. They never asked for the old glass back. They gave me a hassle wanting someone to be home when set #2 & 3 were delivered. Finally I just had them leave it on the steps.

 

A while back I insuggested a thread or post or something where members could post severices they knew of, so we could all benefit from their knowledge.

Here chopolds needed a wing glass and didn’t know where to go! Bobss396 knew where to get the glass.... even for a good price.

Maybe we could start a list of services we know about , to benefit all members.

Again I’m aware of the vendors site, but that has to be your business, I think. This list could be from any member that knows of the services provided.
Listing wouldn’t be endorsing them, just informing of their existence. You would have to judge their merits or lack of merits on your own.

Just thought it would help members, since services are getting harder to find .


Bones

 

I had my exhaust done by a local guy, I think he rushed it as I wanted it back (1st day on the road...) the same day. He came VERY highly recommended but did a shit job on my car. I've had nothing but trouble with it, I should go back with it. Maybe I'll wait until I put headers on the car. But good places are hard to find even when someone says so and so is a good guy or runs a good shop.

 

62rebel, another good point you bring up. GM initiated a R&R program for some electronic devices, mainly HVAC controls and ECM's a few years ago. Dealer removes part, ships it, about a two week turnaround time and it's back IF it is rebuildable. If not, off to a salvage yard hunting one down. Mainly for low request parts. Not a cheap date either. If I remember correctly physical damage or water intrusion makes them not rebuildable and it must have the original part label on it for identification.

 

The shops are out there. You more than likely won`t find them on the internet. And the guys who advertise on Facebook are questionable, why would you advertise if you are good at a trade. You should have more work to do than you can handle. Like I tell people, if they can get your car in for a complete(whatever) in 2 months, are they any good. Little jobs, I can see but not completes.

 

A few years ago I needed a coupe of Ford 8” axle bearings changed, nobody had a press anymore or didn’t do that kind of work anymore. Luckily my bro in law works in a small shop for a buy here pay here car dealer and was able to do it for me. All the shops are geared toward the fwd stuff, and the machine shops closed up because nobody was building engines anymore, they bought crate motors or low mileage wrecks and swapped them out. BIL changes two or three a week in the repo’s, folks buy them, run them into the ground and let them go back. BIL fixes them, then they’re resold, sometimes 3-4 times. They keep LKQ busy bringing parts.

 

I was quite surprised last month. Just out of curiosity, not really believing they would have anything, I checked out Autozone for brake shoes for my 48 Ford coupe. They actually had a rear set in stock on the shelf! I had to order the front shoes, but I couldn't believe they had anything for a 70 year old car in stock.

 

Word of mouth gets a little harder as you age....like a lot of my car buddies have moved on to the grave...not everyone does the Google that...you look something up and hope it's a good deal....hope the OP find's a little help but some minor stuff is getting lost to the TV show guys....

 

Look, some of this is our own faults, how many posts on here complain of doing business with a shop online? Maybe the reason your local guy closed up is cause you don't go there, you get the delivery service to bring it to you, I have that argument continuously here, lets use the small electronics store here. When folks want a watch battery changed, off to the guy they go....but buy a computer or tv from him? Noooooo, too expensive, (maybe $50 more than the big box store online), so it comes on the truck, and little electronic store guy can't pay his staff or rent, and dries up, gone.
Support your local guy, he ponied up the investment to start, faces the challenges of staying alive, provides jobs, but only if you do business there. Do you have a subscription to your local paper? I do, costs $30 per year, less than one lunch out, she employs herself and one other, good value for 30 bucks.
You would have local shops capable if they were supported, so....find one and stick with them, they need you. Rant over.....

 

All good up here in Northern California, too.

 

I try to support our local parts houses and not order everything online, but I couldn't even get a full gasket set for a 318 today at NAPA. Couldn't believe it. The 'old stuff' is getting harder and harder to find locally.

 

Another aspect of the whole mess is most dealers or independent shops don't repair anything today. They diagnose, a transmission or some other part, order an exchange unit and install it. I am now retired from a long career in auto repair. I have a '68 El Camino that has been in the family since day one. I converted it to power steering . Years ago and recently the steering gear started leaking. So, I head over to the local parts house to get a gear reseal kit. I walk in and am greeted by a young woman parts counter person. I asked for a 605 Saginaw power steering gear reseal kit. She looke it up and surprise the showed one on the shelf. Ìt took her at least 20 minutes to find it. She came back with the manager in tow. The duo proceeded to caution me that they recommended me to not try to do this myself. This was a complicated job that only specialist are able to do . I replied that when I worked as a brake and front end mechanic, I regularly 4 or 5 a week. It was all part of the job. They were appalled that a regular mechanic did things like that. I guess I am from the dark ages when if you worked in the shop, you were expected to do everything. At 70 I now find out that I am a specialist because I can do work in the shop that now has to be shipped out to be exchanged by the specialist where the power steering Gods live. Real capable mechanics are few and far between. Now we have Technicians that know how to open the box, remove the part,and put the old part in the box so the specialist in the far off ivory tower can perform his magic on it. Things are sad in all of the business today. Incidentally, it took me all of 2 hours to pull, rebuild and reinstall the gear which is now dry and doing just what it was designed to do. I must go, mount Olympus just called. My last 15 years of my career, I taught auto mechanics to inmates at the state prison here. The high schools no longer offer that training. Just here in California we run short by 5000 mechanics coming into the field. I'very ranted too long, forgive me. I am suddenly the specialist I never knew.

 

That's very true,
But sometimes the price difference is incredibly drastic.
This example just happened. Needed a OT wheel bearing, call my guy and get a quote of 95 for the cheap house brand and 135 each for Moog but he's A couple days out getting them. Amazon has them $55 a pair and 2 days out free shipping That's an incredibly drastic difference.
He tells me he's making 15.00 on the house brand, I tell him order the crap from Amazon, sell it to me for 100 a pair you'll make 50% more I'll get 50% more and the customer gets to save 50%,,,,how is that not brilliant economics and great business sense
Nope he won't do it. So I ordered them and I made all the money.

 

I´m so fed up with this shit I´ve been driving old cars daily for about 10 years. They just don´t care if they even have an instrument cluster. My girl´s 2000 BMW is rusted out now, she will probably replace it with a 70s or early 80s Benz plain Jane Diesel.
I think the American and Japanese Auto makers are doing better than the Europeans today. Here everything has to be cutiing edge, luxury and high performance, and after a couple of years when the fanciness has worn off you left with a nice car that´s way to expensive and complicated to fix...

 

I'm closing my little welding shop at the end of this month, after 25 years of risking my health for declining income (expenses keep going up), I'm retiring. There is no one else locally that does what I do. Hopefully someone will set up and fill the void I will be leaving, but I kind of doubt it. There are not many that are willing to do the hard dirty work that is required for the income that is available. Most "welders" only want to do the simple stuff and expect to make a pile of money doing it.

The local clientele wants me to save their rusted out pile of car or truck for a couple hundred dollars, which would barely cover my cost on the steel the job would require, let alone my time investment of anywhere from 3-15 or more hours. Many expect me to work for $10 -$15 per hour and are horrified to find my shop rate is higher then that, even though my rate is less then 1/2 of the big welding shop 30 miles north of here that wouldn't even consider doing rust repair. That is one reason they have arrived at my door, the big welding shop sent them to me. They want to know who else does the rust repair. No one, at the prices they want to pay, and I don't know anyone that would do it for any price, any where near here.

The moral of the story is: If you have someone local to you that is still doing these time consuming auto projects, and they do a good job, don't try to squeeze a lower price out of them. They may just quit doing the job completely, and then there may not be anyone that will do it. Gene

 

We have lived in the best of times. (past tense)

 

After my experience with NAPA over a press charge for my axle bearings, I have bought a lot of parts online. Parts houses say they can have my parts in 2 days, so can Summit and I don't have to get in my car. I rarely walk into a Auto Zone type of store. One Advance by me is pretty good though. Odd stuff is almost hard to get the same day.

 

I agree entirely. I spent years learning the welding trade and investing lots of dollars in equipment. Without fail, there will be someone come to me wanting their rusted out, beat up POS returned to new status and think I should do the work for next to nothing and I should supply the material. I cringe at a lot of the pictures I see in some of these threads with bad welds.

In response to the comments about buying locally instead of the Internet, I can tell you about the time I went to my welding supplier looking to purchase a new gas machine to put on my truck. He gave me a price and then told me how much I would save if I bought the same machine off of Amazon. He doesn't do service work himself but he will recommend someone. He's still in business because of gas sales. I can buy everything else in his store from the Internet cheaper than he can sell it. It's kind of hard to justify buying anything from him.

 

A more depressing issue is the fact that we're losing actual PEOPLE with the knowledge, skills, and experience that they were sometimes unable to pass along to a second generation. Their kids were fed and clothed and sent to school by those folks and, like as not, those kids had no intention of following in Pop's shoes. Pops grows old, Pops dies, Pops' business disappears. Kids sell off everything at fire sale prices to get the cash for a McMansion.

 

you live in New Jersey. small businesses are taxed right out of business. pack up and move.

 

This is a microcosm of what we all have done to this entire country. Just the way it is, we are all guilty. It sucks.




Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

When I was going to replace my front end parts on my 65 Galaxie, I was horrified to learn that the ball joints were going to be $70 apiece for Moog parts at my local O’Reillys with my supposed to be good discount.
Checked Rock auto and found the exact same part for about $25 , free shipping,in two days.
When back to my old friend at O’Reillys and asked him about the big difference in price. He got kinda pissy about it ,touting service, return, etc.
I told him I wasn’t in a hurry and could send them back three time and still break even.

I try to support local businesses as much as possible, but thee times the price online..... I no can do..... sorry.


Bones

 

BAM! There it is again. The dreaded "W*lM*rt Effect".

 

Use Joe's Antique Auto Parts in Massachusetts. Great Service. https://www.joesantiqueauto.com/

 

Well, don't get me wrong, I've met Rob (nice car guy BTW) and he too has to not only put food on the table, but be able to afford maintain a pretty darn cool vintage car collection and with only few dozen $Bs, it too can get hard.

 

Well if you have met "Rob" then maybe you have a better financial situation than most. I myself try and save a few bucks where ever and how ever I can as long as it's legal. The times they are a changing and like it or not we are well past the good times as far as trades go. My job has morphed several times since I started 38 years ago and most of the changes occurred in the last 5-10 years. I'm betting that the guys that are still around have changed how/what they do in order to survive.