steeling credit for hot rod builds

That's what I was going to say. Have you ever bought a car and then found that it had to be 80% redone because of amaturish work? When you're done it looks pretty much the same on the outside!

 

Seems like money can buy anything, including credit for other peoples work.

 

I work as a journalist and have had situations where I KNOW who has done work on the car, but for whatever reason the owner doesn't feel inclined to mention them. It's an awkward situation to be in.

It's all about trying to keep everyone happy, and at the end of the day, the guy that owns the vehicle at the time of the story is the one telling the story, and the main guy you need to keep happy.

At the end of the day, it's just a STORY, and I always say: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

 

I'm gonna do reverse stolen credit and build a ****py rat rod and say a popular shop built it...

I think I'll call it "vehicular slander"

 

KIRK!,STOP THE SNIVILING,finish your ironhead so i can say those are the lower legs i sold you and built it from 2000 miles away!!!HAHAHAHA! Only breaking your balls,and yes i still owe you a beer for overpayment.I was at rhinebeck was in no shape to find you,next year or something.Pm me if you need stuff to finish the sportster......Later, Gary

 

When someone comes up to me and asks me a question regarding my car they really need to make sure they have enough time for the answer. I've been known to walk around Big Olds pointing out this and that and showing them everything that's been done, who did it, when it was done, etc. I guess I'm pretty proud of the fact I have so many wonderful and talented friends.

I was alittle torn regarding who to give "credit" to on a major body modification on Big Olds. One person origianlly started it, ****ed it up, and it had to be redone by someone else. Depending on how Rodder's Digest writes it up, one person's ******* are going to be bunched up I'm sure.

I had kinda a strange encounter a couple of weeks ago at the GG Bowling Green event. This guy comes up and asks me if that's Project Big Olds from Rodder's Digest (not the strange part as it happens all the time). The strange part was instead of him hanging around and checking out the car and talking about it I answered his question with a yes and as I started to open my mouth again to elaborate he just walked away. Not a thanks, see ya, gotta go, nothing. Just walked up, asked his question, got his answer and walked away. Was very strange.

 

Here's a good one for ya! My dad built this car for himself, but unfortunately had to sell it to pay bills. When he sold the car the only things needed to be finished was getting the seats upholstered and to detail the engine compartment which a guy here locally bought it and finished. Then it was sold to a guy in Michigan and featured in the February 2000 issue of Rod & Custom where it says "When he purchased this '58 in 1987, he knew this was a car destined for scallops." It goes on to say that he sent the car to Charlie Brewer (My dad) to have the work done on the car. It's kind of hard to deny a lie when it's in print. Hey at least he's not taking credit for the work just the design. Sorry for the rant, but that one really burns me up.

 

From a magazine standpoint, I will say that it is difficult to chase down the real scoop on a car. You simply don't have a CarFax report on hot rods and customs... When you talk with the owner and he tells you what he tells you, you can't say" Really? or was it somebody else?" I mean you can, but it won't get you far.... it boils down to the owner and how they can sleep at night with what they say after it goes to print. You only get one chance to get it right.... I did goof up a Sedan story once, and I was fortunate enough to print an apology and the truth the following month, but I'm sure I lost some respect with the owner and I have to live with that. Some of you guys screw up at work, no big deal.. do it over, screw up in a do***ented page that's printed, it is what it is. Maybe in 20 years the guy reading the article won't have the next issue to see it was wrong.

On the other hand, I have had guys tell me that they didn't want to give credit to the shop, upholstery guy, painter, whatever because of bad dealings or bad blood that came from the situation. Or they had it painted but it ****ed and needed somebody else to redo parts of it or whatever. That's fairly common.
But guys like Barris, Dore, D'Agostino and even Foose and Brizio who sub out stuff step on people's toes by getting builder of the year awards when there are REAL men behind them hammering, welding, wiring, painting, and basically making the entire car. Did they build it like a contractor builds a house, or did they physically build it... and which is right? It's a funny line and a touchy moral issue.

However, buying a car/bike/house and changing a few minor things and taking credit for the entire thing is wrong. We've had a few cars in the Goodguys Homebuilt Heaven area that other folks have come up to me and said "That guy is full of it, so-and-so built that car and he'd be pissed if he was here right now." That's happened more than once. Yes, the car might have been homebuilt, but please specify that it was the previous owner, there is way less shame in that than lying.

I would say that if you have to re-do something 70 to 80% change it and make it yours. Change the color, wheels and whatever so that even the people who don't know about four links and ladder bars and bubble gum welds can tell it "was" somebody's car...

 

I have a couple of these stories as well, where someone else "built your old car".....

BUT, on the other hand, there is a guy that I know that ended up with one of my cars done in the 70's,... he completely tore the car apart and built a completely new car out of it ( much-much nicer and highly detailed than what I had done), the only thing that he used from my old car was the body and the gas tank,... nothing else !,.... and when I see him with the car at shows, he always asks me how I like my old car ?

And if there are other guys standing or sitting around, he always mentions that it was my old car, Actually that car is 100% "His car" and build all the way through by him,... I appreciate the acknowledgment, but I truly don't deserve it.

 

See, now that *possibly* could have come from the tech sheet where it listed your Dad as the painter and the writer ***umed that he had it done. Maybe the owner didn't specify that it came already painted and the writer took it upon himself to think that he had that done. Interpretation can be tricky, and not everyone is well-spoken or they are nervous when you are talking to them and they forget stuff. I like to talk directly with the owner and take notes, and then immediately write the article so I have the facts correct.. often times they will call me back and correct what they told me or ask me to mention others who've helped out.

 

we have a term for these types in the skateboard world they're called "posers" and it's defiantly harder but still possible to point out in the hot rod scene. none of my homies play this role or they wouldn't be my homies.

 

Thi kind of thread is why,when I have the Kripple Kart finished exactly as I want her, she will ALWAYS carry a fancy showboard detailing exactly who did exactly what exactly when right down to who exactly did the fancy showboard. It'll make a good story, and give credit where credit is due just like it always should be.
Paul.

 

About a couple years after my son and I finished our '34 three window (bare frame up) we sold it to a neighbor (who wishes to be buried in it)...this was 10 years ago. To this day he still gets asked," Is that Tony deFoster's old car?" Guess what? He STILL, though pissed (not really), tells them it is...even though he's changed a bunch of stuff to suit himself...

 

Sometimes it has to

 

I'm still new to this game and will take all the help I can get from friends and whoever. They will get all the credit because anyone that knows me knows what I can and can't do myself. I have no problem talking about what my friends have done to my ride or helped me with. It is just the right thing to do!

 

I had it happen to me at a show and I still own my car.
I was at Hot Rods and Hogs show and I had both my 56 and my bike in there. The bike I built from parts, the car I've only changed the interior at the moment. Anyway, I went off to check on my bike and when I came back, there was some clown leaning on my 56 talking to another guy. So I walked up and pretended to be another spectator while this ***** was talking about how he lowered it and this that and the other thing. Then the other guy goes "well can I hear the old six" so I laughed and interupted and said sure thing and walked towards the door with my keys. The liar realized then who I was and ran like hell and jumped into a Toyota across the street and was off.

So you don't even NEED to sell your stuff to someone else for them to take the credit., just let them see it.

 

Everything that hemi said relates precisely to the stuff I have to deal with in Australia. I guess car guys are the same the world over.

 

For some of you guys whose business is building cars for customers I can somewhat understand the issues of someone taking credit for the build because thats how the word gets spread about your talents.

I'm a car guy and not a professional builder Every car I complete I plan to keep forever but never do. I overheard the owner of my Chevelle telling a p***er by how he built the car, hid the nitrous and ran 11's at the strip. Which is exactly everything I had done and none of what he had done.
Funny thing is I just didnt care. His money felt good in my pockets and allowed me to get something else to work on plus some.
I enjoy the process and the cars. I could car less who knows what I did or how I did it.

 

Nice story about a nice guy with a nice car.

Geez, I was gonna say I need to meet more people like this, but recently I have.

Introduced to a nice guy a while back, he tells me where his shop is and to come by.

He's building an A and has lots of questions.
Perhaps he's a bit of a noob to the world of street runners, but judging by the pics on the wall he's no stranger to FED fuelers.
The building, tuning and driving them I'm gathering from a few comments he's made about back in the day.

I don't go by too often, don't want to be a pest, but he always has time to talk a bit.

Next time with the 32 so he can check out and measure some steering oriented stuff....

 

I think the only solution would be to build something so ugly no one would claim to build it. Or build something cool and put some custom tags on it. I think there was a tech on here on how to etch em.

 

I ***ume your talking about that bike. the only stuff thats still there from when I bought it from you is the Paughco frame (which I have altered several times, the tank, the heads and part of the front fork.

that bike has been torn down and completely redone twice by me and Sean over the years. and now its going through a third rebuild since I bought it back, hell, this time I am even going to change the paint scheme.

when I got it from you it was a elvis looking full fendered taildragger, put together with **** from home depot....now its more of a bobber and has quite a few hundred features not on it back then. you should come by some time and check it out.

so relax baby.

 

I hate this thread, makes me want to rant to much! I feel magazine writers are at fault as much as owners some times. When I was first starting in the buisness a good friend and mentor helped me build my first really nice car. When it was featured they listed certain things I built which I was really clear during the interview my buddy had done for me. To this day I don't believe he believes me and thinks I stole the credit, really cooled our friendship. Even though it was my first magazine feature I wish it wasn't printed, losing a good friend over their screw up wasn't worth it.
Years later I built a car for a customer, turnkey. The owner was super about giving me credit. A freelance writer wanted to do an artical on the car, came out and did a photo shoot and interview. I was right there, I know what the car owner told them. When it came out in a magazine, the artical stated the car was built by the owner, the only credit I got was for chopping the top. When I saw the writer and questained him about it he told me the magazine liked the car and wanted to feature it but they wanted only "home built" cars so he rewrote the artical to suit them and he could sell the artical! So much for truth in journalism!

 

Ya I hate that ****!! Me and mostly my brother built a 70 Chevy prostreet pickup back in 90 and after completing I hated it because I had to constantly babysit the thing. I sold it to a buddy that added a rear wing, bigger (internal) and tires. He would go around telling everybody that he built it. Only problem was that almost everyone in town knew it as my ole red truck! He even took it to a World of Wheels show in town here and I made it a point to be there also. Most everybody I saw asked me about the ole truck. He doesn't seem to get it out much anymore, wonder why??

 

Seriously...

People feed on negitive ****... just like the elections... this to me is just more of it.

If one of you guys feels the need to call someone out... then call them out... better yet confront them face to face, or write the magazine in protest... do something about it.

I understand this happenes all the time in every field of work... oh well... it happens.

Lets move on... and stop bagging on people. Who cares about Barris... or the details of a bike Kozik bought years ago... its old news. Its lame.

Everybody's gotta score to settle I just dont think this is the place for it.

This is the type of this that kills our hobby.

 

Uh...yeah. Ignore the thread then if you don't care. People seem to be interested and you've brought it to the top twice now.

Someone asked a question and people responded. I don't have a score to settle and I mentioned it to Kozik at GNRS when it happened.

So it would be cool if people copied your art and called it theirs? It would be old news? If and when it happens I hope you don't post it on here, because you'd be killing our hobby.

Actually it's self righteous people and thieves who kill our hobby.

Dude, it's just a message board. Don't take it, the content or me too seriously.

 

I still love you honey!

I said that the bike has been changed now. It really hadn't when it was at GNRS. It must look similar because people still ask if it's my old bike when they see it. I know it's different now, but lots of people still talk about you showing it way back when.

**** from Home Depot? Now that's funny!

I'm very relaxed. In fact it's all pretty damn funny.

 

I'm walking through the Goodguys show at Pomona a few years back when I mention to my wife it would be cool if we saw my old truck. Sure as **** not 20 steps later, there it is! I walk over to the guy sitting by it and ask "Is this your truck?" He answers yes and I ask if there is anything he would like to know about it. He says what do you mean? I tell him I was the builder and he tells me "NO, a guy in Apple Valley built it". I explain to him that no indeed I was the builder, had sold it to a guy in Huntington Beach, who then years later sold it to the guy in Apple Valley. He still seems to doubt me so I start telling him little things about it that only the builder would really know. He now starts to understand and asks for more info. I explain that I had personally done everything except the Chop (**** and Kid Dean) and the Interior (Marc Stephans), including the Vette suspension, V8 swap and even the paint. I also tell him the only changes were the shorty headers (it had ****** long tubes), new tires, and different headlights.
Skip forward a couple of years and I see the truck on the net. Now in Kansas and the guy claims to have built it! So clueless that he says it has a Jag rear end, it's a 76 Vette!
Kind of cracks me up when these clowns do this ****!

 

yeah people have copied my art.... and used it on t's bro...

and guess what... you dont hear me airing it here do ya?

yeah your right. I guess my point is people are interested because its DRAMA...

and dude... its a Hot Rod message board... I do take the content seriously thats why I'm replying...

 

Well, then I guess you are awesome! Two thumbs up for you!

Humans love drama, maybe someday we'll all be above that like you apparently are.

I can't even count the number of times my designs have been lifted. I'm not airing that on here either. Again, someone brought up a subject and people replied. It's on topic and people are obviously interested. Be sure to post your list of what we are allowed to discuss.

To me taking credit for someone else's work is pretty lame.

Well, take the board seriously...but not me.

I out of here to catch a plane. I can't wait to read more when I get to the hotel.

 

The "big shots" are not immune to doing this either. Boyd Coddington contracted a friend of mine to build a body for a car back in the 80s. a real elaborate job creating a phantom body style. total one off body. my buddy had had these etched name plates saying body by: ******x (kinda like Body by Fisher). he had it glued inside the body where the interior panels would cover it up when completed. first thing Boyd did before even pulling the car off the trailer was get a screw driver and pry the plate off. apparently he was a real **** about it too. that same car ended up being a centerfold feature car in Hot Rod magazine and showed up in calendars and other publications. not one time was he given credit. in fact, Boyd himself took credit for the body from all who inquired... i was just a young teenager at the time but that is how the story was told to me.


i personaly go out of my way to mention anybody that helps me do ANYTHING, even the slightest amount of help i'm grateful for and give credit for as well. building a car is a huge undertaking and there is plenty of credit to go around in my book.