Folks Of Interest Hot Rod Works (Texas), did you have problems????

I wish him well is this business also. Although I did not hear from him at all yesterday like he said I would. He did email me some machining instructions for the axle housings I requested this morning. But did not provide a tracking number for my quickchange like he said he would. In my opinion He has not shipped my quickchange housing yet. And if I was to make a guess that is probably because he doesn't have it. And if he would have told me that up front I would not be upset right now. If when I called him and first ask about buying this if he would have said "I can take your order and ship it just as soon as I get one ready" That would have been fine, But instead he said. "Give me your Card number and I will ship it out in the morning" Bottomline is I am being "Jacked around" He knows I want a tracking number. And regardless of how busy he is If he has one he can easily provide it. What is bad here is I am sympathetic to his situation because I have been there and done that! He charged my Card 2 minutes after we got off the phone when I first called him.

 

Back when I used to make stuff, I would never even accept payment until I had the part completed. Guys would offer to send payment early but I told them no.

 

Update, Parts showed up today! Now I kinda feel bad about even posting my experience on this thread. His comunication skills definitely could be improved. But all is good.

 

I sent my 1940 Ford axle bells to him on October 1st of 2024. He told me he could have them done by the end of the month and have them sent back to me. The end of October showed up and no response. I waited to hear from him by the end of the year and I hadn’t heard anything. January rolled around of this year and I emailed him regarding the axle bells and he said he had them by the lathe and needed two weeks to get back on track. Fast forward to now and he still doesn’t have them done after a year of giving me excuse after excuse. I get it. Running a business with only one guy is a lot. But a phone call or email goes a long way and tell the truth while you’re at it. The last response I got from him was on October 2nd of this year after I sent him an email to send them back to me done or not and that I was not happy with him or how he runs his operation. I received the same excuse that he would be “hard at it” in a week and let me know by the following week of October 2nd where he was at with my parts. No email. No phone call nothing. I asked him from the beginning if he needed money and he said no. He has my parts and has wasted a year now. My car is ready for the rear end to be placed underneath and now I wait. I’m tired of waiting on someone that is incapable of holding true to his word. I plan on making an in person visit to pick up my parts done or not.

 

I have 35-36 bells with him now. When I call or text for an update, I always get a response.
I do know that he's currently moving locations as well as a one man show, so I give him some grace.

 

Waiting over a year with multiple missed shipping dates is an awful lot of grace. Maybe too much. And,surely, there are many "one-horse circuses" that function well both as a craft and a business.

 

It’s just pure laziness as far as I’m concerned. Over a whole year has been wasted now when he told me he could have them done in a week. It doesn’t take a whole year to get moved into another shop. My dad and I run our own business but we always communicate with our customers and get the job done when we give out a specific time frame. I’ve heard from many people that they figured this would happen with this new owner. Which is unfortunate because if you’re going to be doing this in the long run, the reputation will only get worse.

 

Finally took a look at the Hot Rod Works site. Looks like he's having problems getting product made? I know from experience how expensive it is to have various suppliers making your parts and how overwhelming it can be financially. I'm trying to help a customer in Europe put together a 34 Ford with the stock rear and open drive line. HRW has no parts? It sure looks grim in the future.