in june of 14 i purchased a model a speedster kit from them, however due to having a heart attack and back surgery it took me 2 years to complete the project. now that dont sound out of reason for completion of a project, and most folks dont complete a project in 90 days. after i completed the project this early summer ( 3 weeks ago) i took it out for a 20 - 30 mile drive, put it back in the shop and left it for a few days. when i went out again i had a small fuel leak at the bottom end seam of the fuel tank which was leaking on the deck and bubbling the paint on the tank and deck. yes we did preasure test prior to painting and installing, and no leaks detected at that time. well after talking to Byron a few minutes ago, he informed me that they would not warrantee it due to being purchased 2 years prior. so just a not to all that if you purchase something from them, make sure you finish the project in 90 days or less. as you might tell, i am not a real happy camper. i was happy with what i purchased and had inspected it all when recieved and at the time found no problems, and now this shows up, and now will have to strip repair and repaint. thumbs down for customer service.....
I don't understand why a well known company would ever do this. The cost to Rootlieb would amount to a few dollars worth of tin and the labor to make the tank, much of which is automated, I would assume. Offer him a new tank if he covers shipping and everything would be hunky dory. Instead, this gets posted on a worldwide forum and exposes Rootlieb as a bunch of cheapskates and bottom line beancounters. I know what I would do if it was my company
I would not have expected it to be warranted after 2 years and painted. I had a problem with a hood I bought, it was well over a couple years but not painted. I explained the issue and needed to replace the side panels, I ordered them fully expecting to pay, gave credit card #. They sent me replacements and covered the shipping, never charged me. A note inside asked to send back the first ones, on them also. You said yourself it tested fine before paint. A real bummer for sure. Just like a lot of us, suck it up and fix it, don't think it's worth coming here and bashing them.
Last Rootlieb hood we had was bare steel with a sticker stating once primed or painted there was no return allowed. I think I've been buying stuff from them for 40 years or so, never had a problem, nice quality parts. Bob
Tanks don't develop leaks just sitting there. I question how well you tested it. I don't blame them, it's been 2 years AND painted.
I had an even better outcome with them. Rootlieb went beyond my expectations when I found the hood sides for my roadster to not fit quite right. They were ordered with the length to be one inch longer than stock. Yes, it was checked by a complete mockup, and even moved around because my car is built completely with aftermarket components. I found it hard to believe that it was even possible considering their reputation. Called them and explained the situation, they said replacements would be shipped out in less than a week, sure enough, they were here in about four days and they fit as they should. Also had asked them how to go about sending the first ones back and they said to keep them. Sold them at the Portland swap meet to a guy that also needed non stock length hood sides. No shipping costs either, how can you beat service like that.
If you tested it and there was no leak they don't just start leaking,and I too have purchased from Rootlieb and after 2 years anything could happen. They have a no primer/no paint policy. HRP
I just bought a rootlieb hood for my deuce roadster. Ordered a 3 row top and 3 row sides. When it arrived, I was really impressed with how they packaged it. It looks good to me, however I haven't mocked it up yet. But I'm not expecting any issues. Hopefully it'll be good
sorry to hear of your problem but this hobby is all about problem solving. You tried step one, now you must move on to step two, fix it yourself. I take it that the tank is painted body color? Do you not paint? if not, that sucks. Fixing the tank is the easy part, painting will be the hard part, that is if you don't do your own painting. I feel you pain, don't know what else to say.
In the 80's we built two Rootleib T speedsters. Every piece for both the kits had the aforementioned sticker, warning that the piece was not returnable after painting. They have done two special length hood tops for my RPU. Both were exactly as I ordered them. We have bought quite a few original T parts from Tom Rootleib, and he was a pleasure to deal with. You'll not hear anything bad about Rootleib from me. Fix the tank and paint, and get over it.
Sorry to hear about the leak, but if it is two years later and painted, I would not expect they would do much. I did a custom design/fitted hood on my Model A cabriolet with Rootleib a couple years ago, and could not be happier with the job they did.
I haven't bought anything from them but they sound like they have good customer service. If the part was good when you bought it, checked out by you, then you got what you paid for, a good part. time to start fixing and move on. Tony
i bought a hood for my 34 chevy about 4 yrs ago the body lines was off . i sent it back and they made another one, it fit nice
Feel for your your situation, I wouldn't be happy either. Thanks for pointing out Rootleibs' fair paint/primer return policy. It may be a good time to build a bridge........ and get over it.
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