MR HYDE IS COMING TO LIFE

[Dr Jkel]

Today I sent idoit an e-mail explaining things that were wrong, the results from the things being wrong.

I have also contacted the Sheriff's Department and am waiting on a call back from the Detective.

I have an appointment Friday to get the paint and body work estimate in Atlanta.

I have an estiimate on the transmission rebuild 1785.42.

I have an estimate of about 8500.00 to get the mechanical issues fixed...this include what has been done so far.....It is really hard to get anyone to give a hard and fast estimate since everytime you check or fix something, then something else arises so I understand that. Matt is doing a great job so far but it is never ending. He is trying to be positive since he knows how upset I am but it ain't working.

I said at first if the paint work was first class then I could fix the mechanical stuff no problem.....but at least I could kinda drive it a little........then get it painted later on. But once in the sunshine it was quite evident that the paint is no where near a match....... The mehcanical issues keep multiplying at this point.

Alot of stuff I am sure is really a simple fix, or at least I am hoping, but when you have no idea about speedometers, alignments etc......then you kind of have to depend on others and that costs money......really irratating when you have already paid once to get things done and it is quite evident that it was not done.....

[Scrappy Doo]

This is an absolutely horror story.

Although I agree that maybe it is best to just take the whole thing apart and start over.

[Dr Jkel]

Originally Posted by Scrappy Doo

This is an absolutely horror story.

Although I agree that maybe it is best to just take the whole thing apart and start over.

Yepper sure is and really sad...This has stolen all the joy this truck was intended to be.

Talked with a Sheriffs repreentative and will have to go and file a report........They said that becuase of teh money involved it may be a Federal Case but that they were going to contact the FBI and let me know what is going on.

Nothing will happen fast and even if I do get a judgement against him I will be forever trying to get my money out of him. The laws are not in favor of the consumer if they are I can't seem to find the right ones.

[Dr Jkel]

Monday December 12, 2011

No matter what is going to be done legally I have to get the truck in a running condition. I have to be able to move it to at least get it on a trailer. It has to start and run correctly.

So with that in mind I started doing some research as to why it would lug, not run properly or stay running without patting the gas........

After talking with Street and Performance techincal staff ( Maker of the fuel injection and computer system) I soon realized that everything has to be correct for it to properly function....If the settings, air floe, voltage, fuel pressure etc... are not correct it simply will not run right. I am supposed to be able to hit the ignition switch and it crank and run until it runs out of gas. This is not the case.

So Matt the Mechanic comes over and we start trying to diagnose what could be wrong. We changed the blown header gaskets, this is a PITA on these headers. Wished they were more like the Camaro but oh well we finally get it done. We adjusted the timing, checked fuel pressure, made sure plus wires were attached and hooked up the scanner.............Guess what it cranked. The motor was cold and it cranked right up.

It ran smoothly for about 45 seconds. We tried it several times and the result was the same, it died after about 45 seconds......
So we start checking other items and made a call to Street and Performance. Actually the guy gave us his cell number in case we had any problems....So Matt called him.

He walked us through the entire process of installing this unit and what was required and it became quite evident of what the problem is and was. The truck engine does not have a proper ground.

It was a really simple test. Stick a multi-meter to the negative battery cable and get a reading, then crank the vehicle and check the reading....It should stay the same....Of course it didn't stay the same.

So what was happening is that the alternator produces 14 volts...the required amount to run the computer properly, because of the incorrect ground the body was taking 7 volts thus the comuter did not have a proper amount of volts to operate correctly. Matt is going to remake a proper ground cable. Hopefully this rectifies the engine problems.

The Tech Rep did say that it might just revealed another issues but it is a start. The rep also stated that he was committed to helping us get this thing running properly and at optimum performance......Kinda impressed with Street and Performance, ironically the guys name is Mark.

We also adjusted the suspension so the truck is sitting level, hoping to eliminate the vibration issues, put the proper amount of air in the tires and noticed the camber was really off on the front, real bad......the inside of the passenger tire didn't even ahve any dust on it...basically it was not contacting the pavement.



I did talk with a Sheriffs Detective and explained what was going on with the whole situation and I also consulted my attorney. They both suggested that I identify the obvious things and submit a letter, email, text or some other form of written communication to him for payment...If he refuses then we go forward, the option of him getting the vehicle back is not an option. He was paid to perform a job and he did not do it.

So I sat down and decided what I could live with and basically I came up with about three or four things.

1. He pay to have the entire truck re-painted.
2. He refund my money for parts and services I paid for that he did not use, return or have performed.
3. He either buy me a NEW transmission, torque convertor and pay for the install OR Pay a transmission shop of my choice to build me a transmission.
4. He pay the 2500.00 I have spent in labor making the truck roadworthy up to this point.

I feel this is fair, real fair to him and in an effort to resolve this whole situation this is what I propose. If he accepts I will absolve him of any further responsibility. If he does not I will move forward with both the criminal and civil legal actions........

[The Stig]

I would specify that he pats for him to be repainted so that he is show quality.

[Dr Jkel]

Originally Posted by stieger

I would specify that he pats for him to be repainted so that he is show quality.

That is true...my plan is not only to get an estimate from a Professional Body shop that does this kind of work but to also get a report , along with pictures from those body shops to show the actual mess this thing is in.

It is kinda funny that the more I walk around it and look the more paint issues I find.

The chrome fuel line in the front of the motor is crakced....not the line just the chrome......

I could probably go through a lengthy court process and get most of my money back but at this point what is the use....If he pays to have a new tranny installed, refunds my money for stuff he stole from me and pays for a new paint job with ghost flames then I will call it even. Trust me on this that they will fully understand what I expect and it will be in plain english wrote down in no uncertain terms.

I truly believe he will not pay and then I go for broke....but I really think once a detective starts showing up investigating him and his business that he will see the light and do the right thing.

Sending you an e-mail RJ.

[djsnoflake]

...... Sorry, I haven't read the whole thing here, but spending $109,000 on a truck seems a bit insane. And then giving the guy 9 years and that many chances, also way more chances than anyone should have ever given.

[Dr Jkel]

Originally Posted by djsnoflake

...... Sorry, I haven't read the whole thing here, but spending $109,000 on a truck seems a bit insane. And then giving the guy 9 years and that many chances, also way more chances than anyone should have ever given.

I completely understand your comments and imagine if your were the one writing the checks. I will try and explain what happened from the beginning.

Approximately 12 years ago I took this truck to an older man near me to have the truck built. Of course everyone who does this type of work here paints the vehicle apart. Once he painted the truck, and it was the wrong color it became quite clear to me that even if the right color that he could not provide the level of work and quality I wanted....So I went and picked it up in pieces. At that time I really had nowhere to put it.

I searched for a couple of months trying to find a place to do the work, talking with customers, seeing individual shops work etc..... and I came upon this shop and I talked with 2 customers and saw vehicles that he had built , explained what I wanted him to do etc.... He came to my house and looked at the condition of my truck which was easy to do since it was in pieces and gave me a rough estimate of what it would take to build it.

We scheduled a time for me to take it to his shop and on that day I along with my uncle took him the truck.

He stated at that time that what he would do would be to put the truck completely together to check to see if it had any fitment issues, do an inventory of all parts to ensure everything was there and then he would give me a written estimate.

Of course I understood I would have to pay him to do this. I also understood that this was separate from the 35000.00 he originally estimated.

I also ask him fo a written estimate for the fuel injection system that I saw on the 34 Buick 4 door sedan, plus a new electronic transmission, rear end. He gave me a catalog from Street and Performance and told me to pick out what I wanted and we would go from there.


A few weeks go by and I have paid him for the original put back, or what I thought was put back together. In hind sight it wasn't. We walked around the truck and I identified things that I would like done and asked for a cost of each item.

He had a set of wheels there that were for another vehicle and he placed them on the truck so that I could see what they looked like and to kinda figure out what kind of rake I wanted.

I wanted the gas tank in the bed, front bumper sucked up to the body, a rear roll pan and I wanted all spot welds removed from the entire truck. He came up with a price and I paid him right then and there for the changes.

A few weeks later I saw a center console in another truck that I liked, I asked hime about it he said it would be no problem and he gave me a price, I paid him and went on. I paid up upfront for all the changes to the original deal.....kinda like when you build a house and do changes orders, they are paid upfront.

Next Post More.

[Dr Jkel]

So in the coming weeks I would go on Fridays to see the progress and started paying him for his work. In an attempt to get this thing paid for I went ahead and paid him more each weeks until I eventually had it paid for. He agreed it was paid for although the body work was still being done.

I asked many times about how long it would take and I was told 750 hours...Ok sounded good to me. Worked seemed to be progressing but I couldn't really tell, all I knew was a bunch of sanding was going on. I inquired about how long it would take to put the truck together once the paint was finished. I was vaguely given an answer but still was not real concerned. At this point he had had the truck almost a year.

Over the next couple of years the same back and forth went and came. Then one day he says it is time for the motor, so I am thinking cool we are on our way.

So I took him a 327 cu in motor that I had someone build ( A Shop) He had it dyno'd and it had a whopping 212 hp...........Not my idea of power. In my head at that time 400 was the magic number. I had spent 3000.00 building the 327 so I am kind of stuck. Mark suggests I seel the motor to someone retsoring and all original resto to off set the cost of a new motor. So I did...and we all know you don't get what you spent but 2500.00 was pretty good.

Then I searched for a motor and cam up with a ZZ383 that had 425 hp.....Boy this is for me. So I bought it had it shipped to his shop and waited I bought a new GM 4L60E transmission. I had also dedided to go with the fuel injection and that whole system was bought.

I let the shop purchase these items because I was TOLD that his shop got a discount......Then I waited.......By this time he has the 35000.00 in labor, moeny for the rear end, tranmssion, the new motor I bought plus serval other things I purchased like wiring harnesses.....All total I now have around 55k in it. I know I am an idiot.

[The Stig]

Replied to your email.

[572HP]

Wow! I have read through your whole thread. I feel for you man. I hope things work out for you, and you get what you want out of this a-hole incompetent thief. However, you won't be able to get your stressed-out days and nights back. Please try to expect nothing from him, and anything that you do receive, think of it as something unexpected. That way it can be less stress, which I'm sure you are full of.

I had to miss last year's f-body gathering...so I didn't get to meet you. I won't be missing this years!

[Dr Jkel]

So I spend the next couple of years trying to get him to finish the truck, I sent e-mails, letter called him, went to see him etc........

Then in 2007 my Mother get diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and the doctor says she has 6 months to live......I call and e-mail him abou the importance of the trucks completion especially with the health situation of my Mom. I really wanted Mama to see it..............My Mama lived for a year almost to the day and during that year I wasn't worried about a truck. I spent every minute I could with her. I took her on trips, woke her in the morning, would see her at lunch and spent time after work....pretty much my life revolved arounf my Mama for a year.

Of course the cancer won and I was ( still am ) heart broken and it took several months to get back to a normal life...yeah I know I am a Mama's boy. But after several months I contacted Mark about my truck, I told him that I was being transferred so PLEASE get my truck done.....of course I got more lies.

So for a year I played a sharade of being gone and I would call him and ask about the progress. He would send me pictures but vague pictures nothing really specific but I did know that the front clips and cab was painted in 2007........So I asked him about ghost flames because that was the in thing........of course he agreed and I went forward.

Then the issues ( Excuses ) started. Evidentially when he did the body work on the hood , the hood was just laid on the fenders with paint sticksholding the gas because once he installed the hinges the hood was 1/4 higher in th erear and messed up all the body gaps. Of course he tried to blame this on me......

Peridoically during this whole time, he supposedly went through a divorce, had his shop broken into and all his tools and some parts stolen, fired most of his help yada yada yada. I was understanding, sympathetic to his problems and believed his BS.

Fast Forward to Aug 2010. I start calling him and asking about progress....I call him each month for the rest of 2010 and each time he would tell me soething I would write what he said down, I then would have my uncle or other people posing as customers go and check on the status of my truck.... Most of the times he was not even in the shop, but nothing was being done and it was covered up in the corner. He still thinks at this point that I have transferred.

On Jan 11, 2011 I call him and tell him I will be coming by on Jan 14, 2011 to check n the status of my truck...In hind sight this was a mistake...I should have simply shown up...So for the next few days he worked feverishly trying to get something done and it was quite evident.....I took a mechanic friend with me, Matt. It was obviuso that he had not done anything...and I confronted him about all the lies he had told me.

I listened to him and told him I would make a decision of what to do .

[The Stig]

I can't wait til you take him to court. And there ain't nothing wrong with being mama's boy. Every southern boy is.

[Dr Jkel]

I consulted with my uncle, family members, mechanics to see what they thought. My biggest concern was since my truck had been there so long that the warranty on the brand new motor, brand new transmission, rear end, fuel injection, A/C unit etc...had ran out and I feared that by it siiting in a shop for years that those components would not work properly. If I removed my truck I would absolve him of any responsibility.

So again I made him sign something stating when it would be done by FEB 28, 2011, I believed his BS, trusted he would do the right thing ( I KNOW I AM AN IDIOT) I did agree to pay him 2000.00 a week labor plus parts.

My thinking was that I had so much money in it, that I couldn't finish it and I just wanted it over. So I paid more.

Well Feb 28 can and went with no truck..........I refused to pay anymore and over the next few months I put pressure on him to finish it. In Aug he agreed to finish it and I agreed to buy any parts needed to finish it...another mistake espeially when you really don't know what you need.

He charged me for alignments, Freon install, exhaust install...shippng fees to the chrome service shop...and these things were never done.. I have a junkyard transmission that does not work and the truck is 2 different colors.