Guest Anonymous Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 I've been thinking seriously of buying some fenders from John Washington at reaction research. Has anyone used these and what do you think? here's the link to his page.. John Washingtons Page I particularly like the front fenders since I already have the rear widened. WW∞ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Dan Juday has very recently took a trip to AZ and bought $$$$ worth of glass from him. He only said good things about it. I think he even bought the front quarters of the Subtle Z if I'm not mistaken. WebWalker, go to the "Announcements" and look up "Met John Washington and gave him money." Dan, are you out there? David [ June 22, 2001: Message edited by: DavyZ ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neil Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 I checked out the subtle Z pics. I think those rear fenders would look awsome with air holes (don't know what else to call them) on the front of the wheel well (between the door and the tire). I like that look. I may get that package. Just neet to lose those bumpers. I think they stick out too much and ruin the clean "subtle" look. I think they would look cool on your car, WebWalker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Hey, here I am. John will be shipping my fenders the end of next month. The fenders are finished and ready to ship, but I'm not quite ready for them yet. Need to make room in the garage.He was gracious enough to offer to store them for me till then. John is great to work with. I'll let you know about the product when they arrive. But I'm sure I will be very happy. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 I saw one of Johns kits in Tampa and the car looked really clean, it had 16x8 wheels on it and it reaaly looked good. If you think the pics lokok good you should see an actual car. Very well built and not a lot of bodywork to fit on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Its good looking. I was wondering are the fenders fiberglass, and is it the whole hood you get, and is it glass also? [ June 23, 2001: Message edited by: Dp351zcar ] [ June 23, 2001: Message edited by: Dp351zcar ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 I did not find a phone number or a e-mail link on John Washington's website, am I blind? How do you get ahold of him? DP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Here you go: John Washington John@ReactionResearch.com Reaction Research/VR Engineering 2149 E 5th St #103, Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 967-3289, Fax (480) 967-3391 http://www.reactionresearch.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Thanks Guys. Now as soon as I get the bugs out of my Harley trans I'll be saving for those (again). WW∞ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 FWIW - the SubtleZ hood is on my car. It's glass and "cut to fit" so expect to do some bodywork. Overall I was happy with John but shipping prices need to be worked out better - he's paying way too much. Ship a Cervini Mustang hood dirt cheap, a SubtleZ hood... ouch! But it's here, it's on (well it was anyway) and it looks GREAT! Should cool the engine bay nicely too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 I don't understand, were you happy or not BLKMJK? How many hoods have you experience with on shipping? Was John fair with you? How do you feel about his product over-all? I'm all for hearing your criticisms and/or praises. WW∞ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 As I said, overall I was happy. However the shipping price, especially the first quote which was as much as the hood (!), was high. I'm spoiled in that I can oprder a Mustang hood from Cervini and pay about $100 shipping, John's initial quote was $300! I told him to work on that and he ended up getting a better price from the shipping company and he might have pitched in some too. I believe it was more than $100. Hood arrived packed VERY well, no shipping damage! Upon test fittin git I found that it hit my fenders and no moving of hinges would fix this. I took some measurements and found that the frame under the hood was shifted to one side - I thought this was why it was misaligned. I spoke to John, he explained that it was a "trim to fit" hood and that when he had made them exactly to stock size people complained about the fender gap - so he makes them wider. I didn't know this prior to the purchase and it meant more money at the bodyshop. I mentioned the shifted frame, he apologized, and promised to speak to the person who laid the glass. With the trimming of the hood edges and the rest of the work done you'll never notice the frame, it might now be straight actually, and before it took some real serious looking or a measuring tape to spot so... The underside of the hood is NOT gel coat, it's glass mat so be aware it's not "finished" like the top is. Again, I'm spoiled by Mustang hoods that are often gel coated underneath but it wasn't like there was hair hanging down or looking really bad. The bodyshop sprayed the underside black and it's fine. No other dimensions other than the frame were "off" and th ebodyshop had no trouble fitting later model Z cents into the hood. John does NOT sell this hood without vents, I thought it might look stupid but it's not too bad. Someone sells NACA ducts for those holes but I could never get a price from them (sigh). Throughout all of this John was a good guy to deal with. He worked on getting the shipping price down and said that he seldom shipped single pieces like this actually. He was always friendly and professional unlike ArizonaZ even when I complained about the frame. My initial note to him before finding out the hood was "trim to fit" was a bit ummm high pitched I'd spent over $400 at that point and was NOT happy about a potential ship back. As it turned out this wasn't needed, he handled it well, and in the end I have a darned nice looking hood - the pics are on my site BTW including the fitment pics and pics of the packaging. Would I do it again? Well, after the $1K bodyshop bill that included the install of glass fenders and install of a new windshield plus new rear gasket I'd say maybe. I'm not sure how much of that $1K was hood work - they certainly went over the estimate by a few hundred and took about 4 weeks longer too. Obviously that wasn't John's fault. Color match is PERFECT though and they blended the fenders extremely well. That $1400 or so isn't chump change - just be aware that getting into something like this could get expensive! My hesitancy to do it again isn't so much my dealings with John but the overall cost of this part of the project. John worked with me, he communicated, and he helped when I ran into problems. He also had suggestions for taking care of the hood long term to prevent sagging, he was up front about that possibility since he can't possibly afford an oven big enough to fully cure his parts. I'm not sure any other vendor does or can either but John was VERY up front about that and explained what I could do to fix this by better supporting the hood. So far I've seen NO problems with the hood but it's also not been subjected to SBC heat YET Does that help? That's about as candid and verbose as I can be about it BTW - John used to read in here and you can see some of his repsonses in threads where I mentioned my hood. P.S. Hood weighed exactly HALF of what the stock hood did. I saved maybe 15lbs tops but it's all on the nose baby It doesn't move around at speed (so far) and it doesn't obstruct vision. I've only ever dealt with his hood so I don't know about his other parts but I'd expect them to be decent but also require a little work as do most 'glass parts. Phew, my hands hurt tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 Web, if you call John he should be able to tell you if there is anyone in your area with any of his products so you can check them out. I called about one of his YZ280 body kits and he was very helpful. The person I met in Tampa said that he had to do some minor fitting but it wasn't very much. I don't know what he considers very much but I think he built custom cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 Thanky, thanky, I've been wanting those fenders for awhile now, something else just gets keeping in the way it seems. I'm glad I wasn't just on the interstate,..I fell asleep typing WW∞ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... , Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 I haven't seen the fenders yet but I've seen the molds. The Subtle molds are very clean and complete. Much higher quality than the YZ's. The YZ's were lifted from the original fenders while still on the car. They even have the imprints of the DZUS fittings still in them. I would guess the Subtle would be an almost bolt and paint deal. The YZ is going to be more work. I'll know soon enough. John will be shipping me a pair of each next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 2, 2001 Share Posted July 2, 2001 Thanks much Dan, thems encouraging words, I'd like to put some vents in them fenders behind the wheels, anyone done that that you know of? And is there any truth to the rumor that John used an actual measurement of Pamela Andersons little toe as inspiration for the fine proportion he incorporated in this project? WW∞ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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