alainburon Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 not yet, I went by there last week and the car was wrapped in bubble wrap with a cover over it. It is good that they are protecting it from being scratched but it is not good that it appears it will not be worked on anytime soon. If they don't get it done in the next 2 weeks then it will be next year since I'm leaving the country for the holidays in 2 weeks. How is yours coming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 LOL... Mine is awaiting the new harness. I have told them I want it back by my birthday 23rd of this month. We will see. I am getting my Supra tomorrow so I could be destracted for a few weeks while I play with a new toy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Going thru the long delay of having someone do the LS swap in my S10 has totally sucked. I don't know how you guys have tolerated this kind of waiting for your car. I' SO glad I did my own LS swap in my Z (yeah, it took 2 winters, but at least I wasn't paying somebody to do it). How do you stand it (?) I'm going crazy! Started in July, $13,000 and 3 engine rebuilds later I still don't have a truck! AAAAAAAARGH!!!! Thank goodness I can still climb over the door bar on my Z to daily drive it. How the heck can they wrap your Z in bubble wrap - they should be WORKING on it! I F-ing hate automotive "professionals." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Keith I could not agree with you more sir. To be honest there has been times during this build that I have lost interest due to how long it has been taking, if was not because all the money I have tied up in it or that the car means so much to me I would said the hell with it and bought something else. A restoration project should be a fun thing for someone that enjoys cars but it has been a real pain for me. It has been driving me crazy not having a toy in the garage. It’s a miracle I have not turned into an alcoholic. If I would have known this was going to happen I would have kept my Z06 until I got the 280 done. If it’s not someone taking for ever to complete a job is someone else doing a crappy job. I just dropped off my seats to get re-upholstered for the 4th time now. Due to people incompetence that just can’t get it right. Why say your are a professional Upholsterer when you can’t do double stitching without it looking like I did it after drinking a bottle of Whiskey. The bad thing is that I still have to put my car together when it gets back here. All that is at the body shop is the shell. The drivetrain and the rest of the car is in my garage. The worse thing is dropping all this money and having nothing to look at but a box of parts and a vision of what it is all going to look like when it is done. The body shop told me 6 to 8 months and it will be 3 years in Feb. 2015 since I dropped my car off there. I feel your pain man, sucks about your truck but like you said at least you can drive the Z so look at the bright side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Don't you love the car shows on TV where they say: "SEMA is in 2-weeks, we gotta have this car done!" And the car is all full of rat shit out of a barn. Then after 16 commercial breaks and a half hour, the car is done by a bunch of ass holes who bitch, complain and play practical jokes on each other, going into the trailer on its way to the show! Why can't I find THAT shop? Why can't my wife get MY car pit on Overhaulin' or Pimp My Ride? Instead, it gets shoved in a corner at a "professional" shop. I asked my builder to drive my truck all this week to find any bugs before I find them. I called to check in it and the guy on the phone tells me the owner has been sick and that the truck has been fired up once. I bet that after sitting there another week that I put the first damn mile on it when I drive it home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Alan. I have an interior guy that is "tits". He has done 2 interiors for me. And I am about to have him do the interior in my Supra. He is in Kingwood. If you can bare to travel that far into the woods...... I know you don't like to travel too far lol..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Thanks for the info, I wish I would have known that. I just dropped off my seats yesterday at Westside Upholstery. They have been recommended by several guys I used to show cars with as being one of the top places in Houston for custom Upholstery. They are not cheap that’s for sure as it is costing me 2K to redo both seats but they claim they can get the double stitching perfect and I sure hope they are right. Everyone claims that doing double stitching right especially when the stitching is a different color than the leather takes very good equipment as well as talent. I would have gladly drove to Kingwood in fact that is closer to my work than Westside is. I guess we will see how the seats turn out this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I got both of my factory seats rebuilt with new cushions, all metal painted, new banding, leather with suede diamond tuck center sections, and plastics reconditioned for 900.00. I am going back to get the rest of the vinyl on the interior replaced with the same suede diamond tuck pattern on the rear shock towers, tranny tunnel area, and rear deck...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 The pricing you paid is about right. I paid $1,000 to have the first guy do mine similar to yours except I did not go with diamond tuck in the centers, just lines across. I went with leather and suede as well. I also had Richey Collision blast and paint all of the metal. The problem I had with the seats is that the suede inserts has wrinkles and he mentioned they would go away once exposed to heat which was not the case. This guy used to do work for Corvettes of Houston so he came highly recommended. Since he started to travel a lot for business and could not get to the seats to fix them I decided to take it to a place that Richey uses to see about fixing this and they told me they had to re-do the entire seats for another $1,000. So they did and the suede was wrinkle free however the double stitching came out all crooked like drunk did it. It really stands out because the stitching is blue like my car and the leather is black so any imperfections show up a mile away. I refused to take the seats and the owner gave me this song and dance that his wife has cancer and he has been struggling financially due to the medical bills. He said he did not mind re-doing the seats but asked if I could pay for the leather. Since I have a soft spot for cancer due to some family members passing from it I agreed to buy the leather which was $500. When I went to pick up the seats the stitching was better but not good enough for what I want as I intend to show my car as well as drive it, which was made very clear to both of these guys before they worked on the seats. He then mentioned that’s the best he could do with the equipment he has and that’s when I lost my mind and was asked to leave before he called the cops. J Why take on a project that you are not equipped to do? So there I was $2,500 in seat work and still was not happy with the results. That’s when I decided to take them to Westside and be done with it. I should have taken it there from the beginning since that’s who all my friends that have custom interiors recommended but that’s what I get trying to save a few bucks. Never again I tell you that, from now on its first class no matter how much it cost or I’m not doing it. Like they say you get what you pay for. The short of it, I will have $4,500 on a set of front seats which it totally ridiculous, just thinking about it gets me hot man. If Westside does what I expect them to do which is perfection I will have them do the rest of my interior. If the seats do not come out as I expect you may see me in the 6:00 news. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 What will really piss you off is when you go to your first show: stay up all night cleaning with a tooth pick, trailer the car to the show, wipe her down with a million-dollar cloth and product from Griotts Garage and some guy with a total POS with no paint and holes in the quarters parks next to you and gets all the lookers, questions and trophies. That was the situation at my one-and-only car show with my Z. 25 years of work on my machine, and it might as well have been garbage. My buddy, Adam, won the whole f-ing show with a car that he pulled out of a salvage yard, stuck some eBay flares. He didnt even wash it. Or take the beer cans out of the floor board. Do it the way YOU like it, and the hell with everybody else. If you want straight stitching and it took $4500 to get it, then it was money well spent. I can't wait to see your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thanks Keith, I can’t wait to get my car done too and you are right the main thing is that you build your car how you like it and the hell with what anyone thinks. I know car shows can be frustrating and in some cases is who you know that gets your 1st place. I was at a Corvette show where best wheels trophy was given to a Vette with stock wheels. I had custom HRE wheels on mine and others had some really mice wheels too and we did not even place. I guess it helped that the lady who won was related to the president of the Corvette club doing the show. J The thing about the shows that I miss is just hanging out with my friends, having a few beers and talking about cars. To me that’s what it is all about, if I win great if not then oh well. In fact I don’t have much room for trophies, I would have to start getting rid of some before I can add anymore. I heard you got your truck back, congratulations and I hope they got it sorted this time. Nothing more frustrating that spending money on something that’s not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Got my seats back today and thank god the stitching looks great. These guys will do all my Upholstery from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Well after 3 years in the body shop and no end in sight I decided to take my car unfinished. The car is painted but the engine bay is not to the standards it should be for this build. Therefore I dropped of the car at a restoration shop to have the engine bay redone as well as wet sand and buff the car and fit all the glass and weather-stripping. I also decided to step up to a better fuel system so I went with the Aeromotive Platinum series A1000 pump and matching components. From left to right AN10 shut off valve, 100 Micron Filter, A1000 Pump, 10 Micron Filter. Also purchased an Aeromotive regulator to finish it off. The feed to the engine will be AN8 and return to the tank will be AN6. This set up should deliver plenty of fuel for my application not to mention it looks killer in chrome. Bling, Bling…… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Thanks to thezguy for letting me use his wheels to see how they would fit on my car. It looks like I may be able to get 12” wide wheels in the back but have to go to 8” in the front. The rear ones in this picture are 11” and I still have some more room left. The fronts are 9.5” and stick out 1.5” past my fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 (edited) I expected your jack to be chrome-you slackin'! Seriously, your car is awesome. Edited April 7, 2015 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 LOL... Actually that's not my jack, the picture was taken at the body shop that is re-doing my engine bay. Chrome floor jack, ummmmm you may have something there though. Thanks for the compliment, I can't wait to start putting it together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I understand your pain. I'm getting pretty frustrated myself and it's only been about 6 weeks with my car. In the last three weeks they have gotten absolutely nothing done with it. 3 years and I'd be going postal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Yes sir, the bad thing is 3 years and the paint work is still not done. That's what has been the deal with mine, It just sat for months without anything being done. I'm just glad I decided to take it somehwere else. In the last week there has been more progress than the previous 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Is the body shop someone's house? Good to see you moving on this. I didn't see you at TX2k. You could have jumped in with Mike on giving me shit for driving my truck and not the Z...... get that thing on the ground and put together!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I don't understand why car shops are prone to do this. We have money, but neither time nor skills, so we hire somebody who says they want to do this sort of thing. Then they just kinda quit(?). WTF! I'd like to try that some time: start somebody's eye surgery, then half way thru say: "**** it, Im goin' Turkey hunting....for six months...and leave the patient on the table and just walk away...and not call anybody to tell them." Yet somehow these places survive. I don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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