No More Red Car, The Saga of Mark's Folly (Long story) Options

[markb]

Well, it seems I bit off a whole lot more than I could chew, and the end result is the loss of my beloved red car. 6 years, a lot of sweat and blood (via skinned knuckles), a fair amount of money, invaluable assistance from some good friends, and some killer deals are gone.

The story: In July of 2005, I made a deal with the new body shop down the road from the Cap’ns shop in Santa Maria, CA, to have my blue 72 914 painted. In exchange, I would put together a 914 for the body shop owner. I had a very rusty 71 with a good motor, trans, brakes, etc. The body shop owner took a good look at it and said OK. I stripped the blue car down to just the body, a seat, the dash and the center console. The body shop guy agreed to shave the front turnsignals, paint the car, the early bumpers, the 5 Mahle wheels, and the top. Shortly into his work on the car, he started finding a fair amount of bondo, and he decided to take the car down to bare metal and fix it correctly. At this time we discussed a change of color to a 1970 only color of Metallic Red.

I felt badly about the amount of rust in the 71 he was getting, so I gave him a second body that had monster flares, but was virtually rust-free (OK, it had a rust spot the size of my thumbnail under the passenger seat) to use as a parts car.

The body shop owner took his time doing everything, resulting in him having the car for 9 months. I got the car back in May of 2006, minus the front bumper, which had been bent and had to be replaced with another bumper, the wheels, and the top. He finally finished these, and I picked them up on the 11th of June. I had given him the 71 when I got my 72 back, but the 71 had an oil leak that would require dropping the motor to fix, so we had to wait until there was a Saturday available at the Cap’ns shop. The body shop guy called me numerous times to fix small things, and was quite irritating. He was not a Porsche owner, and was not familiar with the vague shifting and underpoweredness of a 1.7. The Cap’n and I were finally able to get a Saturday free, and dropped the motor. We checked out the oil cooler, and it held pressure for quite a while, and we found rock hard seals, so we judged the seals to be the cause of the leak. The Cap’n replaced the seals, we put the motor back in, and had the body shop guy pick up the car. He brought the car back in on Monday, complaining of the same leak. It turns out the oil cooler WAS leaking, and that we would have to pull the motor again.

At this point, I came across a great deal on another 71, with a rebuilt motor, sideshifter, and much less rust. I made a deal to replace the rusty 71 with the nicer 71. The not-as-rusty car had a few quirks, which showed up as time went on. Many of the problems were electrical in nature, and were tough to track down.

I had finally reached my meltdown point by this time, and had taken time off from the shop to try and get some perspective. My 5 year relationship with my ex-girlfriend had ended abruptly (to me anyway) in February, and was still unresolved, resulting in a high stress period for me.

The Cap’n was kind enough to step in and trace down the problems caused by the PO, and we thought we had it licked. Then it started running badly again. I went down and replaced the MPS, the TPS, cleaned out the throttle body, and it ran well. I also re-keyed the ignition so that it matched to doors. The body shop guy drove the car for a week or so, and the said it was running badly again. I thought about what had been done, talked with a friend about the past history of the motor, and concluded the valves hadn’t been done in some time. I advised the body shop owner to contact the Cap’n and arrange to have them adjusted. A few days later (yesterday, June 14th, 2006), the body shop owner called me up very agitated insisting I come down and work on his car. I asked him if he’d talked to the Cap’n and had the vales adjusted, and he said he thought I was going to do them. He then started complaining about a bunch of other things (such as the key not turning easily in the ignition, due to the new wafers I’d used to re-key the switch with), and I finally had had enough. I knew this guy was never going to be happy with this car, no matter what we did, and I over-reacted. I told him I was going to bring him the red car, and we’d be done with it. Which is what I did. I regret it, and will regret it for a long time, but I saw no other way to please this guy.

Needless to say, the red car was a 7K car. New paint, ALL new rubber seals (including the impossible to find front targa seal), brand new bumper tops and dash top, nice tan interior and carpet, center console and dash with tan faces, adjustable Koni’s all around, freshly rebuilt sideshifter, rebuilt brakes, newish Dunlop A2’s, electronic ignition, electric 911 flag mirror on the drivers’ side (I hadn’t gotten the passenger side mounted yet), Camp 914’s driving light kit and euro front signal kit, 2 tops, one painted, and a killer stereo. All in all a car that was going to need very little for a long time. I now have a slightly rusty 71 that needs a lot of body work. AND, to add insult to injury, I was rearended on my drive home by a hit-and-run driver. This has not been my year. I won’t be going to the WCC now, simply because my heart is no longer in the 914’s. All the car does now is bring me frustration and anger. I would have taken this 71 down to hwgunner to part out in his ebay store, but I now have to hold onto it until the insurance companies figure out what they’re doing.

I sincerely hope your lives are going better than mine is. It’s only temporary, and I’ll get over it, but it’ll take a while.

Take care, Mark

[Jenny]

Mark, I'm so sorry to hear you don't have the red car anymore. Have you talked to the body guy since then? I mean, does he REALLY want a 914? I don't think he understands that short of buying a concourse winning teener, they will all have problems. It's only a matter of time before the red one does something he's not satisfied with. What then? See if you can still get the car back, and pay him for the body work done. Because that's what it boils down to, right? What his time on the red car was worth. If his passion doesn't lie with working on these little cars, he's probably not going to want to keep it for very long.

Or, maybe we can swing by to visit his car and put in a kill switch or something. Hell, if he doesn't know the cars, a minor problem with it might just deter him from wanting to keep it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Jen

[KaptKaos]

Chin up Mark. Things will improve.

I am sorry you struck that deal with that guy. What a bummer.

[Aaron Cox]

reallly sorry mark.....

called uncle guido yet? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[bondo]

Dude, that sucks!

I think the only solution is to get a welder, learn to weld, and make your dad's 914 even better! Let me know what I can do to help! (I can at least teach you how to weld)

[markb]

Thanks for the good wishes.

Jenny: I gave him the car yesterday, and he's planning a trip down south this weekend. He knows nothing about 914's, and will probably call when something happens that he doesn't understand. I can then tell him to fuch off. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm hoping that after driving it a while, he decides he doesn't like it, but that probably won't happen. If the lawsuits I have going (see why my stress levels are so high?) against the ex, and against Social Security for my disabled sister go the way the lawyers say they will, I may offer to buy it from him .

KaptKaos: I'm really sorry i got involved with him,too. If I would have realized he was a drunk that wouldn't remember from week to week as to what he agreed to, I would have never approached him. Live & learn.

Bondo: I don't think I have the heart to work on these any more. Dad's car would require help frrom the Cap'n, and I've imposed on him more than enough. If I'm not able to buy the red car back, when my finances improve, I may look for a /6 conversion. Right now I've had enough of the whole thing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Jenny]

Does HE know the car's worth 7K? Maybe refer him to a couple people that are knowledgable in 914s and convince him it's a pile of poo that he should get rid of.

If he's a drunk that can't remember things from week to week, that may work out to your advantage (if it boiled down to a he-said she said pissing match).

Good luck with everything else you've got going on (with Marcie and Karen)

Let us know if there's anything we can do for you.

Jen

[dinomium]

That is quite a tale. I hope things start to turn for you.

[Allan]

Wow, that really sucks Mark.

Couldn't you just have told him that you kept your end of the bargain and just fuch off?

[markb]

Unforunately it would have slopped over onto the Cap'n, and possibly another friend of mine. He can harrass me, but I won't have him harrassing my friends. This is my problem, not theirs.

[rhodyguy]

bummer mark. what? you didn't give him a hard dope slap? when dealing with a drunk you have to write everything down and get it signed. "i don't care if you were half gassed, you signed it!".

k

[Toast]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)


Next beer is on me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[G e o r g e]

Mark,


that sucks, for him to be such a fuchhead after taking his sweet ass time to begin with.


just remember time heals, i know it's hard but try to keep your chin up

[markb]

Well, after almost 4 months, the Red car is back in my driveway. The bodyshop owner said the car hurt his back to drive, and offered it back to me at the price I had offered him back in June. I still have to fix a bunch of things he fuched up, but my baby is home. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mueba.gif)

[Aaron Cox]

hoooray beer

[So.Cal.914]

Cool, like finding a lost Puppy.

[bondo]

Allright!


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Oh, and of course....

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

[markb]

I'll take some pics tomorrow. I can't believe how well it handles compared to the black pos. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


BTW bondo, I have the carb rebuild kits. I should get together with you sometime in the near future.

[KaptKaos]

That's awsome! Congrats!

[G e o r g e]

Glad to hear it Mark (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)