General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/General-Lee-Clone-Total-Butchery.html

[squirrel]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

I guess the moral of the story is, if you don't know how to inspect a car before buying it, make sure to find someone who does, and pay them to do it.

[BangShift McT]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Framerails in fiberglass. That's a new one...

[outlaw57]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

nice, pure quality

[BigBlockMopar]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Hang'em high.

[mustang13]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

A friend in the Body Shop business once told me there is a fine line between being famous and notorious. I guess it pays check the work before you sign the check!

[sedandelivery55]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

After reading all 30 pages off the forum about this debacle, I'm amazed. The fact someone actually got away with this kind of crap as long as they did. At least the car is getting redone properly now ( nicely, I might add).

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

I'm excited to hit Jon's shop up and zap some photos.

There are some serious Ford goodies there too. When the gallery goes up, make sure your drool towel is handy.

Brian

[Darren N.]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

This is a pretty interesting tale to say the least. I don't want to offend the current owner, but I don't think anyone here at FJY would have missed the obvious signs of a hackjob. The entire underbody was godawful.

I don't understand how the builder claims this was a quickie job built to movie car quality standards - how the hell does $70K equate to an in and out job? :o

My dad has been doing bodywork for nearly 40 years and has been running his own shop for the last 30 years. The majority of his customers are the usual North Eastern rust bucket daily commuters and collision/accident repair. He does a restoration or body work on classics once in a while.

Most of the time he avoids resto projects because everyone wants quality work for next to nothing. He's gotten stuck with countless projects with the owners running out of money or refusing to pay. So these days, it's either pay up or take your business to some other pay-'n-spray. In our neck of the woods, you tend to stay clear of those $10-20K "freshly" painted or restored cars.

The original builder is a crook and a fraud. I can't help but think about what some of the guys on this board could do with that car. I mean, not including the price of the car, that car could have been on the road with solid steel repairs and a junkyard 440 and 727 for a lot less, lol! ;D

Glad to hear that the car is being rebuilt with a quality shop. Look forward to the updates!

[JB666]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

This is a pretty interesting tale to say the least. I don't want to offend the current owner, but I don't think anyone here at FJY would have missed the obvious signs of a hackjob. The entire underbody was godawful.

I don't understand how the builder claims this was a quickie job built to movie car quality standards - how the hell does $70K equate to an in and out job? :o

My dad has been doing bodywork for nearly 40 years and has been running his own shop for the last 30 years. The majority of his customers are the usual North Eastern rust bucket daily commuters and collision/accident repair. He does a restoration or body work on classics once in a while.

Most of the time he avoids resto projects because everyone wants quality work for next to nothing. He's gotten stuck with countless projects with the owners running out of money or refusing to pay. So these days, it's either pay up or take your business to some other pay-'n-spray. In our neck of the woods, you tend to stay clear of those $10-20K "freshly" painted or restored cars.

The original builder is a crook and a fraud. I can't help but think about what some of the guys on this board could do with that car. I mean, not including the price of the car, that car could have been on the road with solid steel repairs and a junkyard 440 and 727 for a lot less, lol! ;D

Glad to hear that the car is being rebuilt with a quality shop. Look forward to the updates!

Hi guys --- I can completely understand AND AGREE with your comments. I bought this car "sight unseen" and basically just drove down (in the middle of the night) , and trailered the car home.. I bought it with my heart, not my head, and I know I'm responsible for what I got.. I'm not denying any of that.. What I'm trying to do , at this point, is make sure that these people don't do this to anyone else...

Would I do it different now? You bet I would.. But it's too late for that, and I'm in too deep to even think about turning back, so it's full steam ahead!!

As for the work that's being done on the car, if you could see it in person you'd be AMAZED. The work Jon does is incredible and leaves me feeling like a little kid the night before Christmas to see it finished!!! If any of you have the chance to get by Jon's shop, DO IT. He truly is the best in his field.

Thanks for the support guys, and the more help I have spreading this around the better it will end up..

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Hey man, thanks for joining up!

Jon is an amazingly talented dude, so you've got the right guy on the job. I'm excited to check it out when I head over to his shop.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Brian

[JB666]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Hey man, thanks for joining up!

Jon is an amazingly talented dude, so you've got the right guy on the job. I'm excited to check it out when I head over to his shop.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Brian

You're welcome!! I wasn't going to join until I looked around -- This is a great site!!

I didn't know Jon before this whole mess began.. I've known OF him for about 20 years.. He was the guy that was a couple of years older then me that always drove around in the super cool muscle cars.. When I had the opportunity to bring my "new" car in for a roll bar install, I jumped.. And look what happened.. I went in for a simple roll cage...The rest, as you can see, is history..

I have several domain names in my name related to Bondo King Auto, but I'm waiting to take that step...

[Darren N.]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Hey JB666!

I hope you aren't offended by my post. This is one of the weirdest set of circumstances I've ever seen. I don't envy your position, and I'm glad you're sharing your story. The original builder claims he has several satisfied customers but I find that really hard to believe, even if this is somehow just the first time this kind if crap has rolled out of his shop :

Good luck with your Charger 8)

[JB666]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Hey JB666!

I hope you aren't offended by my post. This is one of the weirdest set of circumstances I've ever seen. I don't envy your position, and I'm glad you're sharing your story. The original builder claims he has several satisfied customers but I find that really hard to believe, even if this somehow just the first time this kind if crap has rolled out of his shop :

Good luck with your Charger 8)

Thanks man!! Of course I'm not offended by it.. Hell, I set myself up for this mess.. I've wanted one of these cars since I was 10 years old and I JUMPED at the opportunity to buy one "freshly restored" with a 472 HEMI.. My testosterone kicked in LONG BEFORE my brain did..

My WIFE was even pointing out things she saw wrong with the car when we were there, but seeing as we had driven through the night and it was 6:30 when we were towing it home, I kept saying "Hey, it's all repairable, let's just get the car home...". That sure came back and bit me in the ass.. Like they say though, live and learn..

It was funny though, when I posted that I was looking for a GL, I must have had 15 PM's on other forums telling me "If you can afford it, and want the best, you have to buy this car...." and they sent me this link:

http://www.bkauto.net/GL119.htm

I was sold.. It looked like they did everything right..

It was nothing more than a whore in a pretty dress.

[Freiburger]

Re: General Lee Clone: Total Butchery!

Looks like there are plenty of parts worth keeping, though. We look forward to the progress, and thanks for joining us.