Things I've Learned, Part I…
One big learning from this experience is this: Don't buy things way ahead of time. Wait instead until just before you are actually ready to use the part.
For example, I knew I needed a wiring harness and bought one from RI Wiring Supply soon after I got the car. It turned out to have errors in its manufacture. I thought I caught what I believed to be the only error, and with the help of the company, got it corrected back in the summer of '04. Now we find that there is at least one other problem with it, but it's too late to sent it back. It's a problem we can work around, but shouldn't have to.
Same with the window glass. I had new glass cut for the door and vent windows from a place in NC (A.G.U.S.) soon after I got the car. Now that we are ready to put it in we find that it's not the right size (windows) or cut so poorly (vents) that they can't be used. When I told them it was incorrrect a year after buying it, they would not make it good. In fact they hung up on me when I asked about it. They turned out to be the only vendor that I had a bad experience with. Avoid them at all cost.
The same with having work done before you are really sure about what you are doing. I had vent window work and plating done, only to find the recast vent window frames were too porous to be usable. I had top bows made long distance that ended up not fitting – again another waste of money.
The real key – if you are like me and not an expert mechanic/bodyman/woodworker/restorer – is to find someone locally that knows what they are doing. In the end, they will save you a lot of money. If I hadn't found Ken's Classics, this car never would have been finished correctly.
For example, I knew I needed a wiring harness and bought one from RI Wiring Supply soon after I got the car. It turned out to have errors in its manufacture. I thought I caught what I believed to be the only error, and with the help of the company, got it corrected back in the summer of '04. Now we find that there is at least one other problem with it, but it's too late to sent it back. It's a problem we can work around, but shouldn't have to.
Same with the window glass. I had new glass cut for the door and vent windows from a place in NC (A.G.U.S.) soon after I got the car. Now that we are ready to put it in we find that it's not the right size (windows) or cut so poorly (vents) that they can't be used. When I told them it was incorrrect a year after buying it, they would not make it good. In fact they hung up on me when I asked about it. They turned out to be the only vendor that I had a bad experience with. Avoid them at all cost.
The same with having work done before you are really sure about what you are doing. I had vent window work and plating done, only to find the recast vent window frames were too porous to be usable. I had top bows made long distance that ended up not fitting – again another waste of money.
The real key – if you are like me and not an expert mechanic/bodyman/woodworker/restorer – is to find someone locally that knows what they are doing. In the end, they will save you a lot of money. If I hadn't found Ken's Classics, this car never would have been finished correctly.
posted by Bob Shafto at 6:15 PM
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