I am wondering if anyone out there has contact information for Donny Smart in Valdese, NC.? I bought patch panels from him last year and paid up front and he has fallen off the face of the earth. I only have a phone number ending in 4609 for him, and when I call it, it just rings perpetually.... Any help would be appreciated!
Odd timing... I talked to Donnie this morning. Said that phone lines had been damaged for almost a month because of some work his neighbor did. He could hear the phone, but couldn't speak on it. He is currently returning calls that were missed... Donnie is a one man show. When you call, be prepared to let it ring for 10-12 times before he hears it... Shaping metal can be loud! I can personally say that his parts are second to none, and well worth the wait. Sam
I spoke with him today Also, Sounded Like He is very busy Trying to fill guys custom orders. I don't Know Donnie personally, but I know plenty of guys who do, and they all say pretty much the same thing, He is slow at times, but the parts are worth the wait!....He is a perfectionist and I think he wants to help everyone build the best car they can and maybe overloads himself. Hell he is just one man hand making parts and isn't exactly a spring chicken anymore...lol
Donnie is working on my 34 5-window coupe at his shop. He is doing excellent work, building a 2" channelled floor and putting patch panels in my car. The cowl vent had been filled and he has repaired it, and he is now working on the firewall. It had been cut out. I am having him install a 35 pick-up firewall. He has metal finished all this work, and you cannot tell it was repaired. Donnie builds duplicate panels and parts for 33-34 Fords that will fit exactly what you are replacing,you won't have to modify them, as I have seen so many other brand panels. When you order from Donnie your order goes on the list in the order that it is received and will be custom built to order when your time comes up on the list. Donnie is like the rest of us,in that he has family to deal with, and is sick from time to time, and is affected by the weather,like these extreme cold spells we have had. Try to understand why it takes so long to get your parts, and order them far enough ahead of time. Thanks, John.
Donnie built the Floor for my 5-Window, 2" Channel, I had to wait like everyone else, but I'm telling you-you will not find better work anywhere!! It's worth the wait!!
Do you think it's weird when if something that's good is said about someone the thread dies, but when something bad is said it stays at the top for weeks.
Laws of human nature at work. Put a small black pencil dot in the middle of a clean sheet of white paper and ask folks what they see. Most will say a black dot, they fail to see all the white that surrounds it. Always good to see that there are craftsmen still out there that won't compromise the quality of their work for the sake of production and making a quick buck. Ed
This is worth keeping near the top for a bit longer, least I can do for one hell of a craftsman like Mr. Smart.
Everyone keeps telling me that he is quite a craftsman and his work is so great, but he has been telling ME that my parts are finished and "will be shipped Monday" for the last 4 months. And yet the RARE time I can get him on the phone ---6 times out of over 60 calls in the last 8 months, he always has an excuse as to why he can't make it to the post office. If he was an honest guy, he would tell me if he was not done with them and we could deal with it. He is coming across as extremely dishonest and has taken full payment up front without doing what he said he was going to do. I wouldn't recommend him to anyone. I'm sure he will read this, as the only time he ever contacts me is when I inquire about him on the HAMB. So Donny, give me a call. Cut the excuses, mail my stuff or send me my money back, you are really embarrassing yourself in front of these people who have spoken so highly of you over the years.
All that being said, my whole issue with this is not with the supposedly great quality of his work, or getting stuff "fast". My issue is with a man doing what he says he is going to do, and keeping his word. When I mailed him payment in full up front, I kept my word to him, and my check didn't bounce, This guy has not done ONE thing he told me he would do. Excuses only go so far, then ones character begins to come into question.
There are artists, and there are business men, and seldom do the two intertwine. I guess when you ordered you should've allowed for family problems, sickness and the extreme cold spells we've had. Shame on you for not doing that!
Are you serious? Hopefully this is sarcasm. When I make parts for people I DO NOT accept any money until the part is ready to ship. My stuff is made by hand in the evenings, not my "real job". So I know there will be delays. I don't want anybody thinking I am using their money before they get the part. Yes, I've called people back when the order is ready and had them tell me they moved on to another alternative. It's part of doing honest business.
If anyone happens to know of any shows that he frequents, please message me. It appears that I need to go find him in person. It should have been a major red flag when I realized he had no way to be contacted other than a phone number that he obviously screens with caller ID, no voicemail, and no email. It seems from all the private messages that I have received about this type of problem that others have had with him as well that he's not old school like he claimed, just a liar.
Welcome to the crowd. I had a contract with him and it still took a year to get my parts. I recommend Writing him a letter. I sent him several letters and sent them registered. He had to go to the Post Office to get them and came back to me mad as hell. After many threats he finally came thru. Good Luck but get ready for him to threaten you. Bob
Thanks for the info Bob. From the comments and private messages I am getting it appears that this is his MO. I've sent him several registered letters, but he refuses to accept them. At this point I've come to the conclusion that he just stole my money.
Hang in there, I think you'll get your parts. He may be a lot of things but I don't think he is a thief. He makes nice stuff but has no clue how to run a buisness or treat his customers right.
Well, Donny Smart finally had the nerve to pick up the phone when I called for about the 20th time, and he decided to come up with some new stories about why he can't mail out the parts that I paid for 8 months ago and have supposedly been completed and sitting in his house for 4 months. He has now changed his story from his sister was ill, to his mom was ill, to the weather is too bad, to he was called to the pentagon for top secret debriefing, to the telephone lines are down, and now he claims that I never sent him money for shipping! And that one day when he gets around to it, he will send me a bill for shipping ---and then when he gets good and ready he will send me my parts when he feels I deserve to get them! What a joke. You guys that have messaged me are right, he's a totally unreliable jerk. He then went on a tirade calling everyone on the HAMB a bunch of "P*&&ies that sit around and suck each others ##$@!" as well as calling me every possible homosexually related slur he could think up. Which, by the way don't apply to me.... But the point being, this guy appears to be seriously unstable. I've drawn the conclusion at this point that he has stolen my money, and I'll never see the parts. And that being said, the guy is so sorry that I wouldn't care to put anything I got from him on my car anyway. Bottom line--- By my experience the guy is a thief and a liar. STEER CLEAR OF HIM.
This is not the first time I have heard about Donnie and deal going bad. Hope you get your parts or money back. Stay with it. It is not hard you pay for part you get the part. You should not have wait for the parts after you pay. All Donnie lovers, how is Texasacash in the wrong. The man is asking Hamber for help plus telling how Donnie is doing business. Thank you for the information on Donnie.
Absolutely. No matter how great his parts are, he still STOLE THE MONEY. You take the money and don't deliver the parts-you stole it. How's the OP deserve rants form this jerk? You know Donnie, you're having a a car built by him?_Fine. How 'bout you go over, pick up the OP's parts and ship them to him? I figure he'd pay you for shipping. Doesn't matter to me how much a craftsman this guy is, he's a poor excuse for a man if he can't keep his word. Stop defending the jerk and do something about it.
You've got my vote. Guy's a loser. It's weird .... yet it happens quite often. Some guy gains a sort of cult following and no matter how bad he screws up and screws people, there are still those who will defend him to the death. When you take someone's money, you owe them something, plain and simple. No amount of excuses can make up for that.
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