Hot Rods BAD EXPERINCE WITH BUBBA'S HOT ROD SHOP

Still no parts?

 

unfortunately , still no parts .

 

He must of sent them by carrier pigeon
Obviously not a happy ending

 

built my distributor for me and sent it out quick, motor runs like a top...... lots of helpful info during the process, ryan said he's the official hamb guy.... he's my official distributor guy too....
thanks jim....dave

 

Add me to the list of 100 percent satisfied with Bubba service ,and I got chilli .

 

Since I'm the guy who has not dealt with Jim ....... where is his shop located?

 

I really hate to post this, but Bubba has had a Mallory YL Chevrolet distributor I want converted to an 8BA since last April. Direct inquirys in July and August brought "Yeah, we'll get right on it" responses, but still no distributor. Granted, I want something a little different (a Mallory crab cap, which is supposed to fit), but I specifically asked if it would be a problem and was told it wasn't. Maybe this post will get some activity. I am leaving for Florida in November and would like to have it before then.

 

WOW, not again!! Cant seem to get out of this hole , i wont even begin to try to explain each deal. Each has its own set of problems.
Lost my machine shop last winter as the old guy retired and quit doing custom stuff. Havent had the energy or time to train a new one as of yet.
As of the first of the year i will be doing only standard equipment like early Fords ( flatheads have become our speciality), Chevrolet conversions. Model A conversions and Mallorys. Custom work like billett distributor bases put the ball out of my court and take entirely too much time.
I will get everyone caught up soon as possible........
Nothing is impossible when it comes to ignition but there are jobs that take so much time and energy you just shouldnt do them...

 

Bubba, I can sympathize with you about losing your ace machinist, but being a semi retired machinist who will soon be 77, I can sympathize with him also. I've just about quit trying to do anytrhing for anybody that just comes in off the street, and only do a little work for those that understand about one off machining jobs and the time it takes to do them. The technology of today's expensive CNC machines has made a lot of what today's racers and rodders take for granted possible, but on a volume basis, not one off creations.
They see a Chinese made billet distributor that's made on CNC equipment in high volume to sell worldwide for small money and, because they don't understand the set up time to do an off the wall conversion job for a '29 Hupmobile or some such on a one off basis costs several times as much due to set up time to do it on a manual machine and they freak out. So I just don't try to do that stuff for most people nowadays, and I suspect your old machinist is in the same boat. .

 

Yes thats him exactly, i still talk to him each week and he has quit doing the headache work and is doing quite well restoring old coke machines etc. Just hauled a truck load to the Auburn In auction and did very well with them.
I have plenty of c&c shops locally but most want more for set up than i would pay....

 

I hope you get everything sorted out,I know you do first class work! HRP

 

Hang in there, Bubba. Your reputation is stellar here for good reason, and I sometimes I (almost) wish I had an ignition problem just so I could deal with a guy like you. Press on

 

FWIW, I do understand. And probably all that a body can do is hit 'em hard with that knowledge, and let the chips (hehe) fall where they may.

99.9% of 'em are dreamers anyway; those that aren't already know...

Cosmo

P.S. Oh, yeah, seems like the good machinists are going away. Most of the work has gone to China, seems it's cheaper to make a bad mold, then pay to have it fixed, than to have a domestic shop build it right in the first place. And that was ten years back...not gotten better since...

 

Never used Bubba but his confession to not finishing the afore mentioned distributors says a lot for him. Sounds like a guy who now realizes that his custom work on odd conversions is not practical at this time. Good luck Bubba and to the dizzy owner also.

 

Here at Crippled Dog Ranch Racing Team we like Bubba real well,, Take care Jim,,,,, Tim Jones

 

A decent honest business owner should simply tell the customer he will not do the work and return the parts instead of continuing to string the customer along with empty promises

 

I think ( hope ) Bubba will see me right ,
I do understand how much time it takes to do special one offs ,

 

Well if I was closer to Bubba I'd offer to take on some of the machining if not all..I do machining just to help out, just because I can and certainly not to make money on one offs because of set up/design time I don't charge much, but the 2nds and thirds do cost more....

 

I do some machining, just cause I have the machines and like to help out with projects, the toolmaker in me..Set up time is killer sometimes to figure out how to get to the finished result for an hours worth of machining...Then there is clean up afterwards; you know where cast iron goes when it gets machined? The chips are easy but the dust is EVERYWHERE!!

 

Modifying distributors is fun, but lacking a machinist to do the work would most definitely put a cramp in ones schedule and impact the variety of services that could be offered.. Here's just a couple shots of a Spalding Flamethrower I'm modifying to work on a Cadillac flathead. The lathe I use was built on September 23rd, 1941. Atlas etched the assembly date of their lathes on the outer race of the tapered bearings in the headstock. I discovered the date when I disassembled the headstock to clean and re-adjust the machine.

Seb, I agree with the cleanup, chips have wings.

Measure twice, machine once.......

 

nice work!

 

hopefully making progress , i got a e/mail from jim on the 4th of november 2014 , saying , my parts should be getting packed up soon ,

 

pretty dissapointed with the lack of service fron BUBBA'S IGNITION , JIM LINDNER
as after waiting almost 2 months to the day after the lates e/mail - response as below ,
still nothing has arrived ,
all I get is promises .
2 years! all up from the first e/mail.
Come on jim , its a bit ridiculous , don't you think ,
pretty shitty service

" From:[email protected] | Date:04/11/2014 1:22 AM | Email
To:[email protected]
Give me the shipping address and i will get the dodges packed up this
week....Models As are a few days out at the machine shop.....

Jim
On Mon, 3 Nov 2014 19:12:38 +1000 (EST) bundybiker@xxxx.comwrites:
> hello , any idea when , cheers pete "

 

Crappy deal!

 

I am surprised by this. I have had outstanding service from Bubba's.
I'll think twice next time.

 

in my experience, you can do 1000 good jobs, but the one bad one is the one everyone talks about i know all about it. hang in there Jim, this is the first bad i heard on him with a 1000 praises i will say nobody is perfect

 

I am surprised also , as I had heard good reports .
I am Pretty disappointed with the whole thing .

 

Bubba has converted an early Mallory tach drive Chev dual point to electronic for my Flathead to use with an early S-W tach & repaired & tested an early "Stinger" electronic conversion for me. Fairly quick turn around. If I have any more ignition problems, I'll call on Bubba again. Thanks, Jim!

 

" Fairly quick turn around " sounds good doesn't it !
That's something I dreamt of once .
Bundybiker

 

I have a post on this thread from September 15. It's about a Mallory YL SBC distributor that I wanted to be converted for an 8BA. I sent it to Bubba last April after inquiring about its suitability for this. He responded that this was their core business, and it would be no problem. The above post was entered after he had promised it by the end of May, the end of July, and then the end of August. Since then, I have been promised the end of September and then the end of October. When it didn't arrive by then, I sent him an email saying he'd have to sit on it until next spring because I was leaving for Florida. On December 15, I sent him and email proposing some alternatives, because I need two more SBC Mallory's converted. No response from him as yet.

Occasional poor performance is understandable; consistent poor performance and lack of communication is not. I have tried not to cause a ruckus here. because of his reputation, and I want my distributor. However, I have two more to be done, and have completely lost confidence in this guy and his operation. Does anyone else do these? Someone let me know.

Also, this is not my first bad experience with him. About 2 years ago, I sent him an old flattop Mallory to be refurbed. That one I got back promptly. It looked good, but absolutely would not turn. I called, they took it back and fixed it, but the fact remains, they sent out a defective, untested product.

Congratulations to you guys that have had good luck with Bubba. If (or when) I get my distributor, I'm done with him.