Projects Recreating the jesse lopez coupe

I agree with what your saying Jerry.. I always thought the Jr's car should have been in the TRJ..compared to some customs that have been featured..I like Kustoms Illustrated..good magazine...keep up the great work...Both cars deserve the RESPECT that should be given..Your attention to detail is amazing...Well done...

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Jerry, The Lopez Coupe looks sooooo incredible! Great Job! Sorry bro for being so sadly out of touch"

Ron M.

 

Thanks Ron.

 

You got balls Jer.. There, I said it!
Phenomenal job on the whole car Jer!

Dave

 

Not just any balls, DISCO balls

 

Thanks guy's. Actually they're called art deco "sphere's". I cant say that word when first awakened in the am.

In my haste I didn't put the shifter in the correct position, and I do have the registration holder on the column, which is not installed either, oh well, there's always next time.

 

You need to turn the wheel just a bit to replicate that photo! haha just busting your art deco spheres....amazing job I hope to see the car on the west coast some day!

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TRJ is definitely worth the wait (hope Jesse is in good health), looking forward to it. Kudos.

 

OK, now lets get this one where it can be "put away".

 

As most of you know, I’ve tried to do this exercise from the perspective of the average guy, and all the struggles that he has to go through to reach his goal of a “finished” car. Historically, I’ve always lost interest as I neared the finish line on these vehicles because I became bored, and wanted to move on to the next challenge. I have had to see the Corvette, and El Camino through because they were always going to be “drivers”.


So when I got Junior’s car done, and the demands to see it started to get serious, I realized that I had to get it insured. To get it insured it had to be appraised to determine what the “replacement” value was. As I started this process it soon became clear that the “appraisers” were in trouble. They all were saying “we don’t know these cars”. I was starting to become impacted by why I didn’t like this part of the process, I also realized that I was going to have to get a truck, AND a trailer. DAMN!


So this is the part of this experience that you should know about.

I finally found a guy that was in Pheonix that did this type of thing for Rick Dore. I had to fly him out and pay him too much money. I didn’t like this, but I had to get this
right.


He came out and spent about 3 hours taking pictures and getting all the data from me. He flew back and it was about 6 weeks later that this three ring binder came in the mail.


I was impressed with how this was done, and felt good about what the value turned out to be. I did linger around railroad crossing’s for awhile, but soon moved on. He took all the data and gave it to three shops to look over. I’m sure they didn’t do this for free.


So, I’m now contemplating how to do this on Jesse’s car. Oh, by the way, I’m sure he said “what would it cost to do this to a ’50 Ford coupe in your shop?” As compared to doing a ‘historically accurate recreation’ of a famous car that no longer exists.

 

I need to add that the yearly insurance premium (Hagerty) was $2650.00. I would also like to find some one (a custom guy) in the DFW area for this.

 

Not the most fun part of the build, for sure. But it is a fitting quantification of all the effort and expense that has gone into this jewel.

 

Some of the pic's that were in the email to TRJ today.

 

Wow Jer just fantastic!!!

 

Damn, what a pair of fine looking automobiles!
Nice one Jer, and nice to hear the TRJ potential.

 

WOW !!!! just awesome !

 

I need to tell you that I’ve decided to go with the appraiser that did Jr’s car. That is Rick Mc Lash American Auto Appraisal. I called him and asked if I could send him the pics that he would need for this job. He wouldn’t have to fly out and that could be a saving on my part. He replied that for the appraisal to be legit he would have to have his hands and eye’s on this car. If the insurance co. can find a legit reason to not pay a claim they will jump on it, and this would definitely be one of them.


I also want to tune up my definition of this “average guy” that I keep referring to. This guy could/would have gotten his skills by working for others most of his life. He’s now retired, the kids are gone, his wife supports his passion, everything’s paid for, and he has enough money to do this if he does everything he can himself. He can’t afford to drop his car off at the “custom House” and pick it up when it’s done.

He knows that the general rule of thumb is that you can never get your money out of your custom “project”, so he very carefully finds the right car, and does all his homework to insure that he can get his money back. Maybe he can even do better than that.


Maybe that’s stretching a little bit, but I hope not.

 

This is Rick Mc Lash (the appraiser) from Amercian Auto Appraisal in Pheonix.

 

Jer,
Please do be angry with me,but I think that Mr McLash is a big time promoter of his type of service..
Maybe he is bringing a jar of Vaseline when he returns to your place,,,
I'm sure you know Mr Jim Baker up in Sherman.I would call Jim and inquire of his insurance on his 48 Merc built by David Guymon..It is also listed on Ric Hoving website.

 

Bobby, I always appreciate your input, if it had come a bit earlier it would have been more helpful. Rick doesn't sell insurance, he's just an appraiser, and I was happy with his method and result of what the outcome was on Jr's car.

 

I've been lurking on this thread because, while I do like customs, only a few really "grab" me. Your work, effort and attention to detail are on a whole new level. Sir, you didn't raise the bar, you shot that son of a bitch to the freakin' moon. Thank you for sharing your work.

 

Jer,
I understood that the man was just an appraiser,,I just disagree with his fees...
Thanks
Bobby......car looks "SUPER"

 

If Rick had an easy ride the first time on Jr's, that wont be the case with Jesse's. Junior did say that I did a good job on his car, but wanted me to know that there was a whole lot more work on Jesse's. That was an understatement to say the least. I gave Rick 5 pages of modification data along with photos of the things that he couldn't see. There will be substantial time spent on calculating what all that would cost to replace.

 

This has been an absolutely awesome project. Thanks a ton for sticking with it, and for posting all the updates! Your efforts are inspiring.

 

Darn if those aren't two of the best old school customs I've seen lately. Great job


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I've been following this thread from the beginning-- Herculean effort to get the car just right....thanks for bringing it to life so that a new generation of custom fans can appreciate it as much as we old guys appreciated the original...


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Well, it’s time to check in and wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas, and an upcoming happy new year. I appreciate you more than you can know. As I’ve said before, this whole experience has been surreal, and your involvement has been a mega part of that fact. A “thank you” doesn’t seem to be adequate.

Jesse’s coupe is hibernating in the shop, and probably is going to get a little attention soon. This lacquer is going to calm down when it’s cured, but until then…

The appraisal packet has arrived, and I think that it’s important for the “ average guy’ to know that he could do very well if he pays attention to how he’s doing his “project”. It cost's money and time to build these things, and when you see what respectable shops will charge to “replace” them, it helps make sense out of what we are so passionate about.

I have come to understand the value of an appraisal. When you’re dealing with this kind of money it can (and will) bring out the best, and worst of human nature. Rick tells me that a year doesn’t go by where he’s not in court on these documents.

 

Thanks for the update Jer...Have a prosperous New Year !!

 

Yes, a Happy New Year to you Jer, and everyone on the H.A.M.B.

It has to be extremely difficult to put a dollar value on these cars - add to that the trials and tribulations, and location of harder-to-find-than-years-ago parts and the appraisers task becomes even more challenging. Thanks for your candour! Let's hope it is truly just insurance!

Dave