Technical PSA: Johnny Law Motors.

Didn't go with my shoes.

 

"Il Padre Il Filio Et Lo Spiritus Malum Omnis Caelestis Delenda Est"

"Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam"

I thought you guys were talking Marine, but now I get it - San Franciscan
Sola Fide
Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia

 

The Hoffman group is very dealer friendly- especially for the internet based drop ship entrepreneurs. Nearly anyone can become a dealer and sell their parts. The drop ship entrepreneurs can conduct business with just a smart phone from anywhere. They can be homeless, Van life hippie, retired grand parents, soccer mom, a 15 year old in the basement, even you.

http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/

Check their website and the scrolling banner.

 

First and last deal with Johnny Law was a pre-made plate to split my wishbones on my 40 coupe, it was cheap and looked good on ebay and would save me some time from having to fab one.

What I received was a real POS, the main plate that bolts to the frame was ok and appeared to be machine/plasma cut with round mounting holes in the right places, but the eyes to receive the rod ends looked like you blew the holes thru with dynamite and weren't even close to being round or the right diameter, it was real apparent that a jig for assembly consistency or drill press was not used in its assembly.

Long story short I cut it apart remade the mounting eyes correctly with round holes to the correct diameter and re welded it back together.
Lesson learned with Johnny Law........... Never Again!

 

Summit sells Helix. I did not know that was Hoffman Group and bought upper and lower front control arms for an A-Body. I don't have the car on the road yet so I can't say how it will end.

I thought from Summit I would be OK.

 

Worlds biggest truism. You get what you pay for. Can't believe anyone would send these Douche Bags their hard earned money.

 

It's really hard to tell sometimes. Especially on the internet based supply chain.
Helix suspension probably has the best projected marketing image, pictures, graphics, out of all of all the other suspension guys out there. I hear the stuff is garbage.

 

First and foremost, I want to make it absolutely clear that in no way am I defending the Hoffman group. They are indeed a rotten bunch of people, and I have a local friend and fellow hot rodder who had a really bad experience with them. However my one dealing with them was OK, at least.
Bought a really nice '40 Ford coupe about 3 years ago from a nice guy and I still have no "buyer's remorse", all in all it's been what I wanted, nice looking, good driving cruiser.
Had a problem with the wiring at one point though about a year into owning it when the left rear turn signal and stoplight stopped burning and I decided that it was in the wiring, which had been done with a "Keep it Clean" wiring harness and the previous owner couldn't find the wiring diagram, just remembered the brand as above. They are a Hoffman Group company.
Called the number I found on web with Google's help, and after talking to a guy who seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the wiring harnesses they sold, looked for the identifying features he needed to pull up the right info and then e-mailed me a PDF of the entire wiring manual and schematic, which was a big help in finding the problem.
So apparently at least once in awhile they do the right thing. But as we say here in the South, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile"

 

All their stuff from logos to websites has a look to it that is pretty easy to identify.

 

Yep, somebody is always willing to piss on the electric fence..

 

As my dad used to say,
"est vita Brevior saltare cum deformibus mulieribus"

 

What Maserati? This is a trad board man.

 

is Skip White in Tennessee okay? - no trouble ever with Summit!

 

I am very interested in this as well, I need to build a new engine, their prices are way cheap even with stated brand names.

 

You failed to include prison inmates!

 

"Well, that's quite surprising!" said no one, EVER!

 

Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea about any of this stuff. I just ordered a couple of small trinkets off ebay from Jonny Law Motors. Then saw that they were in Portland, thought maybe I found another local shop to get stuff from, now I will make sure to avoid them!

 

Todd HOFFMAN .....from the Tv show "Gold Rush" is from Oregon too... Hhmmm...I Wonder...(Do you suppose this crap is how they can afford to keep mining ? )

 

.
Good question. I've looked at their eBay stuff for a long time and they have a bunch of Feedback, mostly good. Their problems seem to concern returning parts and that's when they go into a coma.

I need a 600 hp Chev big block built on my '69 block. Anyone know about their engines ?
.

 

Watch out for Autocaredepot seller on eBay. They are Hoffman group as well.

I needed a front u-bolt set with the clamp plate for my car and found a cheap one on eBay. When it showed up the return address said “the Hoffman group” and I knew I’d been had. The u-bolts were 3/8”!!! Factory and other aftermarket are 1/2”. I messaged them stating my sincerest concerns, and they actually refunded me completely and said to not bother sending the parts back. It was a disappointing purchase but they did at least take care of it.

 

Hoffman Group had a sales position opening on Portland Craigslist 6 years ago. I didn't know about them other than ads I'd seen in magazines. Thinking I'd be a good fit plus get a great parts discount, I called and received an appointment for the following day.

That evening I researched and found many bad words about their service. I attend the interview and after feeling very comfortable and overqualified I mention the terrible service reports. Interviewer skips right over my comment so I bring it up again a few minutes later and suggest I could help in that area. Interviewer immediately says "this interview is over"....

I tried to fart but couldn't muster one so instead told him "I'm spreading the contents of this interview to every car guy that will listen"

No connection. I know Todd.
He buys parts where I work, http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/

 

STAY AWAY FROM SKIP WHITE! They have awful customer service and their return policy is garbage. I bought two carbs from them for my tunnel ram, thought they were the same model as an 1850. I took one out of the box, noticed it had dual inlet center hung fuel bowls and would not fit inline on my tunnel. Put it back in the box, never opened the other and prepared to ship them back.
When I opened a return they informed me they wanted a 15% restocking fee (since it was a $600 bill, that was $90 to put it back on their shelf.). I informed them that I did indeed make a mistake ,but only one carb ever saw daylight and was never even remotely close to being installed. They said it didn't matter, they still needed to charge fee, but were willing drop it to 10% (now $60 to put it back on their shelf.). I refused to pay it and said I would sell them myself.
Moral of the story, had I used Summit, never would have had a problem. They would have taken it back no questions asked and I would have paid the same amount to begin with. Always stick with what you know works in situations like these.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I had to hound them to even get them to return phone calls and emails explain the situation and open the return. Terrible, terrible company.

 

ok guys and girls ... I haven't dropped in for a while ,, but this post and others like is a bit disturbing..
recently I bought Helix Spindles from these 'turkey stranglers" part number HEXSPIN7 .. Summit Racing sell same spindles with the same part number .. anyone run the Summit ones?

From New Zealand its hard to tell who is good and who is not purveyors of fine auto parts
having said that does Summit sell crap parts? (helix brand for example)

does the Hoffman group as a whole have all crap parts, or just some crap parts but crap service etc

 

Yep, yep, and hell yep!

 

If you had a nickle for every time a poster on the HAMB says he wants something that is 'cheap', you'd be very wealthy. The difficulty we have in buying quality parts is partially self inflicted. If the majority of the market demands 'cheap' and refuses to pay for quality items, the suppliers have three choices.....cheapen the parts, go out of business or raise their prices even more due to the lower volume over which to spread their costs.....and for most, the latter choice either ends up putting them out of business or discontinuing certain products. For that very reason, those of us who are wanting and willing to buy quality parts often find there are none of the desired quality to be had. Unfortunately, human nature hasn't changed in recorded history, so I don't expect the considerable demand for 'cheap' to go away........

Ray

 

I believe it was New Zealand that got a big shipment of Hoffman group tilt columns one broke and it was found that the joint was made of plastic I believe they aren’t allowed to be used there or something of that effect

 

Another undesirable side effect of the "W*lm*rt Syndrome". And another good reason to not shop there.

 

I have bought from the Gearhead Co (Hoffman) in person at BTT50's and have had good dealings. Being a live transaction is certainly a big plus. You have the product in your hand and can see exactly what you are buying. You just have to keep in mind just what it is your buying and who your buying it from. I would never do business with them through Ebay or the web. I can also tell you that when it comes to Lokar products NOBODY has a better price. Just my 2 cents....Dan

 

Are they genuine Lokar products or a knockoff?


Phil

 

I've bought lots of parts from Gearhead and have been very happy. I didn't know they were Hoffman.