Crappy work from Winfields Rod and Custom

Many moons ago I worked for Gene, at the time Dave Migaletto ( who formerly had worked for Barris), Myself, and Gene cranked out the work( Dave passed away shortly after I left , that was many years ago), even then Gene was invovled with lots of things and sometimes could only supervise a job, but We had pride in the work and always wanted to protect the shop name, that being said I don't know who was doing the most of the work on Your car but I know Gene is way more capable than these pix show, after all He teachs a metal shaping class and you don't here of a bunch of people being mad after each class, I'm sure when Gene gets back on mon or tues He can shed some light.

 

Cuomo 73
I am just watching this and I am nuetral on it. But I was wondering why you took the car back to metal with sandblasting? Was the putty cracking? Wavey or what? From a distance in the pictures I can't tell much. Just wondering why you would take it back down.

 

He has a phone number, and email and an address. You should have called him or gone to see him and taken it up with him directly. If he is given the chance to make it right and doesn't, then take it public.

I just don't see what it has to do with anybody but you and him...

 

A dead giveaway would be a peek on the inside. JMO...................

 

true, but he is beyond that already.. i am just saying it is fixable

 

I agree with KID, Yes contact Gene, and do take it up with him . Instead of posting and bashing him here, talk to the guy show him the pictures and get a reply from the man himself and see what comes of it. My 2cents worth.

 

The pics don't really show some of the suspected areas unless you could have seen it in person. Yes the putty was very noticeable in areas, which had cause for concern. Also the proportion of the chop was a little off in person. That is why I took it back down to bare metal.

 

You'd be suprised what under a lot of Show cars. I had a ride in a local Kustom shop who's name I won't mention. I came by one day to check progress and the whole car from front to back was covered in 1/4 to 1/2 bondo. Their response was "we'll knock back the high areas but all show cars are done this way". I gave them two more weeks to knock it down and pulled the car. Sold it not long after.

 

A shit job by any other name is a shit job.If it comes out of a shop with your name on it YOU are responsable for it.I don't care who you are or what your name is.

 

hard to believe gene did that , but i can believe someone screwed up for sure . bummer ... steve

 

I've seen the car in person and the pictures make it look good. The real problem is the chop doesn't work. The stock roofline is a great flowing line from front to rear and now it's broken. I don't have a great picture but I have one that shows it a little. The sail panels have a reverse curve to them now. To repair the chop it would most likely be easier to get another roof and deck lid. I know that the car owner requested keeping the drip rails and they were gone when he arrived for a visit.

I also have pics of the inner rocker repairs and the tail panel.

Trust me, he hasn't said anything untrue. If you guys knew what he paid and didn't know that it was Gene's shop everyone here would say to "string him up by the balls".

I would have also had the car blasted. It was primed over the original paint and the body work looked to be finished with 40 grit. I think some the the body work was also over the stock paint in the areas I had to sand it back.

 

Yes, this is an issue between the two parties. If I talked to Gene in private and he told me to "F" off, and this never happened. I come on here and post it, would anyone of you believe me? I think I'll lose that argument real fast, my word against Gene's right. I'm not looking for an apology, I'm just shedding some light on what happened to me.

 

You'll never know until you talk to him, it sounds like you've already decided he's dishonest and you're intent is to let us all know about it. This kinda crap is what hurts businesses and peoples reputations. Before you call him out on the carpet you should give him the chance to make things right, and the only way you do that is by talking to the man.

This thread stinks.

 

Gene is an old school guy, and Racewriter's comments are right on the money in my opinion

For those who doubt this, go back into the "little books" and take a look at the how-to articles. Those cars weren't metal finished, they were roughed into shape and finished with filler. The only real difference is that the filler was lead, not bondo.

I've also seen photos of some of the better old school customs after they've been though a fire. They make the metal work in the OP's Chevy look good!

And, Gene does affordable custom work. I'd encourage all who find fault with his work to compare his prices with the prices of the coachwork craftsmen mentioned in Racewriter's post.

Yes, old school workmanship does look ugly when you strip away the filler, but that's the nature of the beast...always has been. Those who condemn it do so because they simply don't know any better. They would rather slam a traditional craftsman for doing traditional work than to educate themselves in the true nature of the old world custom craft.

Finally, old school leadwork is not called a "dying art" for no reason. Lead exposure is highly toxic, as anybody who has survived lead poisoning will tell you. Most, however, do not survive. One cannot fault today's customizers for using bondo instead of lead. There's simply no future in lead.

I remember meeting Dick Magougorac's (Magoo's Hot Rod Shop) lead man many years ago when he looked like the walking dead from prolonged exposure to lead. It's not a pretty sight.

I can understand the OP's disappointment, especially if he was expecting coachwork quality metal finished work on his car. I'd have been disappointed, too.

It seems to me that both parties should have taken the time to be more specific as to their expectations prior to contracting for the work. This might have avoided this highly unpleasant situation.

I trust that both parties will be able to work through the unpleasantness and reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

EDIT: I just saw the photos posted after this post, and I think there's more to this story than I first thought. I think I'll just shut up now and let this whole deal play out.

 

I dont know how much actual work GW performs at his shop. He must travel a lot doing the seminars. He still drives at Bonneville and he is in his 80's. I am guessing that GW does do much work at the shop. He is responsible for what happens there under his name which I am sure he wants to leave good. I also dont imagine that he is shy about pricing jobs. would approach him and give him an opportunity to make it right.

 

This is all on the same car that this post is about. Gene's shop did the quarter panel repairs too.

 

edit: that work was complete crap before the sandblaster ever got close to it. You had to sandblast that crap off.

I'm not very good at sheet metal when compared to a professional modern day sheet metal fabricator but my work is a lot better than what's on that customer's car, work that had to have been done by Gene's shop. That chop and other work is complete crap.

 

Some people just live on a name

 

That is total bullshit. The customer should never have been put in this position. He paid quality cash to have quality work done and he clearly got ripped off. Why would anyone want to help support anyone who rips people off?

 

Someone kill this thread already!!

 

I feel for you.Probably some new guy did it.I hope filler would correct some of the problems ,Take a straight egge over panels and see if its more than an eighth .

 

I still wouldn't BASH Gene for it, he didn't do the work, and he is at all kinds of shows, and doing seminars all over the country, he cant be EVERYWHERE at once. I would hold to people who personally did the work responsible. M<aybe you should meet Gene at a show or something you know he's going to be at and bring it to his attention by giving him your phone #, or just finding a minute where he's not buisy with something.
I am sure he would see to it personally.

1shot

 

i think the kinda crap that hurts businesses is to have a well known name, charge an arm and a leg, then deliver unsatisfactory work. i understand what you guys are saying about giving gene a chance to make it right, but on the other hand it should have been done right the first time. especially at the price he probably paid for the work. i say whats done is done, and take this as a chance to learn how to do some metal work.

 

looks like gene keeps it old school

 

Do you realize who you're talkign about here??
It's Gene winfield. Multiple awards, multiple magazine articles, multiple legendary kustoms, do you think he would be able to have that kind of credit if he did shoty work?? I dont think so dude. Like the guy you quoted said, give the guy a chance to make things right. Gene shouldn't suffer because an inexperienced employee delivered bad work, it's not directly his fault.

1shot

 

maybe its time to wait and let Gene or someone from his shop explain his side (like its really any of our biz) but I think some of his guys are on here...............AND YES Ive heard stories FIRST HAND about other Old school custom guys AND Gene up and down the west coast (sure its nation wide) that are along the same vein.(bondo in Maybelline for one).OH and I do believe Gene is one hell of a PAINTER!............JMO

 

quick cover it up....when its your money and your ride involved,then see if the thread should be killed.This is a community of like minded individuals and i for one would like to know where to take my ride and who to trust.Mr winfield will address this and have a resolution to the issue,i couldnt see him personally doing this work,i could see someone at his shop do this.BUT please dont kill a thread because the man is a prominent figure and your sensibilities are offended

 

Alright, I will take half the money I spent with him back. If that works with him
I will gladly apologize for anything that I have said. That sounds pretty damn stand up of me to still let him keep half the money I think.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised at all. And that is a sad commentary on a large percentage of the people who call themselves "bodymen" nowadays.