Crappy work from Winfields Rod and Custom

wow... i haven't even been around in a few months b/c of work but damn this made me respond quick.

The OP may have not been 100% correct in coming here first. However this is a cautionary tale, he accepted the loss, doesn't want shoddy work redone by the same shop (honestly who here would anyways?) and he simply wanted to INFORM everyone of what happened to him so that others can really evaluate what their choices may be in the future. We all as a community of enthusiasts need this kind of information. The hero worship is ridiculous, yes they are legends, but where does that stop.

I'm not a pro, i don't claim to be, but Gene advertises himself in a certain light. TO CLAIM THAT IT WAS SOMEONE THAT WORKED FOR HIM AND IT'S NOT HIS FAULT IS BULLSHIT OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE! His shop, his name, his reputation, ultimately it's his responsibility. I would bet that he knows what goes on in his shop and to allow that work to be done is ridiculous by any standards, 1950's-2010's, that work wasn't done with a torch and lead, it was done with a mig and bondo, look around this board you can see dozens of people chopping with a mig doing work 10x better.

To those making excuses for Gene, there really is none for this. If it was Hot Rod Shop ABC everyone would be on board with the OP. If Gene has no time to check on his workers b/c of his travel schedule maybe he should stop traveling to focus on what really makes his business his. Or he should sell/shut down and just travel and get his name/reputation disassociated with this kind of work.

Just my 2 cents let the bashing commence

Having said that i would like to hear a reply from Gene himself, not a worker.

 

yeah I reall do. It sucks for the op and I hope it gets straightend out.

 

Harrydude:

If you wish to insult Americans (or any other nationality) by implying that they have very little education, you first need to...

1) Learn the proper use of capitalization

2) Learn the proper use of punctuation

3) Learn to spell words correctly.

Until you successfully complete those goals, you might make your points of discussion more effectively if you skipped the bashing of other nationalities...in particular, doing so simply because you were not able to convince others of the validity of your arguments.

If you are unable to comprehend this, I'm sure someone will be able to simplify it for you.

 

It took me a long while to read this thread up to page 13. That's a lot of posts in one day.

The work on this car looks like work I did on the first car I restored. I have since gotten much better but am not good enough to metal finish without filler. Anything that I do will have much less filler than that job, however. And, I will know what it looks like underneath.

I wouldn't think that "Joe Blow's Kustom Shop" would let work out that was done to that standard, let alone Winfield's. That work is bad and the OP got screwed. End of discussion.

 

x2!! if it's an education issue, it's lacking punctuation AND literacy. must be english. as for the shoddy bodywork, too many excuses bein made for ol' gene. fact is, you want the glory, you take the responsibility. that shit didn't happen overnight. i'm a little dumbfounded that mostly, the longtime posters leap to defend gene while the newer guys expect decent work the 1st time around. seems slightly elitist and defensive to me..

 

I guess my questions are:

1. Was there a specific agreed on time frame for the project?
2. I assume price was settled on... for a noob here how much does it cost to get a car chopped?
3. How much bondo is too much? I know it is acceptable to skim a car in bondo...but where do you draw the line?
4. Finally.... are there levels of custom work? For example: I have a buddy that does this kinda stuff and I understand that when you do a peak, you will weld in a bar to from the apex then smooth with filler? Is this right? Or do you form it all out of sheet metal? I imagine that quality sheet metal work on a chop is time consuming and expensive where as the hack job we have witnessed should cost considerably less..

This sucks to see this thread happen but at the same time it's a great learning experience for many of us...not only as a cautionary tale but as to what to look for when seeking out custom body work we cannot do ourselves... Personally I think Gene should be given a chance to fix the car at no cost to the OP....make it right karmicly (no pun intended) and repost the proper chop on here...

 

Im familiar with that situation.

And its Political.

The comparison is way off.


And Politics do not belong here.

 

So you think he went in and ASKED Gene to recreate the Grand Canyon around his rear window?

 

I think bottom line is he paid for great work and he didnt get that work. I have never chopped a top but I have friends in the biz and I know that work like that would never come from any of there shops. the work is bad and thats the bottom line

 

WELL said, i agree.this post is a wake up to everyone on BOTH sides of the fence.

 

Look, its not that Mr. Winfield did anything wrong.


Its just that he should have brought his workmanship up to modern spec with expanding foam and newspapers to help 'form' the bondo.


Or would that push it over 20 grand? For a car some of you seem to think he didn't work on or observe for the year it was in his shop?

 

EEESH? I just spent the last hour reading this, as a neutral party I to would like to hear the other side (guilty till proven innocent). I've had some difficult customers who would of pulled this same kinda shit if not happy instead of trying to reason. We still love you Gene!!

 

However you look at it it is poor work and the customer is not happy!

 

I am a firm believer that no matter how great your work is you will always have one that gets by and this is the one everyone remembers. But I have to say I have seen a lot worse work done and passed off as show quality. I don`t know what this job cost to have chopped but there is a lot of hours that has to go into perfect metal work and the cost can be out to lunch.

 

Do you put out this same kind of work? How would you handle this situation as a business owner? I'm open to your suggestions.

 

So I was walking through the woods the other day, and came across a dude standing in an outhouse, stirring all the shit with a long wooden pole. I asked him "What are you doing?" He said, "Ah man, I was taking a shit, and I accidently dropped my jacket down the hole!" I said, "Dude, give it up. You aren't going to wear that jacket again are you?" And the the dude looked at me and and said "Hell no...You think I'm crazy?" " I just wanted to get my sack lunch out of the pocket!"

 

if i was luckey enough to be employed at winfields shop, id show pride in my work. That work shows no pride, therefor whomever did the work does not deserve to work there.

its a shame such thing had to happen at a place known for great work after so many dead presidents were handed over.

 

True fact, a lot of people idolize the rich and famous..is it always warranted? I would say never! These people are not Gods, nor are they perfect, they are human beings just like you and I (putting on our pants one leg at a time). Therefore, they are prone to making mistakes, bad judgements, the occasional short cut, etc. The posted work was shitty, no two ways about it, plain and simple.

 

New guy here...

Just an observation but the title of the thread is "Crappy work from Winfields Rod and Custom" not "Gene personally hacked my roof chop". Ultimately the business owner (regardless of type of business) is responsible for all work performed by their business (or employees). Gene does deserve the opportunity to respond and make things right if he so chooses, but the damage has been done to Cuomo's car, both physically and monetarily.

Just my two cents.
Jeff

 

Bottom line ,IMHO, is that Winfield's name is on the door, so he is ultimately responsible, regardless of whether or not he knew of the poor work. Whoever did this work and whoever okayed it need to be shown the door. Winfield should offer up a paint job or something to show he cares about his customers. As I said before, you don't keep customers by sticking it to them.

 

HOLY SHIT!! We could have made it right for half that! Thats just crazy money for a chop and a little bodywork, even if it did turn out right and god himself was the one working on it.

 

i'm not defending the work that was done but did you get some pictures of his recent work? talk to other recent customers before comiting? look at other cars in the shop when you dropped yours off?

i agree with alot of the others that while it is terrible quality work by todays standards it looks just about how all the old 40-60's tech articles done by winfied, barris, hines etc look. i know i wouldn't let anything leave my place looking like that but i've also fixed quite a few cars that had similar work done both by novice owners and pro shops. there's quite a few guys that bring their cars to a pro just because he has a name. there's a guy out in east s.d. county that chops a ton of cars and they all look just as bad as this one yet people keep bringing him stuff to work on because he's been doing it for years.

from the guys that have seen alot of recent winfield work it sounds like this is pretty much the norm, so i have to ask how much research did you do before taking it to him?

i have never been much of a custom guy but have always respected winfield, but more for his racing side. even with shody custom work he was and still is an amazing piece of hot rod history, from building/racing one of the first rail dragsters, to his more recent attempts for a red hat at the lakes.

 

The employee from Winfield's shop that did this chop top, just might also be a Hamb member. And he could be reading this thread. You never know for sure?

 

i has a customer/friend I did some suspension work for, hell of a good price, and delivered early. He had givin me 50% up front and the rest when finished. He didn't have the rest of the money to pay me but I let him take it and pay me whenever, like I said he WAS a friend. Well instead of paying me the balance he took it to shows pointing out how the left shock mount was a 32nd off and the welds were'nt finished off? Just slamming me, that was his way of not having to pay. Like I mentioned we've only heard one side. I agree it looks crappy and I would expect more from Winfeild.

 

So?

 

Looks traditional to me!!! That's how they did it!

 

I agree...The man has worked a life time to build his reputation, I find it hard to believe he would put his stamp of approval on that kind of work.

 

If the famous "Gene Winfield" wants to put out trashy work like this, then he needs to be able to take the "heat" so to speak when customers aren't happy with the quality.... That said, I don't care which "famous" builder puts out junk like this, if he wants to protect his reputation, he can either repay the money for this crappy job or offer to fix it and fix it fast... You're offended, but it wasn't your hard earned dollars paying for high dollar crap! so unless you are offering to fix it, Winfield needs to stand up and take the proper bashing that his "famous" shop deserves... With crappy work like this, the owner of this car could have had a better chop job down at the local Chevy or Ford dealership. And yes, you can yell and complain at me for bashing a "famous" builder, but in my book, if he puts out crappy jobs like this, not even finishing in the time frame promised, then he deserves to have his "famous" name dragged through the mud on a forum.... I wouldn't pay $100 for a crappy job like this poor guy got reamed on....

 

Thats is true 50's-60's type work though. Thats the type of work that made names for all the legends, now days "amatures" do 10 times better work in their driveways. You wouldn't beleive some of the work from back in the day that I've had to re-do. Thats being said, Even Winfield should update and do the quality of work that is expected these days. Because with the internet and discovery channel everyone thinks they are Ron Covell just because they saw him on TV once.

Shitty metal work = TRADITIONAL

Quality metal work/metal finishing = NOT TRADITIONAL.

GLAD I'M NOT TRADITIONAL.

 

Bad Jeffy Bad!!!