The Hinges arrived today & we've begun working on them.

They did make an error & sent the 565# struts with them. However, I called them today & told them they should have sent the 720# struts. So they're supposed to be sending out replacements tomorrow morning. So they should be here before we're done with modifying these hinges to be easy to install.



Archie

Archie, did you get my second email?
Joe

quote Originally posted by GODFATHER: Archie, did you get my second email? Joe

Yes, I just responded to it.

quote Originally posted by Archie: The Hinges arrived today & we've begun working on them. Archie

Anyone have any spare paper towels? I can't stand the suspense. More please!

quote Originally posted by caseyret: Anyone have any spare paper towels? I can't stand the suspense. More please!

Progress is going along fine on the 1st. set of hinges. Once the 1st set is done the rest will come along real quickly.

As we started working on them, we realized that this is most likely the 1st time that any Fiero person has had more than one set of hinges in stock at any one time.

As many know, we've installed hinges on Curley's car, Troy's car, Dave's car & we've reworked hinges on JScott's car. Those were all single installations that were done virtually the same way that many other Fieros have been done.

As I've read thru a few of the Vertical door installations on this Forum, I've seen that most of them required some serious trimming on the back side of the front of the door panel to make clearance to the front fender. We've seen this same type of situation here on our prevoius installs. This trimming usually takes place from a couple of inches above to a couple of inches below the side trim area. As we started working on them, we realized that there might be a way to mount them to minimize the amount of trimming needed in this area. On this 1st set of hinges, we've implemented this new idea & it appears to work very well. It has added a bit of time to complete this 1st set of hinges, but once proven, it should be easy to implement on the rest of the hinges.

Archie

Sweet!
Archie I am back on line and I cant wait to get these from you!
I will be sending you some more money today so you can send them to me as soon as you get them done.
A+ for all your help!

Pics!

Archie just loves keeping us in suspense...


edited for spelling mistakes!

[This message has been edited by caseyret (edited 11-06-2008).]

quote Originally posted by caseyret: Archie just loves keeping us in suspense... edited for spelling mistakes!

To be honest, I've sicker than heck the 1st 3 days of the week.

I went to the shop but only went out in the shop from time to time so the guys wouldn't catch my cold.

Lots of welding, lots of grinding, lots of Plasma cutting, one plasma cutter bit the dust but I had a new spare & lots of fitting to a few cars.

Problem is that not much of that was worth taking pics of.

The good thing is that we have all 5 sets done. We will be cleaning them up a bit in the morning & painting them.

Then it's time to put a set on & do the instruction video.

So we'll be done tomorrow, please note that the 720# struts have not come in yet. But we expect them soon.

Pics tomorrow.

Archie

Archie, I got dibs on a set. I'll call you Monday afternoon to work out the details, per our conversation today.

I feel like a kid at Christmas.... can't wait... can't wait.

Cas

quote Originally posted by Cas88GT: Archie, I got dibs on a set. I'll call you Monday afternoon to work out the details, per our conversation today. I feel like a kid at Christmas.... can't wait... can't wait. Cas

That's correct, Cas here has dibs on the last of the 5 sets of hinges.

Archie

thats Great news!
get my hinges and my wheels all the same week.
then I will be able to do all the final fitting on my car then off to paint!
check 2 off my list. LOL
next up LSX / F40
thanks Archie and crew!
I hope you get well soon.

The hinges are done.

3 sets of them have been fitted on at least 2 cars.

All hinges were built off of the same jig

1 hinge is on Tony's car right now & I have video taped the installation.

Going to spend the weekend trying to edit all the video together for an instruction DVD

We will install the other hinge on Tony's car Monday, holding off until then to see what my instructions look like. So we can shoot additional video if we need it on Monday.

The new correct 720# struts have not come in yet. I'll be ready to ship as soon as we get them.

Tony, this should make your weekend.









Archie

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss !!!!!!!

I feel sorry for the guys who missed out on this buy. Great job Archie and crew !!

[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 11-08-2008).]

Uh oh.... Now the real work begins once these get back home... Thanks Archie and crew.

Archie, do you still have my CC# or do I need to call you with it again?

Thanks and can't wait.

Great work on the hinges!

[This message has been edited by Bradley Jay (edited 11-08-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Archie: The hinges are done. 3 sets of them have been fitted on at least 2 cars. All hinges were built off of the same jig 1 hinge is on Tony's car right now & I have video taped the installation. Going to spend the weekend trying to edit all the video together for an instruction DVD We will install the other hinge on Tony's car Monday, holding off until then to see what my instructions look like. So we can shoot additional video if we need it on Monday. The new correct 720# struts have not come in yet. I'll be ready to ship as soon as we get them. Archie

Ok, like I said the hinges are done. still waiting to get the 720# struts but I'm told they are on the way.

The total cost for doing the 5 hinges was a bit higher than the maximum I expected. However, I am attributing that to the moving of the whole assembly outboard. Also we found another method that will make it so that the owner will not have to worry about welding the little tabs to hold the door while putting on the hinges. This makes it a true "Bolt On" conversion.

Anyway, I had quoted $700.00 plus shipping for the donor hinges from VDI. A Maximum of $600.00 for labor plus shipping to you.

I'll be sending PM's to the 5 people involved to let you know what's up.

We are very happy with these hinges & we are thinking about doing another group of them.

We have a good reliable jig for this job, so we can have repeatability from set to set.

If we do another group, we would be wanting to order the donor hinges in about a month with a completions date for about 2 weeks after we recieve the donor hinges.

If there is anyone else interested let me know.

Archie

Haven't received mine yet, are you sending it to my email or through here?

Cas

quote Originally posted by Cas88GT: Haven't received mine yet, are you sending it to my email or through here? Cas

I'm going to send them via PM.

But I have to do it in the morning because I don't have my UPS software on this PC (at home today)

So I'll PM 1st thing in the AM

I have everybody elses' addresses, why don't you PM me your address?

Archie

Archie, PM me with a total and I will get the rest to you today.
thanks.
great job on the hinges. Tony's car looks great, I can't wait till mine gets wings.

Hey Archie, what kind of force does it take to open and close. Does it feel like the same weight as a normal door just an up and down movement? Any word on the 720# ?

quote Originally posted by Cas88GT: Hey Archie, what kind of force does it take to open and close. Does it feel like the same weight as a normal door just an up and down movement?

Actually, one or two fingers to raise and one hand to lower (once the VDC has been raised/lowered 20-30 times).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjGNg4Dx-cc

[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 11-10-2008).]

Thanks for the vid.

Archie, anyword on the 720s?

Cas

quote Originally posted by Cas88GT: Thanks for the vid. Archie, anyword on the 720s? Cas

#720's ??? in yet ??? x2

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: #720's ??? in yet ??? x2

I'm getting a bit of a mini run around from these guys right now.

I called them on Friday 10-31-08 to tell them that they had sent the wrong struts.

I was told to send out the 10 struts I had & that they would send send out 10 of the correct struts to me on Monday 11-03-08 & that we would talk on that day to exchange tracking numbers. I also had him check to make sure they had 10 struts in stock, which he said they did. I called them on the 3rd. with my tracking number but he said he'd call me back with the tracking number for my new struts coming back this way. He didn't call.

I called him on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday of last week & Monday of this week. I was assured that the struts had gone out & was assured that He'd call me back with tracking numbers. He didn't.

Dealing with a company like this is like dealing with one of the kit car companies back in the '80's. The place is run mostly like a used car salesman. Where they'll tell you anything you want to hear just to get you off the phone.

I just talked to him a few minutes ago & after some pressure, I'm told that they were a couple of sets short & that they'd have them out tomorrow. I also got assurances that he'd get a count on inventory & give me a call back within 30 minutes.

Any bets on if he'll call back?

How do you deal with a used car salesman? I have been talking to him about another group purchase & have told him I'm not going to do anything on that until this project is complete. We'll see how that works.

Archie

This is where I tell him I EXPECT a discounted price. Your time and ours are valuable, bring up all the variations in his stories and you have 5 people who have paid for the hinges and are waiting on him to get the order right.

One bad apple will spoil the whole basket, and PFF is one big basket.

My humble thoughts,

Cas

Arch, If you ever stock this part, I would buy it if it is a true bolt on. Can't do it now, but maybe next year after Xmas bills are paid off. Tax time maybe.

Rob

quote Originally posted by Archie: I'm getting a bit of a mini run around from these guys right now. I called them on Friday 10-31-08 to tell them that they had sent the wrong struts. I was told to send out the 10 struts I had & that they would send send out 10 of the correct struts to me on Monday 11-03-08 & that we would talk on that day to exchange tracking numbers. I also had him check to make sure they had 10 struts in stock, which he said they did. I called them on the 3rd. with my tracking number but he said he'd call me back with the tracking number for my new struts coming back this way. He didn't call. I called him on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday of last week & Monday of this week. I was assured that the struts had gone out & was assured that He'd call me back with tracking numbers. He didn't. Dealing with a company like this is like dealing with one of the kit car companies back in the '80's. The place is run mostly like a used car salesman. Where they'll tell you anything you want to hear just to get you off the phone. I just talked to him a few minutes ago & after some pressure, I'm told that they were a couple of sets short & that they'd have them out tomorrow. I also got assurances that he'd get a count on inventory & give me a call back within 30 minutes. Any bets on if he'll call back? How do you deal with a used car salesman? I have been talking to him about another group purchase & have told him I'm not going to do anything on that until this project is complete. We'll see how that works. Archie

I know dealing with some vendors can be a pain in the butt just keep us posted and all is good.

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: I know dealing with some vendors can be a pain in the butt just keep us posted and all is good.

I just talked to the guy again. This time he had a tracking number for me right away & no more excuses.

I checked out the number on UPS & it appears to be a good number.

So they're on the way.

Finally

Archie

Great news!
hinges and wheels next week! I can't wait.
thanks Archie

Thanks for the instructions Archie. Will fit my set soon and this will help me a lot.

------------------
Regards SHARKMAN
Europe # 1 choptop

Ran the tracking number today, scheduled arrival of the struts here is Tuesday the 18th.

Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: Ran the tracking number today, scheduled arrival of the struts here is Tuesday the 18th. Archie

It's tuesday! did they make it?

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: It's tuesday! did they make it?

Yes the struts came in today & I've packed & labeled all 4 sets to ship out tomorrow.

I also PM'ed everyone your tracking numbers.

Thanks

Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: Yes the struts came in today & I've packed & labeled all 4 sets to ship out tomorrow. I also PM'ed everyone your tracking numbers. Thanks Archie

Great news! Thanks again Archie

quote Originally posted by Archie: Yes the struts came in today & I've packed & labeled all 4 sets to ship out tomorrow. I also PM'ed everyone your tracking numbers. Thanks Archie

This was a great project and cool venture.

Thanks Archie.

got mine today! Thanks Archie and crew!

Me 3!!!

Thanks Archie and gang...

Thanks

I hope a few of you guys put them together right away so we can see how well my instructions work & if they're easy enough to put together.

Archie