Paul, Got my scoop today. Very nice indeed! Thanks!
<Bump for a superb craftsman!>
Thanks Steve. I'll put that comment on my website when I get time. Also, can you leave pos. feedback? I'll do the same - need to get caught up on that for a couple folks. Been busy building a mini car, since I didn't have enough projects. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Thanks guys. Posted positives for you too (finally). For interested parties, here is a page for my mini car: http://angelonearth.net/Minicar ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Paul ,you might want to consider picking up the Driven Visions line. The tooling is up far sale w the chopper gun for $2000. When he was with us Joe made some nice stuff.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Paul ,you might want to consider picking up the Driven Visions line. The tooling is up far sale w the chopper gun for $2000. When he was with us Joe made some nice stuff.
I would love to, but I'm broke & they're too far away to even go look at them. Besides, it'll be a long time before I break even on all the molds I have already made - especially the "Driven Visions" deck louver that I spent so much time & money on (it was crap) only to sell 3 so far.. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
I may be picking up Fiero number 5 for me soon. It will be my first fastback. It's in great shape with low miles and to be honest, the only thing it "needs" is to have some spiderwebbing in the paint fixed. Keeping it stock isn't a big deal to me but keeping a look that COULD have come from the factory is. I've got a big project that I'm in the middle of now so I wouldn't need them soon but I'd really like for someone to make a set of door panels that create the "reverse chop top" look.
I'd want the miror mounts to be the same and the trim molding strip to be the same. It would be nice for the dew wipe to be moved up to the top of the skin so that it looks correct.
I may be picking up Fiero number 5 for me soon. It will be my first fastback. It's in great shape with low miles and to be honest, the only thing it "needs" is to have some spiderwebbing in the paint fixed. Keeping it stock isn't a big deal to me but keeping a look that COULD have come from the factory is. I've got a big project that I'm in the middle of now so I wouldn't need them soon but I'd really like for someone to make a set of door panels that create the "reverse chop top" look.
I'd want the miror mounts to be the same and the trim molding strip to be the same. It would be nice for the dew wipe to be moved up to the top of the skin so that it looks correct.
What do you think?
Jonathan
I was thinking about making a reverse-chop kit, but due to lack of interest I'm not doing any more molds unless it's for my own car or there are about 10 folks willing to put up a substantial deposit for any new products. Plus, a reverse-chop kit would be about 8 pieces: the door skins, the 1/4 panel extensions, the sail panels, & inside door panel extenders. Hundreds of hours of R&D & about $1,000 in materials. I still haven't anywhere near recovered my time & money making the decklid louvers. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
I have not. Two reasons: I can't afford to make the first set out of the molds, & I cannot compete with the price of the production units already on the market (so I don't expect to sell any). ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
I was thinking about making a reverse-chop kit, but due to lack of interest I'm not doing any more molds unless it's for my own car or there are about 10 folks willing to put up a substantial deposit for any new products. Plus, a reverse-chop kit would be about 8 pieces: the door skins, the 1/4 panel extensions, the sail panels, & inside door panel extenders. Hundreds of hours of R&D & about $1,000 in materials. I still haven't anywhere near recovered my time & money making the decklid louvers. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Instead of a fiberglass piece for the inner door panel, I was thinking of adding an upholstered pad right on top of the factory door panels.
You could also save some time and money by incorporating the quarter panel extensions and the sail panels into one piece. I'd like a GT-40 style scoop in place of the sail panel.
Instead of a fiberglass piece for the inner door panel, I was thinking of adding an upholstered pad right on top of the factory door panels.
You could also save some time and money by incorporating the quarter panel extensions and the sail panels into one piece. I'd like a GT-40 style scoop in place of the sail panel.
Jonathan
What you're proposing would only be for fastbacks, & only for those that liked that scoop, both of which would further reduce the amount of sales. The Mera used wood to build up the inner door panels, but I don't think that would work for a reverse chop. I do wish I could go ahead & make molds for everything that everyone wanted, but I just don't have the time or money to do so, & I can't work for free. Heck I don't even have the money for primer on my current main projects right now... much less for fiberglass resin & gelcoat to make parts even for them. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Do you have, or can you direct me to some full on pics of your vented GT sail panels? I need to see some better pics before I would jump on this.
Thank you,
Tony
The ones on my website are the best ones I have. It's the only set I've made (for my car), & in the photos they are just sitting on the car. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Hey, it never hurts to have some neat ideas tucked away for a rainy day!
Thanks anyway, Jonathan
"Rainy" days are spent on the primary projects: The VW project, the pickup, & the new minicar. After them I'll either do the Custom Fiero or the Z. Then the other two Fiero projects (which are what will require further fiberglass molds) are after all that. Probably won't live long enough to get to them, though, since it takes me so long to make the money for parts & materials for all these projects... ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
NO MORE SHIPPING TO CANADA! If you don't have a continental U.S. address for me to ship to, don't bother asking me to make parts. I've just been screwed out of $30 shipping costs because I gave a guy the best estimate I could get online, & when I found out it was going to cost $30 more I went ahead & shipped 'cause I thought I could trust him to cover it. He says "I gave him a quote & he paid it". Not going to happen again. I don't charge for the time it takes for me to round up cardboard & make the boxes, or for the time & gas money it takes for me to ship. I think that will change soon too (with a price increase). I still haven't sold enough parts to break even on my time & investment in making these molds in the first place... BTW, another Canadian sent me a CANADIAN money oder, in spite of the fact that I told him the ONLY thing I can cash is a U.S. POSTAL money order (in the CAPITAL LETTERS). He said the guy at the post office (in Canada) told him it was the SAME THING as a U.S. postal money order. Funny how the post office here didn't see it that way & wouldn't cash it... Took me two weeks to get a friend to run it through his bank account. Canadians can kiss my ass. No more shipping to Canada. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Don't blame you Paul. I'm of Canadian decent so no offense to the great citizens up north and it's entirely NOT their fault but.....shipping to Canada is a PITA!
Don't blame you. I've bought stuff from Canada, too. Nice surprise when the bill for the brokerage fees showed up. Of course, the sellers didn't bother to tell me about those...
Hey Paul, Dont tar all us Canadians with the same brush. just because you didnt get your 30 dollars from that guy dont mean everyone would do it to you. Plus how many of your American brothers would be more than willing to pocket a 30 dollar saving if it came their way. But saying all Canadians can kiss your ass is pretty low class and from what I have read by you and what others have written about you I would not have expected that....... Shame......
Hey Paul, Dont tar all us Canadians with the same brush. just because you didnt get your 30 dollars from that guy dont mean everyone would do it to you. Plus how many of your American brothers would be more than willing to pocket a 30 dollar saving if it came their way. But saying all Canadians can kiss your ass is pretty low class and from what I have read by you and what others have written about you I would not have expected that....... Shame......
I'm just pissed. I go to extra trouble to ship there is this is what I get in return. Maybe I should have said SOME Canadians can kiss my ass. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Originally posted by Bridgetown: I also STOPPED buying anything from Canada, your get a larger bill after you already payed . Goodby my northamerican buds your country is demagnitizing the us bYer and seller
Easy Pal, I would like to do business with you in the future...
I'm just pissed. I go to extra trouble to ship there is this is what I get in return. Maybe I should have said SOME Canadians can kiss my ass. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Every item shipped by UPS from the US to Canada comes with extra brokerage charges (I just received a package this week and the UPS brokerage charge was $68), and no the US seller did not tell me about the extra charges. Blame it on UPS, not the person shipping the item to you.
I sold and shipped an air intake to the US by UPS and they had to pay an extra $35 brokerage fee from UPS when they received the package. The good folks at UPS Canada did not tell me there would any extra fees charged to the buyer.
My point is that the extra fees, particularly with UPS, are out of the control of the seller, and many times not even known by the seller (whether they are in Canada or the USA).
quote
Originally posted by Raydar:
Don't blame you. I've bought stuff from Canada, too. Nice surprise when the bill for the brokerage fees showed up. Of course, the sellers didn't bother to tell me about those...
I'm just pissed. I go to extra trouble to ship there is this is what I get in return. Maybe I should have said SOME Canadians can kiss my ass. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Paul, I want to order some Angel Fender vents AFV5001. I will add an extra $30 to make up for the money you lost shipping to a Canadian. I believe that 99% of the Canadians on this board are honest. Almost all of our hard to find or custom car parts come from the USA, so it is important to have access to these parts. Some Canadians live near the USA border, so shipping to a US address is convenient. I am five hours away from the border, so it does not make much sense to drive 10 hours round trip to pick up some $75 parts. I will send you an email. Hopefully you will continue to ship to honest Canadians
Wade
[This message has been edited by Driver_WT (edited 11-25-2012).]
Paul, I want to order some Angel Fender vents AFV5001. I will add an extra $30 to make up for the money you lost shipping to a Canadian. I believe that 99% of the Canadians on this board are honest. Almost all of our hard to find or custom car parts come from the USA, so it is important to have access to these parts. Some Canadians live near the USA border, so shipping to a US address is convenient. I am five hours away from the border, so it does not make much sense to drive 10 hours round trip to pick up some $75 parts. I will send you an email. Hopefully you will continue to ship to honest Canadians
Wade
Since the fender vents are small & light (so shipping should be cheap), & I have a set already made, I'll sell them to you. No need to add the extra 30 bucks - it's my problem not anyone else's. I'll get back to you via email & we'll work out the logistics. Thanks, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Since the fender vents are small & light (so shipping should be cheap), & I have a set already made, I'll sell them to you. No need to add the extra 30 bucks - it's my problem not anyone else's. I'll get back to you via email & we'll work out the logistics. Thanks, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
yeah.... as "polite" as we are often rumored to be I dont think telling Canadians off as a whole is a wise choice. Luckily I have the advantage of living in a border city so a US address is an option. We must deal with these same issues on a regular basis to get parts into Canada. Dont get me wrong , what happened was unfortunate and im sure terribly inconvenient as well as costly but why not just use it as a learning experience and grow from it? I mean no disrespect to you but as a potential future customer I don't find it wise to discount a major potential market based on possibly a few experiences. I find your work and advice to the community to be a great contribution from what I know and place that as a redeeming feature for discounting us ( Canadians) as a whole. I hope to do business with you in the coming year , and wish you better luck with Canadian transactions in the future. Respectfully Ryan
yeah.... as "polite" as we are often rumored to be I dont think telling Canadians off as a whole is a wise choice. Luckily I have the advantage of living in a border city so a US address is an option. We must deal with these same issues on a regular basis to get parts into Canada. Dont get me wrong , what happened was unfortunate and im sure terribly inconvenient as well as costly but why not just use it as a learning experience and grow from it? I mean no disrespect to you but as a potential future customer I don't find it wise to discount a major potential market based on possibly a few experiences. I find your work and advice to the community to be a great contribution from what I know and place that as a redeeming feature for discounting us ( Canadians) as a whole. I hope to do business with you in the coming year , and wish you better luck with Canadian transactions in the future. Respectfully Ryan
Just a couple points you have to understand. 1) I'm not a company in the business of manufacturing parts. I do paint/bodywork, restorations, mods, custom cars - on a part time basis because of health concerns. I'm an old fart & don't have time for my own projects (OK I admit I have too many of those ), much less any BS. I'm trying to keep the cost to a bare minimum 'cause I know most folks can't afford them in the first place. So it's more than just "unfortunate and inconvenient" when I spend my time making parts & don't get paid the full amount for them. 2) As such, there is no "potential market", much less a major one. As long as I have work, I couldn't care less if I sold any parts. I will admit there was a time in the past 12 months or so that I didn't have any work, & selling a couple parts put food on the table, but I'm not making parts for a living. 3) I have a lot of time & money invested in these molds, which I couldn't afford in the first place. I wish I had invested both the time & money in my projects; I would probably have two of them running by now instead of them sitting around waiting for me to come up with the money for parts. Thanks for the compliments & understanding. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
NO MORE SHIPPING TO CANADA! If you don't have a continental U.S. address for me to ship to, don't bother asking me to make parts. I've just been screwed out of $30 shipping costs because I gave a guy the best estimate I could get online, & when I found out it was going to cost $30 more I went ahead & shipped 'cause I thought I could trust him to cover it. He says "I gave him a quote & he paid it". Not going to happen again. I don't charge for the time it takes for me to round up cardboard & make the boxes, or for the time & gas money it takes for me to ship. I think that will change soon too (with a price increase). I still haven't sold enough parts to break even on my time & investment in making these molds in the first place... BTW, another Canadian sent me a CANADIAN money oder, in spite of the fact that I told him the ONLY thing I can cash is a U.S. POSTAL money order (in the CAPITAL LETTERS). He said the guy at the post office (in Canada) told him it was the SAME THING as a U.S. postal money order. Funny how the post office here didn't see it that way & wouldn't cash it... Took me two weeks to get a friend to run it through his bank account. Canadians can kiss my ass. No more shipping to Canada. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
I was the one that bought these parts. It appears there was miscommunication between what Paul thought was an estimate, and what I thought was the final total. I offered to cover some of the additional cost, however it looks like I will need to cover the $30 to resolve this issue properly. I don't agree with that - but fine, no problem. I'm not here on PFF to make enemies.
Then after I sent that PM (like 2 mins ago) I came across this thread in the Mall and saw those comments above.
YIKES.
I'm not going to start a bashing war in Paul's thread, so I will finish my post with this:
Paul, the $30 will be in the mail right after the parts arrive. I take it this will resolve the issue.
Originally posted by justinchristie: Paul, I just sent you a PM back.
I was the one that bought these parts. It appears there was miscommunication between what Paul thought was an estimate, and what I thought was the final total. I offered to cover some of the additional cost, however it looks like I will need to cover the $30 to resolve this issue properly. I don't agree with that - but fine, no problem. I'm not here on PFF to make enemies.
Then after I sent that PM (like 2 mins ago) I came across this thread in the Mall and saw those comments above.
YIKES.
I'm not going to start a bashing war in Paul's thread, so I will finish my post with this:
Paul, the $30 will be in the mail right after the parts arrive. I take it this will resolve the issue.
Hi Justin, I wasn't going to mention your name... The problem is, I'm not a business like the others you mentioned in the PM, so I have no way to determine final shipping until I ship. I did say "if you can trust online calculator" but I guess I should been more clear that it was an estimate. I also shouldn't have shipped without further notice ( & almost didn't), but I thought you wanted the parts & knew it was an estimate, & for that matter I didn't want to make an extra trip to town wasting more time & gas money. You do whatever you think is fair, & I'll live with it. Thanks, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
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