You call THAT a disaster?

[Jay Mackro <jmackro@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 06:57 PM 2/7/99 -0500, Peter Pleitner wrote:

>I'm in the middle of one of the two or three very worst restoration
>scenarios and am desperate for ideas.
>Alfa Sprint went to painter based on written quote of twenty-five hundred
>dollar, 60 hour labor, including block sanding with guide coat and minor
>sheet metal work.  
<snip>
>He said he had no idea the sheet metal had so much seam welding and wavy
>hand forming (told him during his inspection a lot was hand fabricated on
>early Sprints), so he said he has to more than double his quote.  Now the
>Alfa is in "white metal" in his place; said he wouldn't mind if I took it
>somewhere else, and would give me a break on his labor so far, $400.  

Peter:

Yea, it would have been nice if this guy had stuck to his estimate,
but nowhere in your message do I see evidence of him ripping you off.
He's just backing out of your original deal, and offerring you a
break on the work that he has completed.  Disappointing, but not
larceny.

There is no way that you want to force someone to complete work that
they are reluctant to do.  Pay him off, get the car out of there,
and find someone who specializes in restoration work.  The reality  
is that 99% of what bodyshops are asked to do is collision work - 
not restoration.  And, 99.9% of the cars they work on were built in
the past 10 years - most of those guys have never SEEN anything
like a Giulietta/Giulia Sprint, with its multiple seams, leading,
and hand formed panels.  They just aren't capable of handling it,
and you are fortunate that this guy admitted his limitations, rather
than just doing a half a**ed job, and taking your money.

Hey, if you want to hear about restoration nightmares, let me tell
you about the plater who lost the same, irreplacable part TWICE!
Or read about the stolen/substituted 750 crank in "European Car"
magazine's recent series on Alfa restoration.  You need a strong
dose of patience when restoring old Alfas!

Jay Mackro

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