Down to the wire

"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
05/03/2017 at 21:06 • Filed to: None

Sunchaser is not done, and I am pretty mad about it. Paint and body was done at the end of January, and Nikon admits he let it sit while working other projects. I am maddest about the fact that the interior is not reassembled yet, and won’t be until late tomorrow. I should have been an asshole and been pushy to get this done.

Pumpkin cares nothing about my rage

Someday I will use this.

It is still failing smog, but he claims his friend can make a carb adjustment and get it to pass, which they are going to work on after hours. He says the completed car will be delivered to me tomorrow. I hope so.

I am full of rage and frustration.

DISCUSSION (28)

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 21:09

That’s insane something that has a carb has to meet emissions. I’m assuming it the same emissions standard as when it was new, right?

Your boy, BJR > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 21:10

Tell him if he doesn’t you and your scooter boy friends are gonna have to give him the boot.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 21:12

I don’t know, do you want him to rush it at the last moment like this? That’s when corners get cut bad...

Also:

I should have been an asshole and been pushy to get this done.

When I started my job, I met homeowners/buyers that absolutely HOUNDED laborers and contrators on site. Checking in often and critiquing everything. I thought it was real shitty. Years later watching what people do when they think “no one will notice” or “not my problem,” I now fully understand why those homeowners were that way. Minus the few people that were just pricks in general.

Noah - Now with more boost. > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 21:14

Ugh sorry man. I’m sure you’re super excited and can’t stop thinking about it but just try to distract yourself for now!

Honeybunchesofgoats > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/03/2017 at 21:19

This is terrifying, since I absolutely refuse to be an asshole to anyone without prior justification.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Honeybunchesofgoats
05/03/2017 at 21:21

You just have to find a contractor who isn’t going to do things on the cheap. Someone you can trust... It’s not easy...

Honeybunchesofgoats > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/03/2017 at 21:24

Somehow that does not make me feel better.

TheHondaBro > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/03/2017 at 21:26

I’ll hire you to bleach my bathtub.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Honeybunchesofgoats
05/03/2017 at 21:26

Facts are seldom pleasant.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > TheHondaBro
05/03/2017 at 21:27

Not in this or any other lifetime.

Sovande > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 21:29

What’s the hurry? It’s taken this long, is there a reason it needs to be done by tomorrow?

DipodomysDeserti > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
05/03/2017 at 21:52

In AZ everything built after 1966 needs emissions. They used to require motos too. I had to pass emissions on a ‘70s Honda motorcycle once. That sucked.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > DipodomysDeserti
05/03/2017 at 22:13

That’s nuts, even in Washington after twenty (or twenty five) years cars become emissions exempt. That was in Tacoma, not some county on the other side of the mountains.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 22:43

Honestly it’s probably a good thing you have that deadline this Saturday that he agreed to.

Seems like he was putting you on the back burner so he could make money on other things. If you didn’t have this deadline he may have taken way longer to complete...that’s an enraging thought.

smobgirl > DipodomysDeserti
05/03/2017 at 22:53

Just curious...all of AZ? Or just certain counties? I am eventually going to have to get the Tercel to pass emissions here, but it was previously registered in AZ. I for some reason thought the county around Flagstaff didn’t have emissions but maybe things are better than I thought.

DipodomysDeserti > smobgirl
05/03/2017 at 23:06

It’s just Phoenix and Tucson.

RallyWrench > ImmoralMinority
05/03/2017 at 23:07

I’ve just been reading through your update posts, I’d be pissed too. Hope he comes through and it’s everything you’ve been promised and expecting.

We have a client for whom we built up an old BMW, which then went right to the body shop to complete a full color change and respray. It’s been there for almost a year now (not counting the months and months it was there before to paint the engine bay and jambs and lay the primer before our end of the work), and has missed several deadlines for show debut (including BMW’s feature at the Historics last year). The guy is pulling the car out of there tomorrow, unfinished. The work that has been done is absolutely beautiful, but the timeline has been ridiculous.

There’s a stereotype that the best body and paint guys take for damn ever that seems to hold true for Nikon as well. Doesn’t justify it at all, paying customers deserve better treatment. I’d get crucified if I didn’t deliver cars on time from our shop, or have a damned good and well communicated explanation as to why we can’t. I don’t know if Nikon does insurance work, but I’ve been told that’s why some shops take longer on projects, because insurance jobs can be gravy trains and projects are time and materials.

Anyway, I hope it all comes good and that this weekend finds you with the wind in your hair in Long Beach, I’m really looking forward to finished pictures.

RallyWrench > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
05/03/2017 at 23:14

It’s an old standard, but it is rather arbitrary. There are different standards by year and GVWR. It’s removed a lot of old cars from our roads, which is part of the smog program’s objectives. That said, the Pass/Fail numbers are pretty high, something like 250ppm on HC’s and 1% CO. If the engine is in good order, the Cat is working and the carb and its vacuum system is ok it shouldn’t be too hard to meet. What I don’t understand is why it has to be done now when he said it was done last year. We’re biannual here, unless it gets Gross Polluted, then they bone you with annual smogs.

RallyWrench > DipodomysDeserti
05/03/2017 at 23:17

Still?! That surprises me, that California of all places would be more lax on classics than AZ.

DipodomysDeserti > RallyWrench
05/03/2017 at 23:44

Yeah, it’s just for Phoenix and Tucson though and no motos.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/04/2017 at 00:06

On the other hand, there’s no one worse than an annoying homeowner that wastes your time going over every little thing, and tries to tell you how to do the job they’re paying you for because they know nothing about it.

I think the moral of that story is to just find good workers/contractors. Which can admittedly feel like looking for a needle in a haystack

(edit) just read your last sentence! Whoops!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
05/04/2017 at 00:09

There’s a proper way to “check up” on the workers in your home. It is largely a lost art. And working with Eastsiders and the newly arrived... it’s near non-existent

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ImmoralMinority
05/04/2017 at 00:16

I understand the rage and frustration but project cars never end on time. working part time at a performance shop I cant tell you the last time one did. Its the nature of the beast even with professionals. That’s why we don’t make deadlines for our cars because of the many unforeseen circumstances. Sucks that he did seem to push your car off though. Hopefully he makes it up to you

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/04/2017 at 00:24

Newly arrived... Good way to put it

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
05/04/2017 at 00:44

I’m all about that neutral terminology

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench
05/04/2017 at 16:26

That car is still fucking there?! Jesus. I know that guy is good at fine work, but that is too long for any paint project.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/04/2017 at 16:28

Yeah, though not for long. It’ll be here shortly.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench
05/04/2017 at 16:32

Cool! Too bad it isn’t finished though.