Jeep MB Restoration Timeframe

[lesk]

To Tony & dpcd67....OK....here's the thing....I paid half of the money for the jeep in Sept. 2016 when I saw it as a rebuilt rolling chassis as explained in my first post as above. All the restorer had to do was paint an MD Juan willy's tub and then put it over the rebuilt rolling chassis and finish off all of the plumbing/wiring. His timeframe was first week of December 2017. On December 01 I emailed him and his response was.....we have made great progress....jeep almost done....come see....so on December 05 I drove to his shop and saw the jeep....tub was painted and on chassis and most of the wiring was completed. I asked him for another delivery date and he said not this week but next week.....meaning week of December 12 to 16....based on what he said...I paid him in full. I visited him on the second week of December and it was not completed as he said that he needs black out light that he though he had. I was very disappointed. From the second week of December to March not much was done. I next saw him the first week of April....the data plates were on as was the frame for the canvas top. I saw him next on the second week of April....jeep was now off the hoist (another jeep was on it) and he said that the carb was leaking and that he will take it off again and replace it with spare carb parts. On April 19, I visited again....he started Jeep and almost immediately the carb base gasket leaked....I have asked him many times previously to put on a re-man carter carb or solex....he said no...they are garbage...he said that a newly built carter carb is on its way from Europe and that it will be here mid to late June....this is what he wants to install. So far no calls from him. As well, on April 19 we got into a verbal argument as per his many missed delivery dates...he threatened to give back all my money....I said no...complete the project or it will be a breach of contract....that's where we stand as of now. So, I still want a temporary carb on the jeep to save what is left of the summer and when he gets the new carter carb I will return for an install...at my expense...he refused. I plan to go to his shop in early July with a solex that I may buy next week and insist on him installing it......Question....is a solex hard to install and tune and is it a viable workable carb on a 42 willy's mb with original but rebuilt motor? Please respond as I am desperate at this point.

[Tony W]

Mate
If you have fully paid him for the job, I would be going over to his workshop with a car full of your biggest and ugliest mates , and take the Jeep back.
You have paid in full , so you have completed your part of the contract.
He is withholding your rightfully owned property.
Stealing is what they called it in the old days.
It is YOUR vehicle, you have right to do what ever you desire.
Time to take a stand
Tony.
Good lesson for. Get the product in your hot little hands before you hand over the folding stuff.

[JIMN]

Just go get the jeep if you want to. You make every decision, not him. Take it via a trailer if need be. Then find any local shade tree mechanic who knows carbs to help you with it.
I am guessing you gave him enough money to pay for that carb he is waiting on. So you may as well get it or have him install it when it arrives. Also getting it running and driving now will be like a test drive to see how well the jeep operates.

[lesk]

Hi Tony, Jimn.....and other responders to my plight....firstly...and I forgot to mention it on your first post answering my plight....hope your transplant is doing well. I have had a kidney transplant in 1996.....both original kidneys were 10-11 pounds each (polycystic)...kidney doing well after 20 years but not without issues of coarse.....and I am sure you have had many issues as well. I have fought off cancer twice and my long term prognosis is not good. That is why I wanted that jeep....just to drive a year or two would make me very happy....40 year dream to own one!
Originally, I was looking on kijiji for a WWII jeep...saw a couple.....found and went to the dedicated jeep/military vehicle restorer and told him that I wanted to buy a jeep on kijiji and take it to him for a check up before buying....he talked me out of a kijiji jeep it saying that they are all plagued with problems....then he showed me the restored rolling chassis 42 willys....he said that I can have that one. I asked him for a timeframe to paint and install the tub and complete all wiring and misc stuff.... he said that delivery will be first week of December 2016.....it was Sept 2016 when I initially saw the rolling chassis. I kind of told him of my hurry and he said that he will deliver for first week of December and here we are. Again, he refuses to put on a reman or solex just to get me going for the summer...he wants to put on a newly build carter carb that is coming from Europe (Joes motor pool) in mid-late June......heard nothing yet.....he never keeps my wife or I up to date...we have to inquire or drop by his shop. What makes me very upset is that on visiting his shop twice in April (because of more delivery dates promised), I saw other (new to the garage) jeep and other military vehicles to be repaired and mine has been waiting there since September 2016. As of April 19...after our argument about missed delivery dates....he told me that if I wanted the jeep completed to stay out of his shop. He also said (that I do not deserve this jeep because I am not happy any more)....go figure? This is why I posted the original paragraph....to find out if the restorers timeframe for putting together a jeep actually took 9.5 months starting with a rebuilt rolling chassis. At this point, I am scared that I will not get the jeep back before I get ill.

[Mark Tombleson]

April 19 we got into a verbal argument as per his many missed delivery dates...he threatened to give back all my money....I said no...complete the project or it will be a breach of contract....that's where we stand as of now.

If it is as you say with your health and he will return all the money you gave him... take the money and run. Do a search and pick a jeep to buy that has no issues that you can drive now and stop wasting precious time on conflict.

What area of the country do you live?

[JIMN]

....he told me that if I wanted the jeep completed to stay out of his shop.

Nice garage-side manner
I didn't realize that you also bought the jeep from him. Is the title in your name since you have paid for it?

[Tony W]

Hi Lesk
I am with Mark on this, go and get your money back.
What sort of Jeep are you going to get if he now dislikes you.
He could give you a bucket of sh#t and you will have no comeback.
As Mark said, take the money and run.
You will find another Jeep here on the G or contact all the Militay Clubs and make make inquiries about what,s for sale.
Be carefull, some of the internet for sale sites are a bit dodgy, lots of horror stories about them.
Good luck
Tony

[lesk]

Hi Mark, Jimn & Tony.....your input has been refreshing. Mark....I live in Barrie, Ontario, Canada....and the restorer is Willy's Acres....here is an update and it is no surprise. On April 19 as per my previous post the old carb was leaking and he would not put on a reman or solex just to get me going....he was waiting for a newly build Carter....he also told me that he will try to make the old carb run just to take the jeep out for a test drive.....well, I just received the first update this AM via email since April 19....Quote..."fixed carb long enough to drive jeep....found master cylinder leaking, wheel cylinders leaked, transmission leaked due to hairline crack and by letting the engine run longer it developed a lower end noise which may be clutch, bearings or flywheel". Nice but not unexpected. Remember, the motor, transmission and transfer case had been rebuilt before I first saw it in September 08, 2016. So now he says that he cannot work on it until September-October which means that if repaired, another test drive will more than likely not take place before summer of 2018 (based on activities and waiting in 2017) and then other issues may come up. He has offered my money back without interest (he has been paid in full since December 2017) and I have just cancelled the insurance (got insurance as jeep was promised for the third time for first week of April). I have invested over 9 months of planning and have gone though months of an emotional rollercoaster and several missed delivery dates. On April 19th...the last time I saw him an d the jeep...as per my last post, we got into a verbal argument mostly over the missed delivery dates. At one point he got angry and said that if you are not happy anymore, I do not deserve the jeep....I am giving your money back...I then reminded him of our contract. Before leaving he told me that if I wanted the jeep completed, "let me do my work and don't come back to my shop!" So, I was not surprised as to this afternoons email. Since the beginning (Sept 2016), my wife and I have taken meticulous notes as per any emails or shop visits so all my posts are based on facts without any embellishments. The sad thing is, is that over the 9 months I have been waiting for my jeep with many of his missed deliver dates, on my visits to the shop I have seen many jeeps come & go as well as other military vehicles being repaired...this always making me feel like apiece of crap and feel like an expendable commodity. So...options....wait until god knows when the jeep will be repaired or he will give me my money back. My wife and I will discuss the issue over the weekend. So much for a 40 year dream.

[Chuck Lutz]

I started to read your last post and got as far as "Willy's Acres"....................they didn't RESTORE it at all, they slapped some take off parts together and hoped they would work....and they don't!

Go get your initial purchase price and every penny you gave him for the "restoration". Let's just say to be kind....you ain't the first victim, Jim....

I don't know how much you have tied up in this project, but they are bull sh*tting you beyond belief, most guys so far have said to bail on this one without knowing who the seller/restorer was but they do have a reputation and AFAIK, it is for similar jerking around of the "Customer"....

Get the dough, post on the gee what you want, post a price range for a RESTORED jeep and let's see if you can pick one up in 30 days or less...I think you can and I also think you don't need one restored yesterday....one that has a couple thousand miles on it since a total rebuild will at least have all the bugs worked out because I can probably guarantee that anything that goes wrong will mean you have to give them back the jeep and it will sit until they have nothing else to do because it isn't an income generating job.

Run...get the money as fast as you can!

[Tony W]

Hi Mate.
Get you money back, he has offered it. You will only get a piece of JUNK if you don't. He is obviously not a restorers backside.
What is there to discuss with your wife???, he is doing a rubbish job. That Jeep will always be lemon , get the money while you can.
There are good Jeeps out their. Go and Join a military Vehicle Club. They will more than help you find a perfect Jeep
Get the cash back
Tony

[lesk]

Hi Chuck, Tony and others,

Thank you for your posts and suggestions. Initially, before September 08 (initial down payment) and second meeting @ Willys Acres...I have never heard of Willys Acres before. I check on a few forums but found a few people talking about his retail parts business that seem OK. In the last week, I have called some Ontario based restorers and well as reputable military restoration groups & musters and discovered that many may buy parts from him in a pinch but would never send a vehicle his way for restoration or repair....however, he has what looks like a thriving business of which he must have due to his "gift of the gab" . As this is clearly a US based forum....what have you guys heard?
My wife and I have more or less made up our mind as to our most likely direction.....based on listening to the responses of this post, based on discussions with military restoration groups in Ontario but we will also seek guidance from our family lawyer who happens to be my niece.
One of the many things that really bother me other that the 9 month wait, the many missed delivery dates, the emotional rollercoaster ride ,seeing other military jeeps & trucks coming into the shop months after mine but leaving promptly is that on their last email they are willing to give back my money but not the interest that they made and I missed over the 6 months of full payment made on December 05, 2016. Also, I made it clear to them that on April 08, 2017 I purchased car insurance based on their saying that it will be completed the second week of April (third missed delivery date) that I just cancelled yesterday but lost $100.00 in the refund. Lastly, on reading the June 23, 2017 email about finally getting the carb to work after two months, "we tested the jeep and issues came up"...."because we have family obligations we cannot start work on the issues until September/October 2017. Again, I asked my professional sources as to how long it would take to replace a leaky master and wheel cylinder, cracked transmission case and possibly a lower engine bearing, clutch or flywheel....may take a week or two at most....... so why wait until September/October to start? You have already gone past your initial delivery date by 6 months, you have repaired many other later arrival jeeps and trucks but have left you restoration project to languish ....STAND TALL and do right by the client to whom you also have an obligation too....just my two cents.

Stay tuned,

les

[thidisbogus]

Hi Les,

Sorry to hear about your plight. I have also heard negative things about WIllys Acres over the years. Interesting that you are up in Barrie. I have a longtime friend that used to live up there and I have been up there sledding with him. Kelvin Davis is him; realize you may not know him, but worth a shot mentioning his name, you never know.

[Ez8]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. My two cents on the matter:

A few years ago I had called upon a local guy to repair an exhaust manifold stud that had broken off in the head of my other car. The guy I took it to was someone I had taken it to in the past as he specialized in this particular car. He operated out of the workshop on his property.

It sat for one year because of my misplaced trust in him. I called, I got updates. "One more week. I have to take care of my kids... We looked at it and got the head off..." etc. I trusted him to tell the truth, but it sat for a year doing nothing.

Finally, I called him and said "I'm coming to get my car. I'll be there at such and such time." I arrived with 2 burly friends, loaded the vehicle on a trailer, and took off. He apologized profusely, but the car had sat untouched in the place where I put it in his shop - he had lied to me through e-mail and over the phone. Luckily I didn't pay him a dime.

I wasn't mad at him, though. I was mad at myself for being a fool.

I took the car to a professional repair place and they had the car back to me in under a week. The service manager called me with updates throughout the week to let me know how work was progressing. I paid through the nose for their professional service, but I was happier because the job was done to my satisfaction and in a reasonable amount of time.

My advice to you: This person is playing you for an idiot. Get your money back and go buy a fully restored jeep as other people have suggested. Consider the money you lost (interest, insurance) as tuition to learn an important lesson when dealing with people.

[majmacs]

I live in Canada (normally). I dealt with that company twice to purchase a few parts and never will again. He had one repro autolite coil left in stock (after they had been discontinued for copyright issues) and over three conversations on the phone, he kept upping the price to over two times the asking price....at which point I told him it sounded like he needed more than I did. The stories ive heard from some jeep enthusiasts in Canada about how they were blatently ripped off were incredible....the one about a priest was most informative and disturbing...and btw is very similar to your plight. Another about a guy who had him sandblast combat rims for him, to be told afterwards the rims didnt survive the blasting and had to be disposed of since they ended up being swiss cheese. Unbeknownst to the proprietor, the customer had stamped his rim halves with his initials and a number to ensure he could reassemble the paired halves. Guess what he found on the rims for sale rack in the warehouse? Most of the horrid stories relate to any work he does on your behalf.

If you have the opportunity, take back all your funds and follow the advice others have posted

[MB210581]

So what was the end result? I hope you walked in and got your money back. These guys jerked you around more than they should have. Please give us an update to this saga.