Edited: 12/2/2009 1:24:54 AM by jumbo72
Edited: 11/5/2008 9:16:36 PM by jumbo72Ok, here's the deal on my burban. For those of you that don't remember, i had a helluva time getting it back from Salt Lake City to Arkansas, drove it twice more, the muffler fell off, i crawled back under to tack it up and found all kinds of crazy shit. see the following threads:
http://www.streetsource.com/forum/topic.aspx?topic_id=94012&Topic_title=WORST.++LUCK.++EVER.&forum_id=13&forum_title=MiniTruckin+General
http://www.streetsource.com/forum/topic.aspx?topic_id=94359&Topic_title=looks+better+cleaned+up...&forum_id=19&forum_title=Chevy%2fGMC+Trucks
http://www.streetsource.com/forum/topic.aspx?topic_id=96305&Topic_title=How+worried+should+i+be%3f+(pics)&forum_id=13&forum_title=MiniTruckin+General
sorry, i don't know how to make the links clicky.
Anyway, i was supposed to have a friend of mine help me with the frame and shock mount problems, i was going to go to his house one weekend and re plumb the air system, install new bags and shocks, etc while he fixed the frame, boxed in the step notch, made new shock mounts, etc. This was supposed to happen the first weekend of december last year. a couple of days before i was supposed to go down there, he called and said he did'nt get the truck on the lift finished so we'd have to postpone. I said no problem, but i wanted to get mine in before he bagged my buddie's square body dually. He said no problem.
Well, after a couple weeks i tried calling him, no answer, kept calling and calling and calling with no answer, no returned messages, etc. Finally in January, another friend of ours went to the guys shop to help him with a wiring problem, he told me that there was no way he would get mine done this year, he had 6 full bag jobs in front of me. I was'nt pissed that he took work for money, i was just pissed that he did'nt ever answer the phone or call me back and say "dude, i got work that pays well, i have to put you off". That's the only thing that got me, cause if he could'nt do it that's fine, but just let me know so i can make other plans instead of stretching it out and putting me way behind.
So i called my buddy Jon at DB Rods and Miniz in Austin, TX (one of only 3 people i trust working on my stuff). He said he was full, but since i could'nt drive it anyway i could go ahead and bring it down. I towed it 9 hours down there Feb 15 of this year.
At first i just wanted him to box in the step notch, fix the frame, and make new shock mounts, but i thought it would be stupid to take it all that way for him to do $500 worth of work. So I made a list of everything i wanted done and emailed it to him. He's super busy, so i did'nt get to talk to him much, but he gave me a price and i started sending him money.
Well, they finally pulled it in the shop in august, wanted to get a couple of other trucks done before they cut the floor out of mine and make it where it can't move, i said no problem.
Well, i finally got hold of Jon 2 weeks ago, he said he was worried about calling me because my frame is totally fubar'd and he hates to be the guy to tell a friend that the good deal he thought he got was completely fucked. He said the frame had been drug to hell and back, it's started folding, if it goes like 1/4" more the whole frame would break in half. He said he would'nt feel comfortable giving it back to me with the frame that was on it because he knew i wanted to cruise this with my family. So i said no problem, just build a new frame. He said he'd cut me as good a deal as he could on the price, and that's another reason he was worried about talking to me, he'd already quoted me a price and did'nt want to have to up it. I said no problem, i understand, i know how custom truck stuff works. He also said building the frame will fix a lot of issues i was having (front wheels not centered in wheel wells, extreme negative camber, upper control arm hitting steering shaft), so it will be 100% better when i get it back.
Only problem is now i have to wait my turn for the frame table. There's one on there right now that has about 2 weeks left, then another one, then mine, so they probably won't be able to start my frame till around Christmas.
So, since i have no shows to get it done for, the to do list is huge, and when i get it back it will be a brand new truck except for the body. New frame, control arms, bags, spindles, fuel cell (the old one was held in place with expanding foam), sheet metal floor, hot rod air, wheels and tires (they're already at the shot), edc bracket, posi rear end, rear disc brakes, 4 link, shocks, shock mounts, etc, etc.
It may sound like i'm bitter or pissed at Jon, i'm really not, this is the 2nd time he's stepped in and helped me out when my other buddies disappeared. I have full confidence in him, and as i said before, he's one of 3 people i trust working on my shit, that's why i towed it 9 hours one way to let him work on it.
I would post pics, but the only new one i have is on my phone, and i don't know how to email it, but it's of the frame with the body in the air on a lift.
Sorry for the novel, but i'll use this thread to start posting pics as i get them.