“OVER THE HILL” – The REAL TRUTH about Hill’s Hot Rods
Let me start this by exposing Jason Hill the owner of Hill’s Hot Rods in Lubbock, TX for who he really is. Jason is a no good, self absorbed, liar and most of all a THEIF! I would never bring this out in the open if it was not true, but I am tired of people getting screwed by this so called “hot rod builder”. My family trusted him to build a complete, show stopping 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
For four years we were made promises and told stories about how well the car was coming along, and what all he had in store for the car. Time and time we were let down, and the date of debut was pushed back more and more everytime! He has told everyone he came in contact with that he completely built my truck from the ground up which is not near close to the truth either…is paint and final bodywork building a truck from the ground up nowadays???
Since we live 500 miles away from his shop we were taking his word over the phone for months at a time before being able to travel to his shop to see the so called progress. We decided after four years of debauchery on the once very nice numbers matching thunderbird to pull the car from his shop. That is not all…we ALSO were not given back numerous parts such as complete air ride set-ups and other very expensive items that were ordered for the car. To contribute to that theft, he STOLE TENS OF THOSANDS OF DOLLARS in which he claimed that work was done on the car. Once we got the car home and began to inspect the car closer we saw just what kind of work this HACK SHOP does! Body panels where parts had been shaved were so warped that ½”-¾” of bondo was applied over the damaged metal to smooth out, rusted metal was not cut out but simply new metal was placed over and then bondo was globbed on in order to appear that the panel was smooth, fender well openings that were modified were ¾” off on either side, parts of the firewall that were “fabricated” while out at his shop were pieced together with galvanized steel, the transmission tunnel had gaps so large in it where it SHOULD HAVE met the floor that my WHOLE HAND could fit through, and the frame was in such disarray that it had to be completely thrown away. Motor mounts that were made for the custom motor had the motor leaning to one side, the whole body from front to rear was tweaked, doors would not even come close to closing…the list goes on and on and on. New parts that were ordered such as brand new Bonspeed wheels were dented and scratched beyond belief and/or use, a brand new Banks engineering Twin-Turbo Engine had parts on it that were dented beyond use, scratched so deep that new pieces are having to be made, and paint was chipped off of the freshly painted block (the motor that was in the Banks booth SEMA 2006). He installed a USED 4-link set up on the car that I would not let my worst enemy in a 4-cylinder truck ride on, brackets were tack welded where they pretty much could be pulled off, and brackets were also welded on so crooked that the car leaned, drug the ground, and popped in every position when the car was lifted. It is clear that this shop and this owner DO NOT have a clue what they are doing. In the time that he has promised numerous customers cars completion; he has completed at least 6 or 7 of his own personal custom vehicles.
I am writing this and making it public because I DO NOT want anyone else to have to go through what my family did. There are several other customers and a unnamed magazine editor that has been screwed by Jason Hill out of money, parts, time, and he has ruined parts ordered for their trucks. If you do not believe what I am saying, I am making it clear by posting pictures of the so called fabrication that was done by Jason Hill and his crew at Hills Hot Rods….every bit of work has since been discarded.
Every single body panel that he touched or part he worked on has been thrown away and has been built the right way now. The original chassis that was thrown away has been completely re-made from scratch and is now able to hold the power of an extremely high horsepower motor, and is reliable enough to at least have on the street this time.
For reference to the truth of this story refer to the attached pictures and examine the work for yourself, as well as another story that has been wrote about this shop and the owners lack of professionalism towards his customers, “friends”, magazine editors, and most of all work. I just hope this saves someone a lot of headaches, and puts question into someone’s mind when thinking about this shop for a build. Anyone that even has this shop in mind for a build after all of this exposure is a damn fool. Think what you want, but the pictures should speak for themselves.
LINK FOR PICS ->
http://www.jancecustoms.com/damaged_tbird.html
The pictures with the measuring tape are showing just how much Bondo was put on the body panels. The picture with the crack in the concrete is a picture looking down the front quarter panel where the wheel well opening was moved forward….warped much??? The picture of the trunk shows just how many pieces of metal were used to make the rear floor…35 in total. 15 for the floor and 10 for EACH tub not including the trailer fenders.