My 40 Month Nightmare that I endured at Hill's Hot Rod's.

sorry about what you've gone through! i like the way you handled it and didn't let it escalate to fisticuffs and more trouble. i went through something similar, nowhere near as long as your situation but i feel your pain. all the best of luck to you in getting your truck done, you seem like a genuine enthusiast.

Edited: 11/6/2009 9:57:17 PM by Jance Customs

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! For your comments!!!!! It means A LOT to me that people actually read my entire NOVEL! I wrote this story about 10 times and it kept getting longer and longer! I left out a lot and this is only about 40% of what I have been through the past 11 years while "chasing" this dream truck of mine! I know thats crazy to endure all of this but if you read everything then you know "it's more than just a truck!" I used the term "timeless classic" because my truck will not fall victim to the latest "trends" that will eventually fade out. I don't care if I'm the only that likes my truck when it's done. I'm building it for ME just the way I want it. I want it to be in "style" 10 years from now. I did plan on getting my own booth for Sema but a 25' x 25' booth cost $10,000 and then you have to pay other expenses etc etc etc. I will have a build up on my website and I plan to make updates when the time comes. I do plan on showing it for the first time in 5 years at Turkey Drag this December.  There were 2 paragraphs that I cut out of my story, that I will post now. It will answer a few questions.________________ I am a passionate individual that strives for excellence and pays attention to the details. However, I am not a “mini trucker” and I am not a “hot rodder”. I am an automotive enthusiast! My passion for cars and trucks extends further than just one scene in this industry! I can find something that I like in every vehicle and I respect the amount of work and effort that goes into each one!   I am seeking out professionals for their experience to build my truck, because I will swallow my pride and pay someone to build it right so I don’t destroy my truck while “trying” to attempt to build something that takes years of experience to master.  I just want my FIRST truck that has been in my family since it was purchased brand new in 1994, to be a well oiled machine again. All I want is peace of mind and to be happy again! I DO still live a normal healthy life and I am thankful for that!

Edited: 11/6/2009 10:01:22 PM by Layumon22s

I went through a very similar situation, a 6-8 week bodydrop turned into an 8 month disaster that left my truck in pieces and having to take the guy to court, then got screwed out of parts and got less than quality work from the 2nd shop. both of these were well known shops and have built multiple cover and feature trucks.  Best of luck finally getting it done! No better feeling then finally getting it all back together! just as a side note, the whole column format makes that article really difficult to read, lots of scrolling up and down the page. had a lot of the same things that happened to me and is sort of the short and sweet version of what seems to be happening to just about everyone these days!

---------------------------------------------Originally posted by nvr53holy crap.if i remember rite jason hill had atleast 2 of his personal vehicles in magazine features in the last couple months .total bullshit what happend to you bro.youre a better man than me it would have ended up film at 11 headlines---------------------------------------------I asked him why he builds so many of his own vehicles every year. He said, “My customers don’t always build feature worthy vehicles, so I build something to take to shows. My good friend who is a magazine editor will feature a vehicle if I ask him too. I could even tell him to shoot pictures of a rock and roll CD and tell him it’s the coolest truck around and he will feature it. THAT’S what MY friends do for me!” So that comment only tells me one thing! It’s not WHAT you do, it’s WHO you know…

Basically that is just a very Immature Shop owner and it will catch up with him. Wish you well with your new build. I seriously thought when Leaving the scene back in 04 that the cover was already out on the market. Its been a while. Good luck with that also.

This brings up a point about Mag's.  He said that basically he can do whatever he wanted and get put in. That is shady on the mag's part. I hope this isn't true about all the mags in the scene.   Jance i can't wait to see it at Turkey drag!

Sorry you had to go through this crap Jance..... Hopefully people will learn from your experience. 

wow man, that was a tough deal for you to go through....I'm sure he'll get whats coming to him and you'lll get the dream truck you deserve....best of luck to ya!!!

dude, i totally feel your pain.  However, i'm only about 3/4 of the time into my "nightmare".  At least the guy that was going to build mine was truly sorry that he's not going to get to build it, he just had a lot of things happen at once and he knew i wanted to get it safe and road worthy by showfest next year, and knew he could'nt do it.  So i'm kind in the same situation, but my guy was'nt a dick about it.  I'm pretty sure when you do get it up and running, you could set up a paypal account for donations to get your sema booth, i know i'd contribute.  I know you did'nt want to do a loan or anything, but i think your tonneau gate is an excellent idea, and i for one would like to see it in production.  I'd just ask a 10% share of your company for contributing (hahahaha, sorry, i watched Shark Tank just a few days ago, lol). Anyway, keep us updated on the progress, and good luck!!

Thanks everyone for spending the time to read everything that I wrote! My truck will get built and I know it is in good hands! However I don't want anyone to think that I am just turning the truck over with a list of mods and handing out money. I've done a lot of the small detail work over the years to my truck and I will continue to do so. I will be helping with the entire build as much as I can! It's even better now because I have to REDO the stuff I already had done... I've learned a lot over the years and I have been busy building up my 2000 Dodge Ram Sport daily driver since I bought it stock a few years ago. It might not a "show stopper" but for me subtle details is what I'm all about. I was hoping to have it finished for THW a few months ago but I've been burned out on it and frustrated with dealing with everything. At one time I was asking for donations via paypal to help me get a booth at Sema, but after I got one complaint from a guy on myspace telling me I was screwing people over just to get money for a product than hasn't been produced yet, I removed it from my site. I don't need any hand outs so I'm not going that route anymore. If my truck is meant to be at Sema in 2010, then it will be there... After 11 years I'm still fighting so why would I give up now because of Jason Hill?