My JPS Speedster has a 2110 built by Gervais Engines in California. When I was having carb problems I called him for some direction.
He was very helpful. He also told me he was working on a bolt on Fuel injection system but was not yet ready yet.
Just as info.
Paul
no picts can be seen.
For an easy, bolt on fuel injection/electronic ignition example, don't look at my thread. It works great now, but as @Stan Galat says, it's not for the faint of heart. https://www.speedsterowners.co...ines-speeduino-style
Yeah, you would need the heart of an OX to do what Mike (and Piperato) are doing......
Got to spend time with Greg at VM. WOW! I didn't realize how busy he is. I mean, I knew he was busy... but he is SUPER busy!
Engine pick: 2332cc (~150hp, 155tq). A mellow 2332cc build he started making. Should be perfect for the Coupe and my driving style.
Transmission: Keeping the one I have. It has the same gearing my Speedster did and that worked perfectly.
Now to find some late 50's Porsche Coupe quarter windows to restore... 
Feels good to actually wrench/work on this Coupe. I think having more then one weekend "toy" was too much with everything going on...
I was able to take the quarter windows apart and start the refurb process. All new rubbers and parts are in. Trim went to Greg at VM to help with re-chroming (I don't have anyone I know that does it).
Also paid for the engine in full and Greg had an idea for a nice coating on the custom A1 exhaust - excited to see how it turns out!
I also got a few dress up items for the engine to give it a more authentic look (similar to the Speedster engine).
Moving along... moving along...
Attachments
Man, I feel like all hope is lost with this build...
Haven't been on the site in some time, but I have been super busy with work and the zombie apocalypse. @MusbJim and I are friends on FB, so I am sure he can fill in the details... LOL!
Nonetheless, I have made a little tiny tiny bit off progress. After my last post above, I gave Greg the quarter windows to get re-chromed. Believe it or not, it took 3 months to get back ! ! ! And it wasn't cheap either (but the quality is amazing).
WIth the chrome trim back, I set to work in reinstalling all new rubber and the original glass. Success was determined when I finished and NO glass was broken. These things are a PITA to put back together (pics as always included).
Now for my lost hope with this build...
There are some things I am not capable of doing and don't want to attempt. I was going to have my coupe sent to Greg several months ago, but he has been super busy. Then we agreed to have it delivered in the 2nd week of September 2021. That got delayed. Now I have been patiently waiting to get another delivery date for his guys to do some work on the coupe. Still no response :-( I try to find the balance of being understanding and being a paying customer (and huge supporter of his on this site).
To my SOC friends, when do I just accept he is too busy and can't work on my Coupe?? My engine he built and I paid for back in April is sitting at his shop covered. I could show you the string of texts, but you all know me well enough to not BS on this site and I do respect Greg immensely... I think at one point my Coupe was going up there a year ago this month??? (I'd have to go back and look)...
Anyways, looking for some advice from the great Yoda's and Masters of the Madness. You all always given me good advice over the years :-)
And just for fun. For the old timers (including me) that have seen my little mini me as a baby when I was building the Speedster... here she is now... 6 years old and acting like she is 16 ! !
Looking forward to all your guidance on this one. Thanks!!
Attachments
To help us, can you let us know exactly what work you wanted Greg and his guys to do?
I did something similar when I was building my car - My work job was ramping up in hours again and I had gotten to (a.) the point where I didn’t have much time to work on it and (b) where I needed a body shop to do a few things I wasn’t good at, like a killer paint job. I dropped it off thinking it might take 3 - 4 months and kind-of forget about it. I would call once in a while to see how things were going (or not going, to be honest) and got some famous excuses, but there it sat for a long year and a half til I finally called and said I would be by in two days to pick it up, as-is, to finish it elsewhere. I was probably my usual gruff self on the phone because the guy calls back an hour later and says that if I could give him four or five more working days on it, he would get it done for me, and he did. Good thing, too, because I was unable to find any other place that would touch it, even a couple of local Hot Rod builders.
So my only advice is to have a heart-to-heart with Greg. Tell him you would like to have him complete your coupe because you trust him to do a good job and that you’re cheap advertising for him. That you understand that it may take some custom work to do that, here and there, but that you’ll work with him to make it as un-intrusive to his shop flow as you both can so that he can treat it as just another build. Bear in mind that you’ll be starting at the front of the (long) queue line but at least you’ll be in the queue.
And finally, just ask “What’ll it take to get in line for shop time to get this done?” And go from there. A lot of us would like to see this come out of Greg’s shop, too.
Good luck!
@DannyP posted:To help us, can you let us know exactly what work you wanted Greg and his guys to do?
Great question!
Here is what we have talked about:
- Headliner (installed by his carpet/interior guy) (needs to be installed prior to the glass
- Glass (don't want to touch this and break the glass)
- Finish wiring (gauges, headlights, wires to the engine)(I've run the wiring front and back, power and ground, and starter)
- Engine install (already built and paid for), external oil cooler, throw-out bearing
- Gas tank (I can do that if he doesn't have time)
- Carpet (I can do the seats, door panels, back seat) (carpet/interior guy would do this part)
That is pretty much it. The main stuff I don't feel capable of doing is the headliner, glass, quarter windows (custom work is needed to mount them)...
It is not a big list by any means and I know his guys well enough that they can get through it pretty quickly if they are given the time to do so. Most of the heavy lifting aside from the glass is the headliner and carpet install after the glass goes in which would be done at his carpet guy.
I'm sure I am missing a few things and making it sound easy peasy... the quarter windows could take a half day to a full day because the pillar needs modification to get the mounting points right...
Edit: Door glass install would also include the chrome door trim and motor to run the window up and down (I actually wanted manual windows, but he was developing that)
@Gordon Nichols posted:I did something similar when I was building my car - My work job was ramping up in hours again and I had gotten to (a.) the point where I didn’t have much time to work on it and (b) where I needed a body shop to do a few things I wasn’t good at, like a killer paint job. I dropped it off thinking it might take 3 - 4 months and kind-of forget about it. I would call once in a while to see how things were going (or not going, to be honest) and got some famous excuses (He's never done that yet - he is honest and open when we talk), but there it sat for a long year and a half til I finally called and said I would be by in two days to pick it up, as-is, to finish it elsewhere. I'm getting to that point and wanted some feedback before making that choice as it has ripple effects long term (both relatioship-wise and this forum. I was probably my usual gruff self on the phone because the guy calls back an hour later and says that if I could give him four or five more working days on it, he would get it done for me, and he did. Good thing, too, because I was unable to find any other place that would touch it, even a couple of local Hot Rod builders.
So my only advice is to have a heart-to-heart with Greg. I have tried and expressed empathy many times with everything he is going through and how busy he is. Tell him you would like to have him complete your coupe because you trust him to do a good job and that you’re cheap advertising for him. I wouldn't mind if he just gets the big items done and I finish the rest (headliner, glass, carpet). And he has told me he would do them knowing I would. probably break the glass... LOL! That you understand that it may take some custom work to do that, here and there, but that you’ll work with him to make it as un-intrusive to his shop flow as you both can so that he can treat it as just another build. Bear in mind that you’ll be starting at the front of the (long) queue line but at least you’ll be in the queue. My Coupe may not be at his shop, but I've been in the "queue" IMO for over a year. I've got text dating back pretty fa asking to drop it off, but get the "next month we are super busy". Granted, some folks have orders placed and $$ dropped and I feel their pain too.
And finally, just ask “What’ll it take to get in line for shop time to get this done?” And go from there. A lot of us would like to see this come out of Greg’s shop, too. Me too - but I am capable of getting most of what is left complete... just need help on a few things :-) Maybe that is the next "best step" - Just get a few things done, mainly at his carpet guy... and I'll finish the rest...Good luck!
Gorden, I always appreciate your replies :-) Some notes in bold above..
Edit: Just for reference, I started this build in July 2017... does that count as where my spot in the queue is? Probably not, but worth a note ;-)
I truly believe that the speedster mfg's got slammed more then they could have possible imagined especially in these uncertain times. This is an old school New Jersey thing that I've carried over to Pennsylvania and most recently West Virginia. When I need a few minutes of time from someone that is busy on a Friday late afternoon, take along a cold case of Coors light..it has yet to fail me.
@*LongFella Just my opinion, but the carpet was pretty easy in my Speedster and I couldn't imagine a coupe would be much more difficult. I agree with you that the glass and headliner may require some experience and special tools, although I would be tempted to try. Sometimes I am not smart enough to know what not to do! Lol.
This is just a suggestion because it might eliminate an item from the list that you need them to do.
Based on the work you did on your Speedster and now the coupe, you should have the confidence to tackle almost anything! Looking good!!
@Alan Merklin posted:I truly believe that the speedster mfg's got slammed more then they could have possible imagined especially in these uncertain times. This is an old school New Jersey thing that I've carried over to Pennsylvania and most recently West Virginia. When I need a few minutes of time from someone that is busy on a Friday late afternoon, take along a cold case of Coors light..it has yet to fail me.
Alan - I have done the "Coors Light" thank you a few times in the past for Greg's shop guys :-)
Usually with Greg, it's conversation/business advice/etc versus drinks (I don't believe he drinks now that I think about it...). One recent example was being a reference for him back in January as a customer was asking to speak to some folks about his builds/shop. etc...
And I don't want this all to sound like he hasn't done anything. Trust me, he has done a TON for me over the years... just seems like this past year/two...
@James posted:@*LongFella Just my opinion, but the carpet was pretty easy in my Speedster and I couldn't imagine a coupe would be much more difficult. I agree with you that the glass and headliner may require some experience and special tools, although I would be tempted to try. Sometimes I am not smart enough to know what not to do! Lol.
This is just a suggestion because it might eliminate an item from the list that you need them to do.
Based on the work you did on your Speedster and now the coupe, you should have the confidence to tackle almost anything! Looking good!!
James - I could probably (highly likely) cut a few items off the list. It's me being lazy and thinking "Since it is at his shop, maybe I just pay him and the guys to do it - help out the business"
I'm told by Greg it is better to have the Coupe at the carpet shop so they can cut th carpet to the Coupe versus using a template.
If I really narrowed the list down:
Headliner, glass (quarters, front, back, door frame and glass), and carpet
The rest I could order/buy from him and install myself. I did thee engine install in my Speedster (MusbJim helped me back int eh day), wiring I can finish (Alan was a huge help with that back int eh day), and just get my lazy a## going...
.
Alan, I've lived in both PA and New Jersey, so I could see the Coors Light gambit being highly effective in either place.
But things are different in California. They just are.
It could be the mild winters, the fact that we can watch the sun set over the ocean, or maybe that we've all been breathing more carbon monoxide in our air out here for so many decades. The real reasons would be nearly impossible to determine with any accuracy.
But Coors Light is just a less valuable currency here than it is back in the hardscrabble East.
I could see a few bottles of Edna Valley cabernet being used to good effect. Or maybe a Santa Barbara pinot. Either would distinguish Wolfgang as a customer to be reckoned with.
When in Rome...
.
@Sacto Mitch posted:.But Coors Light is just a less valuable currency here than it is back in the hardscrabble East.
I agree. Perhaps he could import a six pack of Moose Drool?
@*LongFella posted:... just seems like this past year/two...
Huh. The last "year or two" you say. Gee... I wonder why that is?
We can't speak of it without bifurcating into camps, but let's just agree that what has changed "in the last year or two" has resulted in a complete upending of the glonal economy. This is the "new normal" we were told to expect.
I will have owned and operated a small business for 25 years next Sept., and can tell you the last 20 months (and particularly 2021) have been the hardest and least fun of any of them. There's money to be made for sure - but the unpredictability of equipment and material pricing (indeed, whether or not I'll even be able to get the material, tools, and sundries we need to do business) make bidding nearly impossible. Scratch that - it IS impossible, and I won't do it. That makes me a contractor that won't contract - everything is time and material.
Forget everything you think you know about business and what is a normal (timetables, processes, etc.) for anything. Chrome window frames in 3 months sounds astoundingly fast to me. They didn't lose them? They didn't send them back unchromed after 9 months? You must be living correctly.
You've noticed the empty car lots, correct? And the random shelves at the supermarket completely cleaned out of something arbitrary (bread? potato chips? vegetable dip?) for weeks at a time? Have you attempted to purchase a roll of Romex of late? The current price for 12/2 with a ground is $135 for a 250 ft roll. It was about $35 6 months ago. I haven't been able to find or buy a 200a meter socket for months.
A case of beer and some bonhomie joviality isn't going to cut it, nor is talking tough with a guy who just isn't feeling it. That all worked in 2019, but this isn't 2019 anymore. The world has changed. Business has changed. Foundations are eroding, but retired guys and wealthy guys and especially Wall Street guys can't see it because the stock market party just keeps rolling along on funny money that the Fed is pumping out faster than they can count.
Gasoline is up a bit, and NOW John Q. Public starts to notice.
It's one of a thousand examples, but for some inexplicable reason (loss of sanity? senility? an unexplained desire to incinerate money?) - I'm trying to build a shop across the street for my business tools and stock. It would have been very straightforward before the recent troubles. Come along with me for a minute, while I take you down the Rabbit Hole. I need you to forget everything you may think you know about building anything at all. One needs to let the Mad Hatter do the talking, and just figure out how to work with him.
I bought the property July 3, pulled the permits, and lined up the subs - acting as if I was not in an alternative universe. So far, so good. I was told that garage doors are an issue, so I paid for and ordered $10,000 worth of doors on Sept. 3, before the foundation guy had even showed up.
At the 5 week mark, I got a cryptic email proclaiming, "good news and congratulations Comrade on your recent glorious purchase".
I immediately contacted Home Depot, who referred me to the manufacturer (Clopay). Clopay had me on hold for nearly 2 hours before I got a human in customer service. This customer service agent resides in this hemisphere (hooray!), but unfortunately had no interest in helping this particular customer.
I was told that Father knows best, and that my order (which was correct) was being held up on an internal change-order (which I never wanted and the manufacturer never informed me of) and I STILL hadn't signed off on it. She told me I needed a 8' w x 8'9" high door... even though I'm building the shop and the door I ACTUALLY need is 10' w x 8' high (which coincidentally, is what I ordered and paid for, and what the building will be framed for. Weird, huh?). The friendly customer service professional was hearing none of it, and I hung up. I considered framing for a Weird Al door, just to keep the project rolling. I considered cancelling the entire thing and reordering, but doors have gone up 20% since I ordered, on top of the 30% they went up earlier this summer.
But I'm nothing if not consistent with my Moby Dick ways, so I had to spend another 6(?) hours or so finding somebody at Home Depot who cared enough to find a sentient human at Clopay who could undo the Gordian knot that was the mystery change-order and just process the order (the one I signed off on and paid for 8 weeks ago). I've been working on these doors for 3 weeks. THREE weeks, and I think I've got it done (as of this morning). Three cheers for me, I have DONE IT!! I am the master of the "New Normal". I stride as a giant among mere men.
But... I lost my place in line.
It'll be 16 weeks from right now (which puts me conveniently at about March 1) before I see 3 pretty generic garage doors. It's the best possible outcome. It's all I can hope for. I lost many, many hours over this. I lost sleep over this. I lost WORK over this. They're garage doors. They aren't shards of the true cross, but they may as well be. If it wasn't garage doors, it would have been a pump or acetylene or a brass cap, because I've waited weeks for all of these things. I waited a month for a new oxygen regulator for a torch-set. I gave up and bought the whole rig, just to have a working torch on my truck. I'm no giant, I'm just a putz greasing the wheels of a broken system with filthy lucre.
Refrigerant gasses have gone up 450% since June 1. I'm told there's a component gas sitting on tankers off Long Beach, but it's hard to tell. The Paris Accords say we'll need to find new gasses before long anyhow - the current darling is Butane, which sounds safe. Back to the gasses we use, rather than the future gasses that will certainly save the world (just like the gasses we have did in 1990) - this supplier says they can't get gasses at all, that supplier says they're mysteriously all the same price (ALL of them. EXACTLY the same). A random 3rd supplier in another state says they can sell the one I need for only 250% more than it was in June. Come at night. Wear a yellow raincoat. Tap out the bass line to "Black Betty" on the keypad.
In other related news, there are no LG washing machines in Peoria. There's a bearing out on my 5 year old machine. Good luck with that. I ordered a new machine from "Greentoe" or some such clearing house site. It might be a scam. It must be, because they claim to have an LG washing machine. It'll ship in 3 weeks. Maybe. If we can find a truck driver. Or not. Don't push me, man.
It's like doing business in the Soviet Union. Every day.
HEY! There's Diet Squirt on the shelf - BUY IT ALL BEFORE THE SMITHS FIND IT!!!
I have no idea how builders like Greg and Carey and Henry are getting the parts they need for non-essential luxury goods. Some well placed bribes in the ports? High level connections in the Politburo? Bitcoin bribery?
You'd like to know "why", and I'm feeling honest enough to tell you. This is the "new normal". We're all going to learn to like it because "we're all in this together". The economy is an enormous engine with a thousand thousand thousand cogs, which were all in their place and doing their thing until March 2020. We ground the entire machine to a stop, shoveled dirt into the works, set it on fire, then tried to restart it after several months. The fact that it's working at all is a mystery to me.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm here for a dose of "Uncle Stan's tough-love" - if you want this thing finished at all, you will probably have to do a lot of things yourself. They will be imperfect, and they will cost you a lot of frustration, but they will get done.
Anything else is a complete crap-shoot.
@Stan Galat posted:Huh. The last "year or two" you say. Gee... I wonder why that is?
We can't speak of it without bifurcating into camps, but let's just agree that what has changed "in the last year or two" has resulted in a complete upending of the glonal economy. This is the "new normal" we were told to expect.
I will have owned and operated a small business for 25 years next Sept., and can tell you the last 20 months (and particularly 2021) have been the hardest and least fun of any of them. There's money to be made for sure - but the unpredictability of equipment and material pricing (indeed, whether or not I'll even be able to get the material, tools, and sundries we need to do business) make bidding nearly impossible. Scratch that - it IS impossible, and I won't do it. That makes me a contractor that won't contract - everything is time and material.
Forget everything you think you know about business and what is a normal (timetables, processes, etc.) for anything. Chrome window frames in 3 months sounds astoundingly fast to me. They didn't lose them? They didn't send them back unchromed after 9 months? You must be living correctly.
You've noticed the empty car lots, correct? And the random shelves at the supermarket completely cleaned out of something arbitrary (bread? potato chips? vegetable dip?) for weeks at a time? Have you attempted to purchase a roll of Romex of late? The current price for 12/2 with a ground is $135 for a 250 ft roll. It was about $35 6 months ago. I haven't been able to find or buy a 200a meter socket for months.
A case of beer and some bonhomie joviality isn't going to cut it, nor is talking tough with a guy who just isn't feeling it. That all worked in 2019, but this isn't 2019 anymore. The world has changed. Business has changed. Foundations are eroding, but retired guys and wealthy guys and especially Wall Street guys can't see it because the stock market party just keeps rolling along on funny money that the Fed is pumping out faster than they can count.
Gasoline is up a bit, and NOW John Q. Public starts to notice.
It's one of a thousand examples, but for some inexplicable reason (loss of sanity? senility? an unexplained desire to incinerate money?) - I'm trying to build a shop across the street for my business tools and stock. It would have been very straightforward before the recent troubles. Come along with me for a minute, while I take you down the Rabbit Hole. I need you to forget everything you may think you know about building anything at all. One needs to let the Mad Hatter do the talking, and just figure out how to work with him.
I bought the property July 3, pulled the permits, and lined up the subs - acting as if I was not in an alternative universe. So far, so good. I was told that garage doors are an issue, so I paid for and ordered $10,000 worth of doors on Sept. 3, before the foundation guy had even showed up.
At the 5 week mark, I got a cryptic email proclaiming, "good news and congratulations Comrade on your recent glorious purchase".
I immediately contacted Home Depot, who referred me to the manufacturer (Clopay). Clopay had me on hold for nearly 2 hours before I got a human in customer service. This customer service agent resides in this hemisphere (hooray!), but unfortunately had no interest in helping this particular customer.
I was told that Father knows best, and that my order (which was correct) was being held up on an internal change-order (which I never wanted and the manufacturer never informed me of) and I STILL hadn't signed off on it. She told me I needed a 8' w x 8'9" high door... even though I'm building the shop and the door I ACTUALLY need is 10' w x 8' high (which coincidentally, is what I ordered and paid for, and what the building will be framed for. Weird, huh?). The friendly customer service professional was hearing none of it, and I hung up. I considered framing for a Weird Al door, just to keep the project rolling. I considered cancelling the entire thing and reordering, but doors have gone up 20% since I ordered, on top of the 30% they went up earlier this summer.
But I'm nothing if not consistent with my Moby Dick ways, so I had to spend another 6(?) hours or so finding somebody at Home Depot who cared enough to find a sentient human at Clopay who could undo the Gordian knot that was the mystery change-order and just process the order (the one I signed off on and paid for 8 weeks ago). I've been working on these doors for 3 weeks. THREE weeks, and I think I've got it done (as of this morning). Three cheers for me, I have DONE IT!! I am the master of the "New Normal". I stride as a giant among mere men.
But... I lost my place in line.
It'll be 16 weeks from right now (which puts me conveniently at about March 1) before I see 3 pretty generic garage doors. It's the best possible outcome. It's all I can hope for. I lost many, many hours over this. I lost sleep over this. I lost WORK over this. They're garage doors. They aren't shards of the true cross, but they may as well be. If it wasn't garage doors, it would have been a pump or acetylene or a brass cap, because I've waited weeks for all of these things. I waited a month for a new oxygen regulator for a torch-set. I gave up and bought the whole rig, just to have a working torch on my truck. I'm no giant, I'm just a putz greasing the wheels of a broken system with filthy lucre.
Refrigerant gasses have gone up 450% since June 1. I'm told there's a component gas sitting on tankers off Long Beach, but it's hard to tell. The Paris Accords say we'll need to find new gasses before long anyhow - the current darling is Butane, which sounds safe. Back to the gasses we use, rather than the future gasses that will certainly save the world (just like the gasses we have did in 1990) - this supplier says they can't get gasses at all, that supplier says they're mysteriously all the same price. A random 3rd supplier in another state says they can sell the one I need to me for only 250% more than it was in June. Come at night. Wear a yellow raincoat. Tap out the bass line to "Black Betty" on the keypad.
In other related news, there are no LG washing machines in Peoria. There's a bearing out on my 5 year old machine. Good luck with that. I ordered a new machine from "Greentoe" or some such clearing house site. It might be a scam. It must be, because they claim to have an LG washing machine. It'll ship in 3 weeks. Maybe. If we can find a truck driver.
It's like doing business in the Soviet Union. Every day.
HEY! There's Diet Squirt on the shelf - BUY IT ALL BEFORE THE JONES' FIND IT!!!
I have no idea how builders like Greg and Carey and Henry are getting the parts they need for non-essential luxury goods. Some well placed bribes in the ports? High level connections in the Politburo? Bitcoin bribery?
You'd like to know "why", and I'm feeling honest enough to tell you. This is the "new normal". We're all going to learn to like it because "we're all in this together". The economy is an enormous engine with a thousand thousand thousand cogs, which were all in their place and doing their thing until March 2020. We ground the entire machine to a stop, shoveled dirt into the works, set it on fire, then tried to restart it after several months. The fact that it's working at all is a mystery to me.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm here for a dose of "Uncle Stan's tough-love" - if you want this thing finished at all, you will probably have to do a lot of things yourself. They will be imperfect, and they will cost you a lot of frustration, but they will get done.
Anything else is a complete crap-shoot.
Honey, you had me at “bifurcating.” ❤️👍🏼
It's been decades since I drank a Squirt. I will have to look for some.
So, um, tell us how you really feel, Stan. 
@Stan Galat posted:Huh. The last "year or two" you say. Gee... I wonder why that is?
We can't speak of it without bifurcating into camps, but let's just agree that what has changed "in the last year or two" has resulted in a complete upending of the glonal economy. This is the "new normal" we were told to expect.
I will have owned and operated a small business for 25 years next Sept., and can tell you the last 20 months (and particularly 2021) have been the hardest and least fun of any of them. There's money to be made for sure - but the unpredictability of equipment and material pricing (indeed, whether or not I'll even be able to get the material, tools, and sundries we need to do business) make bidding nearly impossible. Scratch that - it IS impossible, and I won't do it. That makes me a contractor that won't contract - everything is time and material.
Forget everything you think you know about business and what is a normal (timetables, processes, etc.) for anything. Chrome window frames in 3 months sounds astoundingly fast to me. They didn't lose them? They didn't send them back unchromed after 9 months? You must be living correctly.
You've noticed the empty car lots, correct? And the random shelves at the supermarket completely cleaned out of something arbitrary (bread? potato chips? vegetable dip?) for weeks at a time? Have you attempted to purchase a roll of Romex of late? The current price for 12/2 with a ground is $135 for a 250 ft roll. It was about $35 6 months ago. I haven't been able to find or buy a 200a meter socket for months.
A case of beer and some bonhomie joviality isn't going to cut it, nor is talking tough with a guy who just isn't feeling it. That all worked in 2019, but this isn't 2019 anymore. The world has changed. Business has changed. Foundations are eroding, but retired guys and wealthy guys and especially Wall Street guys can't see it because the stock market party just keeps rolling along on funny money that the Fed is pumping out faster than they can count.
Gasoline is up a bit, and NOW John Q. Public starts to notice.
It's one of a thousand examples, but for some inexplicable reason (loss of sanity? senility? an unexplained desire to incinerate money?) - I'm trying to build a shop across the street for my business tools and stock. It would have been very straightforward before the recent troubles. Come along with me for a minute, while I take you down the Rabbit Hole. I need you to forget everything you may think you know about building anything at all. One needs to let the Mad Hatter do the talking, and just figure out how to work with him.
I bought the property July 3, pulled the permits, and lined up the subs - acting as if I was not in an alternative universe. So far, so good. I was told that garage doors are an issue, so I paid for and ordered $10,000 worth of doors on Sept. 3, before the foundation guy had even showed up.
At the 5 week mark, I got a cryptic email proclaiming, "good news and congratulations Comrade on your recent glorious purchase".
I immediately contacted Home Depot, who referred me to the manufacturer (Clopay). Clopay had me on hold for nearly 2 hours before I got a human in customer service. This customer service agent resides in this hemisphere (hooray!), but unfortunately had no interest in helping this particular customer.
I was told that Father knows best, and that my order (which was correct) was being held up on an internal change-order (which I never wanted and the manufacturer never informed me of) and I STILL hadn't signed off on it. She told me I needed a 8' w x 8'9" high door... even though I'm building the shop and the door I ACTUALLY need is 10' w x 8' high (which coincidentally, is what I ordered and paid for, and what the building will be framed for. Weird, huh?). The friendly customer service professional was hearing none of it, and I hung up. I considered framing for a Weird Al door, just to keep the project rolling. I considered cancelling the entire thing and reordering, but doors have gone up 20% since I ordered, on top of the 30% they went up earlier this summer.
But I'm nothing if not consistent with my Moby Dick ways, so I had to spend another 6(?) hours or so finding somebody at Home Depot who cared enough to find a sentient human at Clopay who could undo the Gordian knot that was the mystery change-order and just process the order (the one I signed off on and paid for 8 weeks ago). I've been working on these doors for 3 weeks. THREE weeks, and I think I've got it done (as of this morning). Three cheers for me, I have DONE IT!! I am the master of the "New Normal". I stride as a giant among mere men.
But... I lost my place in line.
It'll be 16 weeks from right now (which puts me conveniently at about March 1) before I see 3 pretty generic garage doors. It's the best possible outcome. It's all I can hope for. I lost many, many hours over this. I lost sleep over this. I lost WORK over this. They're garage doors. They aren't shards of the true cross, but they may as well be. If it wasn't garage doors, it would have been a pump or acetylene or a brass cap, because I've waited weeks for all of these things. I waited a month for a new oxygen regulator for a torch-set. I gave up and bought the whole rig, just to have a working torch on my truck. I'm no giant, I'm just a putz greasing the wheels of a broken system with filthy lucre.
Refrigerant gasses have gone up 450% since June 1. I'm told there's a component gas sitting on tankers off Long Beach, but it's hard to tell. The Paris Accords say we'll need to find new gasses before long anyhow - the current darling is Butane, which sounds safe. Back to the gasses we use, rather than the future gasses that will certainly save the world (just like the gasses we have did in 1990) - this supplier says they can't get gasses at all, that supplier says they're mysteriously all the same price (ALL of them. EXACTLY the same). A random 3rd supplier in another state says they can sell the one I need for only 250% more than it was in June. Come at night. Wear a yellow raincoat. Tap out the bass line to "Black Betty" on the keypad.
In other related news, there are no LG washing machines in Peoria. There's a bearing out on my 5 year old machine. Good luck with that. I ordered a new machine from "Greentoe" or some such clearing house site. It might be a scam. It must be, because they claim to have an LG washing machine. It'll ship in 3 weeks. Maybe. If we can find a truck driver. Or not. Don't push me, man.
It's like doing business in the Soviet Union. Every day.
HEY! There's Diet Squirt on the shelf - BUY IT ALL BEFORE THE SMITHS FIND IT!!!
I have no idea how builders like Greg and Carey and Henry are getting the parts they need for non-essential luxury goods. Some well placed bribes in the ports? High level connections in the Politburo? Bitcoin bribery?
You'd like to know "why", and I'm feeling honest enough to tell you. This is the "new normal". We're all going to learn to like it because "we're all in this together". The economy is an enormous engine with a thousand thousand thousand cogs, which were all in their place and doing their thing until March 2020. We ground the entire machine to a stop, shoveled dirt into the works, set it on fire, then tried to restart it after several months. The fact that it's working at all is a mystery to me.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm here for a dose of "Uncle Stan's tough-love" - if you want this thing finished at all, you will probably have to do a lot of things yourself. They will be imperfect, and they will cost you a lot of frustration, but they will get done.
Anything else is a complete crap-shoot.
I always appreciate your thoughts, Stan 
Just to add my 2 cents.... @Stan Galat took the words out of my mouth. Given the global climate we're in right now, we really need to be more sympathetic to business owners. It is simply mind boggling some of the wait times out there for various products.......which I find may be a good thing. We are/were definitely a society of RIGHT NOW......waiting 4-6 weeks for that thing you want was not good enough-so have a drone delivery it to me within the hour.
I'm sure you want you car Brian. It has been some time, and I realize you're without your speedster. I also know you're incredibly talented. I'd meet with Greg, review the items that need to be done. Come up with a game plan. Perhaps he'd be able to work in a few, and knows other shops that would be able to assist with other items you cannot do yourself.
Greg, like the other builders, just had a perfect storm. COVID occurred and suddenly everyone is aware that life is short and precious. Therefore lets not wait to get that speedster I've always wanted. Now these shops have a huge backlog.....but no parts or staff (I'm assuming that to be true even if not in their shops directly). I'd give him a bit of a break. It still appears he's not sacrificing build-quality in order to crank out these cars by using readily available inferior parts.
@Michael McKelvey posted:It's been decades since I drank a Squirt. I will have to look for some.
Get some "Squirt Zero", assuming you have connections. Pour it in a glass. Get some lime juice (from concentrate is fine unless you're snooty, and you aren't if you are drinking Diet Squirt), and squirt a bit in the soda. Squirt some more in. Add ice and vodka if you've been dealing with the garage door cabal.
You're welcome.
Would non-diet Squirt be OK?
@Michael McKelvey posted:Would non-diet Squirt be OK?
It would.
Squirt is grapefruit soda. Because of the statin I have been taking it has been years since I enjoyed grapefruit. I have really missed it.
I just switched statins and now I can enjoy grapefruit again.
Sorry it's been hitting you so hard, Stan. The garage door saga sounds maddening. Raising a glass of squirt (or something) to you and everyone hit by these frustrating times.
@Stan Galat posted:Get some "Squirt Zero", assuming you have connections. Pour it in a glass. Get some lime juice (from concentrate is fine unless you're snooty, and you aren't if you are drinking Diet Squirt), and squirt a bit in the soda. Squirt some more in. Add ice and vodka if you've been dealing with the garage door cabal.
You're welcome.
I think I'll give this a try this weekend, assuming I can find some squirt in the local stores
i cant drink grapefruit juice, im on Simvastatin,,which stain is grapefruit friendly?
or just drink the vodka straight...years ago i really enjoyed tequila/grapefruit juice..
I'd like this group to know I am well aware of what has transpired this past year or two and the pressures it has placed upon all industries including the industry I work in.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be developing and implementing "crisis care" procedures - ultimately determining who gets a vent and who doesn't - who lives or dies. I have seen enough death for many lifetimes over from all this... including coworkers because the struggles to get PPE was indescribably hard and ultimately life threatening.
I know I am not the only when I say that some expectations were set well prior to the pandemic. So one has to question if it is truly the pandemic and the "new normal" we live in or is that now being used as the reason because said expectations weren't delivered on. That I do not have an answer for...
I sincerely appreciate the guidance from this group (and I know I can count on a thread drift here and there) :-)
I like the idea of a happy medium 
Straight tequila might taste a little like diet squirt if you squint your eyes and hold your mouth right. If not the first glass, then definitely the second one.
@barncobob, it was simvastatin that I was on for many years. I switched because I read that lipophilic statins carried a higher dementia risk. Simvastatin is one of those.
Pravastatin is the new one. Had I known that it allows grapefruit I would have switched years ago.
Rosuvaststin is also ok with grapefruit juice. https://www.health.harvard.edu...it-juice-and-statins
Yes, there are two.
I hear you Stan, we had to have a sewer pipe relocated from the back yard back street to the front yard and street. New everything main pipe etc etc. we are at 5 months now and not finished. One month for permits and 4 to do the work, and still not completed yet. set back after set back, etc etc. now that is the construction side, nearly all sectors of our economy is affected and health care is another... just pick a sector and it seems no one is thinking, and we are giving free money to stay home. Unbelievable. We won't open the can of worms on the treatment side as it will bifurcate into the Hatfields and McCoys, and it could get McCloskey hot as per his weather report.
@Michael Pickett posted:Rosuvaststin is also ok with grapefruit juice. https://www.health.harvard.edu...it-juice-and-statins
I'm on rosuvastatin (Crestor), so I'm golden.
Fluvastatin (Lescol), pitavastatin (Livalo), and pravastatin (Pravachol) are all OK as well. Atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), and simvastatin (Zocor) are not. I've been on at least 2 of the no-go in the past, so I guess I'm just lucky I didn't get on my Squirt kick until recently.
Seriously - add the lime juice. It takes the entire Squirt thing up to a solid "9" from a "take it or leave it" soda experience.
!!STOP THE PRESSES!!
I just looked at the engineering drawings of the garage doors the nicer customer service rep (Amanda) from Clopay sent me to sign off on.
They're still not right.
I'm learning that in the "new normal" one should accept what the glorious proletariat decides is best. It is bourgeois to turn up my nose at what I am supplied, simply because it was not what I ordered and paid for. One should not complain - the doors are at least the correct size, even if the windows are not. We cannot trouble ourselves with trifling details - such things are grist in the mills of history.
Call me an enemy of the revolution, but I don't like the "new normal".
I, for one, welcome our new virus overlords.
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