Are there any owners out there who have owned cars from both of these manufacturers? I want to assess who has the better product. Cars seem similar but beauty is only skin deep! Any real intel vs the sales pitch I receive from the builders would be greatly appreciated.
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Vintage Motorcars in Hawaiian Gardens hands down. Greg @VSpyder builds a fine automobile and has great follow-up service and communication. You can do a Google search and see for yourself all of the problems that have plagued JPS. You can even search this site and find owners of JPS cars that have documented some of the problems they have had from the get go with newly delivered cars.
Vintage Motorcars hasn't engaged in questionable business practices and those on the site have nothing bad to say about Greg and his crew.
When I was shopping for a Speedster I went to talk to the owner of JPS. Within less than 5 minutes he pissed me off and I never went back.........Bruce
@aircooled .....That long ? Some years back at Carlisle I walked up to JS along with my wife and said hello, the response from him was not pleasant so to speak, had it not been for Kelly Frazer's words that it wasn't worth it JS would have been planted instantly on his caboose.
when i was in the market I went to JPS, i didnt buy there,,i thought my garage was disorganized but he proved me wrong..had a bunch of youngsters working and they all had crescent wrenches and vice grips...
Thanks to all who shared their views. Very helpful.
Having owned a CMC, a VS, a JPS Coupe and a Beck, plus over 30 356's and 912's JS was the most unpleasant person I have ever dealt with. My wife loved her JPS coupe, however it left her stranded several times and dealing with JS was too much of an aggravation and pain. We sold it to BHSC over 3 years ago, and the last I was on their web site it was still listed !
Thanks again to all. I see a black 2110 outlaw from Gregg in my future!
Chuck Martin posted:JS was the most unpleasant person I have ever dealt with. !
I have said, and will say again-- dealing with John Steele was the single most frustrating and disappointing transaction of my life. Meeting him in person (on the tail end of a build gone off the rails) put me face to face with a textbook example of somebody with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Within 5 minutes of picking me up at the airport, he had insulted me and hit on my wife. I wouldn't wish the experience on an enemy.
I've got stories.
J1248....That Black one down at Gregs really looked nice. The upholstery was nice with it being a little darker than I'm used to seeing. If I wasn't building a Spyder I would have chosen a "wide body" like that one.............Bruce
I visited JPS. They are located 10 minutes from my house. I ended up sourcing a Speedster from Greg at Vintage Motorcars. That said, I wouldn't rule out purchasing a well sorted JPS. I just decided not to purchase directly from JPS even though they are just six miles away from me.
I second Troy's black Speedster. Troy is a stand up guy and I certainly would buy any one of Troy's cars if it were the color and body style I wanted.
I think a well sorted speedster coming from a reputable seller is the best way to go - especially for a new Speedster owner. Good Luck.
I have a JPS on the way and have no issues in getting quick answers to my questions from Patrick, who is now running speedster side of JPS as a separate entity. JS apparently running outlaw side of the house. Met him too and seemed pleasant enough no flags. Saw one of Patrick’s finished builds before I committed and was impressed with the build quality consistent panel gaps, etc. just my 2cents.
Just an FYI about those "consistent panel gaps," you can thank Greg Leach from Vintage Motorcars Inc. for that. All of the bodies that Patrick and John use come from Greg.
Stan Galat posted:Chuck Martin posted:JS was the most unpleasant person I have ever dealt with. !
I have said, and will say again-- dealing with John Steele was the single most frustrating and disappointing transaction of my life. Meeting him in person (on the tail end of a build gone off the rails) put me face to face with a textbook example of somebody with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Within 5 minutes of picking me up at the airport, he had insulted me and hit on my wife. I wouldn't wish the experience on an enemy.
I've got stories.
I'm surprised to hear that you had dealings with JPS, Stan. We haven't met nor have I seen your car but I thought you had a tube frame IM with a pretty hot VW engine that you pretty much built up yourself. No long explanation requested here but did you order a car from Steele years ago ? Cheers...
Yep. I ordered a JPS with (what was supposed to be) a Fibersteel Glaspar hardtop in 2002. It still stings to think about it.
Troy Sloan posted:Just an FYI about those "consistent panel gaps," you can thank Greg Leach from Vintage Motorcars Inc. for that. All of the bodies that Patrick and John use come from Greg.
I need to make a correction. Only John's Coupe and Speedster bodies are coming from Greg Leach. Patrick is getting his Speedster bodies from Brazil, I believe it's the old Chamonix molds.
This confuses me a little. Greg makes a bent-window pre-A coupe, and the JPS coupes have a curved window. They cannot use the same molds and I'm pretty sure Greg only makes pre-A coupes.