I jeff, I have found two places up here which will work on spits...
http://www.britishcarspecialists.com/ in stockton (40 miles south of
sacramento)
and
http://www.britcars.com/ which is 30 miles east of sacramento
both of these places are very helpful and spitfire-friendly
hope that helps
cheers
Joe
___________________________
Dr. Joseph Garner
University of California
Department of Animal Science
One Shields Avenue
Davis
CA 95616
USA
Phone: (530) 754 5291
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff McNeal [mailto:jmcneal@ohms.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 4:00 PM
> To: Spitfire List
> Subject: LBC prejuduce sure stings... (long)
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> High RPM's or not, I braved the freeway for the first time
> this afternoon in
> my car (without a rolllbar, even!) to get an estimate for the
> body work that
> I want to have done.
>
> The car did just fine, but due to my concerns about the revs,
> I kept it
> under 65 MPH, driving in the slow lane at about 60 MPH for
> the most part.
> The wind in my hair on this beautiful day felt awesome.
>
> I pulled into a body shop recommended to me by the guys who
> mounted and
> balanced my wire wheels. The owner wasn't around, but one of
> his employees
> (the painter) came out with a big grin on his face and regaled me with
> stories about the Triumph Spitfire his buddy used to have in
> 1972. This guy
> obviously appreciated the car and asked to see under the
> bonnet. He felt
> confident that they could do a great job prepping the car for
> me. Another
> employeed ambled out and stood there staring at the car for
> awhile. I went
> ahead and left my name and number and left -- I had to stop
> at NAPA up the
> street to buy some brake cleaner anyway. Perhaps when I came
> back on my
> return trip, the owner would be back to give me an estimate.
>
> Well, I was glad to discover that he was back and he sort of grumbled
> because he was trying to eat the lunch he'd just gone out to
> get and cut me
> off in mid-sentence after asking me what I wanted done to
> walk back inside
> and take care of some other business. Not a good sign. He
> emerged from his
> office a minute or two later. "I wouldn't be interested in
> touching this
> car", he said brusquely. I was so shocked and dumbfounded
> that I just said
> "fine", got in and drove off. I stopped at two more body
> shops. One of
> them was called "European Auto Body" -- I figured that they
> wouldn't be
> interested either, given all the crunched Mercedes Benz
> scattered around in
> their lot. The lady sneered over the desk in the office
> after I asked if
> they worked on British cars, being as how they were European
> and all...
> "What year is it?", she offered. "1967", said. "Sorry, we
> can't do it."
> This time I asked "Why not? Parts are readily available!"
> The best she
> could come up with was "We just don't work on cars that old".
> I asked her
> for a suggestion and she mentioned a third shop around the corner.
>
> The third shop owner wasn't as curt or rude as the first two,
> but he was
> clearly uninterested. "If you can even find someone to do
> this, it's going
> to cost you ten grand", he said. (ten grand!!??) He
> mentioned an "Aussie"
> in a nearby town that does "good work" and might be able to
> help, but he
> couldn't tell me his name or the name of his shop.
>
> Three strikes. Arc welding and body shaping are NOT two skills I am
> interested in acquiring, and it pisses me off (sorry) that
> people who are
> supposed to be in the business of fixing cars can act so
> damned particular.
>
> Anyway, as I was driving my car on the freeway over the Lake
> Hodges bridge,
> watching the sun glinting off the water, my disappointment
> was tempered in
> the knowledge that a few rust bubbles notwithstanding -- I
> can still enjoy
> the pleasure of driving my car. But it's sure frustrating to
> want to spend
> the money to do things right and find that you just can't find anyone
> willing to help. Sure, there are other body shops around and
> next time I'll
> call first. I'm sure I can find SOMEONE who will help, but
> for right now, I
> feel pretty dejected.
>
> Any listers in San Diego with a MIG welder and the skill to
> use it looking
> to make a few bucks in my garage in their spare time? By
> hook or crook, I
> WILL restore this car. Has anyone else run up against local
> resistance to
> body work like this? And if you'd seen my car, you KNOW it's
> not even a
> basket case or anything! What's WRONG with these people!!??
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Jeff in San Diego
> '67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka "Mrs. Jones"
> www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml
>
>
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