A final Addendum to the previous post.

6/11/15 @ 1:59PM, my blog update was posted on Knightfoundation.net’s Facebook page. Here is the response from Robert “Video Bob” Moseley:

“Back in 2004, I bought a KITT replica from a Baltimore police officer who put the car on ebay. I played with it for a while and did some minor repairs but I didn't build the car. It was built by "Diamondback Automotive" in New Jersey. Not known for very good replicas.
I listed it for sale and was contacted by Justin and he made some offers on it. He offered me something like $17K for it I think? Its been over 10 years so I would have to research it. Anyway, he bought the car and came and got it and I never heard back from him again so sometime later I emailed him to follow up on the sale and he let me have it! He complained about all the problems he had with the car. Well, I did respond but never heard back from him again.
Unfortunately Justin needs to learn a thing or two about Pontiacs and movie cars. They require a lot of work.
In today's marketplace a well built KITT will run you an average of $40,000 for a turnkey car.
I think he got a decent deal.
Here is a video of that car in question:
http://youtu.be/8rr7ZeU_axk”

A little while later, I responded to his comment:

“Yes, the offer was $17k + my 1990 Firebird which was close to $3k shy of the $20k listed price on eBay. After I sent you the email of complaints, you DID NOT respond back. Had you responded after that message, it would have been in my inbox along with the other 10+ messages of correspondence. With my 20+ years of COMPUTER experience, it would be hard for me to miss a message like that. After over 7 years of dealing with all of the issues with the Trans Am in question, I have learned way more than two things about Pontiacs and movie cars. I own a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am with 188k miles. I've had this car for over five years now. The main issue in question here is not where the car came from, what you sold it for, and whether you think I got a "decent deal," but the long list of mechanical issues you failed to disclose of which I'm sure you were aware of since you "played with it for a while." Posting a car, ESPECIALLY a replica of this nature, on eBay (which was then sold off eBay) without disclosing the problems I'm quite certain you knew it already had when it came to something as serious as the crap dashboard electronics of which you said " Just plug in the speed sensor and the speedometer will work!" is immoral, unethical, and just plain wrong! But, you just didn't see it that way. No serie, Bob... I, "Justin needs to learn a thing or two..." is just how you see it. All the more sickening was it happening with a KITT replica which has been a symbol for truth and justice for over 30 years now, not lies and deceit.”

Of course, moments later, a response from the so-called Video Bob arrived. However, this response is where some fallacies (lies) peaked out again which is shown with my comments in blue. Just an important note, his content has been copied and pasted with NO alternations straight from the Facebook page.

“Justin, first of all, most of the things you complained about with the car were things that I never had any problems with. I made the above video right before selling you the car because I know it was going away and I wanted to have a memento of owning it. The car always started for me and everything on it worked.”

Obviously, it’s hard to prove what really worked when he owned it for the “while” and when I owned it after him for well over 5 years. However, if you go back and reread the previous blog post, you can see how “everything on it worked” but there were still a slew of mechanical issues, some being as simple as the rear brakes being non-functional right after I had purchased the car and drove it right to a mechanic a few days later… hmmm. 

“The information I got about the speed sensor was given to me by the previous owner. I was told that was what it needed.”

“Being 10 years later and actually building some of these cars it WAS that simple. There is a sending unit that adapts the speedometer to digital that works with various digital speedometers.”

So, here Bob goes saying he was told it needed a “speed sensor” and it “WAS that simple.” Surely, it would have been that SIMPLE, if the dash electronics weren’t faulty. But, alas, when he had it, “everything worked.” The only thing that did “work” on the dash besides everything being lit up before the glue melted and everything started to fall apart was the tachometer.

“All of that, none the less, you KNEW what was working and what was not and had accepted all of those things as you begged me for this car. As I recall I was asking much more for the car and you negotiated me down quite a bit.”

I begged him for this car? I don’t recall from the emails I sent and the one or two phone calls I had with Bob in which I “begged” him for the car. I may have shown excitement but that’s far from begging. Also, knocking a couple thousand dollars from the asking price with the ADDITION of my 1990 Firebird was not being “negotiated” down quite a bit. Heck, my Firebird was in better condition than this one in question for $17k+ and the T-Tops on the Firebird didn’t leak! But wait, Bob said the T-Tops did not leak on his car as well until I took it through a drive thru and learned otherwise. 

"Most of the things you mention in all your complaints are simple fixes that are common on these cars. "

They sure were. However, one would think these so-called “simple fixes” would have been taken care of on “these cars” with an original price of $20k and sold price of $17k + another fully functional car. You sure did flip it alright…with the use of your fancy pictures and videos but until the car was in my possession, things really weren’t what they seemed. But, being such a child like you said I was below, maybe I played with it too much and started breaking it. 

"Bottom line, you bit off more than you could chew on your experience level and your budget."

Bottom line, if I had known beforehand what “hidden” issues this car had before I agreed to wire transfer the money and drive all the way to Texas to pick it up, I wouldn’t have even considered the thought of buying it for even $10k, let alone almost $20k with a trade in. But, of course, according to you, everything worked…

“You cry about patching an exhaust or a valve cover gasket? Really?”

When it comes to paying $17k for a car which should have been checked beforehand for such leaks, I sure do. But, I guess I didn’t realize Bob is a used car dealership who doesn’t check those things and it's buyer beware and buy as is, leaks and all.

“DO you realize what goes into these cars now a days?”

Yes, I DO realize what goes into these cars now a days but this isn’t about now a days. You can’t compare the present with the past.

“The last KITT I built and sold went for $50,000.”

Well, that’s fantastic. Pat Bob on his back. Obviously, as Bob stated and everyone else already knows, Bob did not build my car so that statement is irrelevant. Also, if Bob was referring to the one he built and sold for $50k being more of a "turnkey" which is taking a car and rebuilding from the ground up, the car he sold me was FAR from a turnkey. It was a car with over 100K miles with basic maintenance, redone interior and body work, and OK paint job. It wasn't redone from the ground up...

“I am currently working on a KITT for client for $75,000 that has a Corvette LS3 in it with a 6 speed auto, new interior and new everything. A lot has happened in 10 years dude.”

Again, this has nothing to do with the topic at hand. A lot has happened in 10 years, dude. But that still doesn’t change what has happened with Bob selling a mechanically unsound car 10 years ago for the price which exceeded far more than it was worth. But I guess because it was all “Knight Rider,” it should have been worth more, even though it was a pretty looking Trans Am with a bunch of crap KR parts thrown in. If I had kept my mechanically sound Firebird, I could have spent close to that on functional parts and a decent paint job and would still have it today but you live and learn…

“The car I sold you was a car I bought, kept a few months and flipped. I did not build it, all I did was fix a few things on it. It was my first experience with a KITT car (as is yours) but you have to be able to put time and money into these cars.”

True and I’m sure we all may have learned now, you should work on fixing the mechanical issues with a Trans Am before slapping KR conversion parts on it and especially if you even want to “flip” a car so the owner of said car doesn’t have to deal with expensive non-simple repairs without even dealing with the crap KR conversion parts yet..

“My very first car was a 1982 Firebird and I know I won't make any friends here by saying that the 80's Pontiacs were not good cars.”

I will leave this one untouched because I’m not getting into that can of worms… 

“I also had a 87 Grand-Am. It was also crap.”

Another one I’m not going to bother to get into….

“These cars require a TON of work and money to be right.”

I don’t disagree with what Bob said here. However, one would think spending the price of a new car for an older “custom” car, a lot of the mechanical issues would be tended to. But, like I already stated above, it’s a “KITT” car so the prices should be jacked up to reflect that, even though the majority of the “KITT” parts turned out to be worth less than stock parts because stock parts… work!

“One of my employees is Eric Thompson who previously worked for Rob Louisell building KITT cars and he told me that the cars I am building are some of the best he has ever seen.
We have build over 20 Delorean Time Machines, 4 Bluesmobiles, an A-TEAM van, Robocop OCP car and a lot of other cool stuff.
So please don't judge what I currently build to a car I flipped that I bought from someone else and resold 10 years ago.
That is not fair.”

I was not judging what Bob currently builds to a car he flipped that he bought from someone else and resold 10 years ago. I was simply pointing out what happened 10 years ago in regards to a car he “fixed up a little” then flipped with a lot of more than “simple” issues with just the car itself which was faulty without disclosing such before the sale. But, we all know, according to Bob, “everything worked.” I guess faulty rear brakes, worn head gaskets, gaping holes in the exhaust, leaky T-tops which leaked right through the upper console electronics, and more…. was no big deal to him. After all, he just had it for a while and flipped it for quick cash, most likely because he didn’t want to deal with the issues on his own. That is not fair!

“Furthermore, when I did try to follow up with you after the sale all you did was spew all your sarcastic hate bullshit at me and to be honest, no, I had no interest in dealing with you any further if you were going to act like such a child about it. It was obvious to me that I was not dealing with someone mature enough to deal with the situation at the time and judging from you now I would say things have not changed much.”

“To be honest”? So, now Bob was being honest here and stated he did not respond to the message I sent him of which he said he did in the other response highlighted in red in the first paragraph in the beginning of the blog. If it weren’t for the bullshit I had to put up with obtaining the car to the bullshit of owning the car with another $10,000 or so I had to shell out just for the mechanical aspects of the car alone to the bullshit of hearing nothing but negativity from family members and everyone around me about getting such a “lemon” of a car, maybe I would not have acted like such a child spewing sarcastic hate bullshit at Bob. Oh, and for the record, in the past 10 years, things have changed quite a damn bit. Getting screwed in the past and bitched at in retail for things which were way out of my control, has taught me to not take shit from anyone these days and, if and when the opportunity arises, expose the truth to those who screwed me in the past so others can see what kind of character they really were (and still are unless they too changed) as well as teach others to learn to not trust anyone these days with anything because, in the end, they too will get screwed. As for my character, well, with my degree in criminal justice, background in private investigation, security, and computer company of my own creation which is 95% based on word of mouth referrals, I am not afraid to say my character is in good standing. 


If you want to complain about your car, dig these guys up and give them an earful, this is who built your car...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoaoGZovZBc”

No need. It’s no longer my car. Also, they were NOT the ones who sold the car they built, Bob did.
With all of that being said, this conversation is now done. 

There is no point in continuing this banter because I have stated what I had to state which was backed up by facts and Bob rebutted with he had to say based on his opinion and spewing out some marketing for his business here and there as well.

To those of you who read this, I greatly appreciate your time and I hope you have learned something from this. I did not post all of this to say Bob is a bad man and you should not visit his shop and maybe buy a car or two from him. I posted this because I did not believe in his judgement when selling me the Knight Rider conversion he “flipped” and, after reading his responses to the topic at hand, his lack of any remorse in regards to what I had to put up with for many years with a car sold by him where “everything worked.”

You can look back at my past posts and see what I had to put up with and more nonsense I had to put up with people whom I thought could be trusted as well but only cost me more money and more problems. This is the end of me owning a KR conversation. Whether I attempt the purchase of another one or parts to make a partial one remains to be seen as I have other priorities to tend to.

Lots of luck with the rest of you and your conversations!!

- Justin

Probably the last post on this blog for a long while but I had to because it's URGENT!

I no longer have the Trans Am I was going to work on. I'm not going to bother to get into it.

I've decided to write a final post because someone I remember from my past  popped up on a Knight Rider Facebook page and had this to say with a picture...

"I would like to invite everyone out to our shop this Saturday for the biggest collection of Movie and TV cars ever in Texas!


We will be shooting our TV show "SCREEN MACHINES" and ABC NIGHTLINE will also be covering the event. We will have lots of cool celebrities and contests, just check out the event page for all the details!
See you Saturday!!!"

The truth shall now be set free!!!!

If you want to check out the lovely cars, that's all fine and dandy. However, I would dare not purchase any if I were you because they may look good and what Mr. "Video" Bob says about them may sound GREAT but, take it from a guy who actually bought one close to ten years ago which turned into nothing but a Knightmare!

Bob was curious and asked how everything was going so I sent him a response. Since I had not received any more contact from him, I thought his curiosity killed him like a cat but I was wrong. He's still doing what he does best... making a huge profit by showing off and then selling his half-ass made cars for a profit so he can continue to live large while the others he sells the cars to live broke trying to fix the many repairs the cars need...

Below is the message along with response I sent him in regards to his "curious" email:

Note: The blog links are no longer active because I haven't updated my main website in a long while. However, the blog is still here http://blog.justinrocque.com/ and you can search for the related things if you wish.


Hey, this is Videobob, who sold you the Knight Rider car....

Hey, Videobob, who sold me the Knight Rider car,
This is Justin, the dumb ass, who decided to trust another person once again, who spent a shit load of money and a shit load of time to get the so-called "Knight Rider" car, which after a few months of having it, turned out more into a KNIGHTmare than a dream come true.

I was just curious what you ever did with it (to it)?

Curiosity killed the cat, like my first stripper girlfriend (which lasted for a week) used to say but I'll be a nice guy again and help you with your curiosity, after all, that's what the whole "Knight Rider" show was about and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to get my hands on the car in the first place.

So, you want to know what I did do it?
Well, let's see.......

A couple months after I had it, I decided to have a mechanic friend of my uncles check it out. Long story short, he had to fix the rear brakes because they were not working at all. He noticed some leaks by the valve covers on the engine and also a leak on the bottom of the car where the transmission is. The car was also pretty loud when I brought it over and he said it shouldn't be that way. Apparently there was a big ass hole in the exhaust manifold so he patched that up. After hearing about all that shit, and after having the car for a couple months, I was starting to get a tad pissed and a tad concerned because I remember being told the car was in pretty good drivable condition and didn't really need any work done. Boy........was I surprised and quite shocked. I've been blindly deceived again in my wonderful life!

Feel free to read about this in my blog: http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2005/07/over-month-now.html

Now comes the new year, where I finally was able to come up with enough money and time to get the tranny leak checked out. Long story short with this one too….. I had to get the tranny rebuilt and some other bottom parts of the car taken care of and there goes… $2300 for that!! It was around that time I started to realize what an ass I really was after spending $16000+ for an almost 20 year old car, with a non-functioning dash and bad transmission. After all, according to the person who sold it to me, there was no mechanical problems with it. I started to think I’ve been lied to about this car now, as far as the mechanical stuff and everything else about it goes. And for $16000+ I spent on this car, I  could have gotten a new car with no problems and a warranty; something like a Dodge Magnum maybe or something. But no………I had to get a car close to the age as me from someone I never met before, yet whom I decided to trust anyway with money which wasn’t mine to begin with, a week of time which I really couldn’t spare because I had to find a job, and a drive which almost killed my uncle and I quite a few times on the way and back from Texas. What a fantastic state that was to visit!

Feel free to read about that, here: http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2006/01/taco-bell-really-is-toxic-hell.html. Oh, and after getting pulled over 6 times because my taillights were too dim…. I had to get those fixed as well and what a chore it was, as you can read on that blog post as well!

Oh, and about the dash, which you said all I’ll need to do was hook up the so-called wire of the speed sensor to the dash, well……. Why don’t you have a read at this:

“Justin,

So you are the one who bought the Videobob car.

Videobob contacted me some time ago and seemed to be willing to fix everything before selling the car and then I did not hear anymore from him. 
It is disappointing as your description is very similar to what he wrote to me, not being the original owner himself.

The manuals will surely help. A speed sensor will also help. Trying to do part of the installation yourself might also help unless you find people willing to do this at a stereo shop.

I am not sure where to start, and I know that this will scare you. The set in this car might be a copy of my early design and might never work without modifications. Unfortunately there have been an unknown number of sets produced by fiberglass guys which all seem to have been assembled in the exact same way and on which I always find the same errors. Maybe this is not the case, but it could be. We would need close up pictures of the electronics to find out and I do understand that they are already installed in the car. My best advice at this point would be to take the dash electronics out and to have it tested, calibrated and repaired if needed. 
This is a service available from Jupiter.”

I went to Sound Insights to have them check out all the wires and also put that speed sensor wire into that digital speedo but it did not do a damn thing so I emailed Christian for some advice, only to get more pissed about this so-called “Knight Rider” car, which, according to you, was in pretty good condition yet…… there is no working dashboard in the car! And you said it was drivable? Interesting. Oh, and just one more thing about the dash….

The glue liquefied from the heat and eventually the dash just fell apart and the center dash cluster is out so now the dash is just a piece of fiberglass with a bunch of wires clumped in it. Oh, and about those wonderful 2-Tvs in the dash too, which, according to yourself, “just have to be hooked up to work…….” DO NOT WORK AT ALL!! They are broken TV’s. It’s probably because it’s a 10 year old dash which probably never worked anyway but just lit up like a damn Christmas tree. You can read a little more about that here:  http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2005/06/here-i-am-again.html
And here is some info regarding the nose, which had a noticeable dent on it near the scanner when I first got it anyways, even though you said on the site there was no dents or scratches, http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2005/05/here-he-is.html. Now I guess I had more of an excuse to get a new one of that, which I then purchased (out of my own pocket!), http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2005/12/not-worth-updating-with-all-negativity.html.
And here is some info regarding the leaks on the engine getting fixed, which cost another chunk of…….$300+ http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/2006/04/another-fucking-day-another-fucking.html

And here is some more updates for you about my car, and as you’ve probably noticed, my fantastic life I’ve been living…. http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/blogger.html.
Does all of that fill your thirst of curiosity? I sure do hope so because it’s took me around 2hrs to type all the above in my shitty security booth with only 3hrs of sleep today because, as you'll find out in my blog, I work 2 jobs, 70hrs+ a week, and sleep only 4hrs a day because most of the money I've been getting has been going to this car and my other debts because of it......
Oh, and one more thing…..as far as the brand new weather-stripping with non-leaky t-tops… well, let’s just say I went through an automatic car wash for a test and…..forgot to put on my swimsuit! So much for non-leaky t-tops, which I heard someone say as well…….
And how can the weather-stripping be new, if, after only a few months, started to crack and chip away? I wonder…….

Oh and one last thing… about that gullwing “death wheel,” well, one knight on my way to my security job, while making a turn, the gullwing kept turning without even turning the wheels so… long story short and after almost dying……the wheel stripped and I had to spend another $40 to get a round one. So much for the Knight Rider "Gullwing" affect, which will cost another......$900 I do not have to get replaced......

How long have you had this car for again? A month or more? And you did not notice any of these issues at all??? If not, I find that quite surprising. Oh, and I forgot to mention…..non-working windshield wiper fluid! As much as I’d like to get that fixed in case I get some good luck bird do on my windshield, I just have no money to do that non-crucial thing. Oh, and I won’t get into the whole A/C thing because that’s another story…..

Do you have a web page?

Why, of course! Here it is www.justinrocque.com. You can also look at my blog for info about my fantastic (sarcasm, if you didn't already notice) life as it stands right now…… http://www.justinrocque.com/blog/blogger.html. And here is my knight rider-based one, which hasn’t been updated in quite a while because I’ve been busy working 70hrs+ with about 4hrs of sleep a day with nothing to show for it but no personal life (at least when only working and not hanging out with people, I'll be less likely to get screwed again!) and a trailor trash-looking car..... http://www.knightindustries2000.com/

Car shows?

After all the above, what’s to show now? A $16,500 trans am worth no more than $6,000 now with a non-functioning dash, scraped nose, dented fender, round steering wheel, etc.? I was going to bring it back to that Hooters in Tallahassee but....... at this rate, It'll probably be another 10 years.

Any upgrades?

Is the rebuilt tranny considered an upgrade? How about the upgraded “steering wheel’? Or the upgraded alternator, which cost $250? Or maybe the upgraded windows, which are now tinted because I'd get heat stroke without a tint because of lack of A/C? Or the upgraded front brakes or maybe the upgraded nose and scanner, which have not been installed yet because I have less than $200 in my bank account and still can’t seem to find a left fender anywhere? Or maybe the "upgrade" of glueing the rear-view mirror back on.........after getting pulled over for driving with only the fog lights on because they were bright enough at 2AM with nobody around and after a fucking ticket for not having the rear view mirror on and a warning for not having the headlights on. There went another $20 with the god damn cost of the police officer looking at the damn thing to make sure it was on, signing the ticket, and another $10 or so for the court cost of them putting it in the system and another $5 or so for the damn kit do glue it back on KITT! Yea........thanks! Yet I still, for some odd reason, think about becoming a cop in this city.

Just curious.....

Too bad I didn’t use my curiosity to search on the wonderful web before I bought the car because after doing a search about it on google and on the Knight Registries about it, and emailing Christian about it, I’d probably have you drop the price down way more… because after all, all you sold me was a trans am, with a lit up non-functioning dash, leaky engine, bad tranny, stripped wheel, etc.….I also wish I had kept the Firebird I had before this one so I can use that as an actual “drivable” car until this one is fixed because it’s been risky every damn day now and I’m lucky I just got one speeding ticket so far! I wonder where that Firebird is. Maybe it too got sold on Ebay for $10,000 to some sucker like me? The only cool thing right now about it is having quite a bit of people notice it every week but…….. It sucks because there’s nothing really to show, which ends up making me more pissed but that's my life as I know it; too much bull shit and not enough good shit to even out.
Oh, btw, just outa curiosity, how is that Delorean doing? Also, how is that NEW Magnum you got with all that money you weaseled me through that prop "Knight Rider" car?

- VB
- JR

So, there you have it! If you do decide to go to Bob's lovely Prop Shop, do me a favor and hand him a bag because he'll need that to empty the shit he's probably still been full of all these years!

There it was all pretty and ready to be sold....

You can look at the rest of this blog for sad pictures of how it turned out to be...

Never hire a kid to do a man's job. This is why!

Well, it's been a long while but here is a status update on the '86 Trans Am. I manged to find (a good friends next door neighbor) a mechanic who agreed to swap the parts I wanted from my old '84 to the current '86 and do other miscellaneous work on the '86 for me so it's road worthy. The agreement was he'll do it for $600 + the old '84 after the parts I wanted from it were swapped out. He said he should have it done within 7-10 days and bring a friend along to help. This was the day after I took the car home, July 5th, 2010. Surely, the car should be all finished and ready to go by now, you must all think! Well, just read on below and take a look at the BULLSHIT I had to go through during this whole month.

The stuff in blue with the "*" is what I said in the letter I printed out for him after his texts in red. Instead of reading it all, just read the red and blue and then the last part where it says he's fired. All of the red and blue and the final stuff at the end has been been printed out and brought to his house.

He actually called today and left a message on my phone while I was out in the garage CLEANING HIS MESS some more! I, of course, didn't bother calling his ass back because I didn't want to hear his pity excuses anymore. Btw, excuse my poor grammar in the responses to his texts and towards the end. I was in a rush just trying to get the shit done, which took another couple hours of MY time!

______________________________________________________

Agreement: “My old car after you take the parts I want out of it and $600 and you will do all the work yourself with a friend. Also, it will take 7-10 days.” We’ll see how this agreement goes. 

Wednesday – June 30, 2010 (Worked on car – 1st day) 

Me: Hey, What’s up? You called? – 9:47AM

Adam:  Yea I was calling to see if your home?

Me: I am – 9:49AM

Adam:  Alright how do I get to your house again? Im gunna come by and work on the cars a little – 9:50AM

Me: Cool, thanks. Make right on (street), right (street), left (street).

Adam: Ok – 9:54AM

Me: I’ll meet you in the garage. You can park in the grass next to the mailbox.

Adam: Ok be there in a second. Do you have boy tools at all?

*Asking me for tools? Why do I need to supply you tools to work on a project you said you can already do?*

Me: Have a shit load in garage. Now sure what most of them do. Lol. – 10:02AM

Adam: Alright good. Ill be there soon.

Me: K – 10:03Am

Thursday July 1, 2010 (Worked on car - 2nd day)

Adam: Hey justin ill be there around nine – 8:00AM

*You were actually there… for around 3hrs or so* 

Sunday July 4, 2010 

Adam: Hey I got called in to work. Ill come by tomo morning ok. – 9:34AM

*Could have said you have a project you need to get done, which would have been done much sooner so you can go to work more later and get more hours and shit. It’s OK, you will be there tomorrow morning… or will you?*

Me: K, that’s cool. Thanks. Happy 4^th! – 10:02AM

Adam: You too. – 10:05AM

Monday July 5^th, 2010

Adam: Hey justin I got called to work at ten – 8:24AM

*Monday morning, back to NOT work on my car! So, that’s 4 days straight of not coming back to work on the car. It’s ok, at least it won’t be more than a week… or will it? Could it be more than two weeks? We’re about to find out soon!*

Me: K, no biggie. More money for ya. Lol. – 8:53AM

Adam: Lol yea. – 8:54AM

Wednesday July 7^th, 2010 (Worked on car - 3^rd day)

Me: Hey, I’m awake. What’s your plans for this morning? – 8:16AM

Adam: Be there soon I have off today – 8:17AM

Me: Cool, sounds good. Around 9 or so? – 8:19AM

Adam: Yup

Justin: K, see ya then. Thanks. 8:20AM

*Actually worked on the car again for a couple hours*

Thursday July 8, 2010 (Worked on car - 4^th day)

Adam: Are you awake yet? – 9:18AM

Me: Lol, I am, awaiting your message. – 9:37AM

Me: See u in a few?

Adam: Lol ok be there soon. – 9:38AM

Me: K

*Worked on it for a couple hours*

Adam: Hey I cant come by tomo. – 8:29PM

*Well, that’s a shame. You didn’t say you have to work so maybe you had a date with your girl.*

Me: Well hopefully it won’t rain then. Lol

Adam: Its not gunna rain no worries. 8:44PM

Me: K, we’ll see.

Sunday July 11^th, 2010

Me: Hey, haven’t heard from you in a few days. U going to be here tomorrow or working? – 8:15PM

Adam: Tomo ill be there. – 8:17PM

*Are you really?*

Me: K, sounds good.

Adam: Ok – 8:19PM

Monday July 12^th, 2010

Adam: Hey im not gunna come today. Gotta work on getting a motor hoist. Mine is busted. – 8:27AM

*Ah, damn, guess not! I guess I’ll go back to sleep. Btw, if your friend busted the motor hoist, the friend should work on getting you one and PAYING you for one*

Me: Alrighty – 8:57AM

Adam: As soon as I get one, those motors will be out. – 8:57AM

*You sure about that?*

Friday July 16^th, 2010

Adam: Hey sorry I couldn’t come. Work has been crazy. As soon as I get a free day ill be there to finish up. – 10:13AM

*So, it’s just going to take one more day to finish up? Ok, if you say so!*

Me: Ok, hopefully it won’t take another month to finish up. – 4:19PM

Adam: It won’t – 4:20PM

Me: K – 4:21PM

Saturday July 24, 2010

Adam: Hey, I gotta work this whole weekend but ill be there Monday alright – 1:22PM

*Be there Monday? Ok!*

Me: Alright, we’ll see. – 1:39

Monday July 26^th, 2010

Me: U heading over here this morning or should I go back to sleep? – 9:12AM

Adam: Go back to sleep got called to work. – 9:26AM

*It’s Monday! Guess you won’t be here! Who would have thunk?*

Adam: Hey plan on me being there early wed morning. And most likely ill get both motors in and yours running that day – 9:39PM

Me: K – 9:27AM

*Mine most likely running that day? What strong words. Let’s see if you are a man of your word.*

Me: Sounds good. – 9:59PM

Adam: Alright your motor just needs an oil pan gasket – 10:09PM

Me: That’s what they told me. – 10:59PM

Adam: Alright it prolly is – 11:00PM

Tuesday July 27^th, 2010

Adam: Think you can wake up early tomo 4:33PM

Me: Anytime is fine with me. – 4:42PM

Adam: Six in the morning – 4:43PM

Me: Sounds ok – 7:04PM

Adam:  Alright. Already got motor hoist loaded. – 7:05PM

*Time to finally get both motors out and have mine running that day like you said the day before!*

Me: Cool. – 7:14PM

Wednesday July 28^th, 2010 (Worked on car and got 1 motor out and mine not running that day – 5^th day)

Me: It’s almost 6. – 5:57AM

Adam: Be there soon – 6:01AM

Me: How soon? 15-20mins?

Adam: Just gotta throw some clothes on – 6:02AM

Me: Alrighty, let me know when u leave so I open the garage – 6:05AM

Adam: Ok

Adam: Leavin right now. – 6:15AM

Me: K

*Wow, it’s about time. Last time you showed up to work on the project was 19 days ago!! And I thought not showing up for a week was bad! It’s OK, guess you had to work at your job 19 days straight with no days off in between. *

Adam: Your gonna have the four hundred to pay me right – 9:55AM

Me: I will have a talk to you about our “agreement” we started out with tomorrow. – 9:57AM

*You just managed to get one motor out and mine is not running at all yet you are talking about the money I owe you already for a job still not done? I guess you aren’t a man of your word.*

Adam: Alright well I should be done within the next couple days so just make sure you go the four hundred – 9:59AM

Me: Talk to you tomorrow – 10:00AM

*Next couple of days? Well, you said that on Wednesday, July 28^th, which will make it Friday, July 30^th. We’ll see what happens in a couple days!*

Thursday July 29, 2010

Me: U awake? – 6:24AM

Adam: Yea ill text you when im about to leave. Late night – 6:25AM

*Partied hard I see or had some wild sex with your girl last night?*

Me: Lol, alrighty. – 6:26AM

Me: Damn, if I had known u were going back to sleep, I would have taken a nap. – 8:26AM

Adam: If you want to go back to sleep and ill just come over there early tomo morning. 8:27AM

*I guess you didn’t want to come by because you had a late night with your girl or out having fun while I stayed up the whole night and morning because you said you will be there early in the morning the day before.*

Me: Does that mean you do not want to come over? Tomorrow I may be going out of state for a few days. – 8:30AM

Adam: Alright if anything I night come later on. What did you want to talk about – 8:31AM

Me: Oh, a bunch of things. Lol! 1. This week-10 day so-called project is taken much longer than u said when we made the “verbal agreement” – 8:34AM

Me: And 2… - 8:35AM

Me: U said “I will do everything for $600 plus the 84”

Adam: Well I had to work. Not my fault. And I had to go and buy an engine hoist. And project tends to take a little longer considering its only me. – 8:37AM

*If your “friend” busted it, why did you have to buy it? Also, those things are not easy to bust so why let someone who didn’t know what he was doing use it? And, what was that? “Only you??” So, I guess I just sat around and stared at you doing all the work while you did everything? So, you swapped the hatchbacks yourself, took off the hoods, jacked shit up and down, and got the tools and CLEANED YOUR MESS all by yourself? Oh, ok. I guess I was just an extension of YOUR body just like tools are extensions of your hand. My bad!*

Adam: That was the deal – 8:38AM

Me: As u can see, there is no “we” in “you” and you said you will have a friend to come and help u out. Where is the friend? As much as I don’t mind to help, the agreement was for me to not “assist” or get myself dirty and sweated up as well. – 8:40AM

Adam: Alright then I wont have you help that’s fine. – 8:41AM

*Yet you still wanted the four hundred (gave $200 already and the cars TITLE) after I’ve been helping yo ass and cleaning EVERY SINGLE MESS YOU MADE so my mother would stop bitching at me? Ha! Ha! Ha!!!*

Me: So, you’re going to do the rest all by yourself? – 8:43AM

Adam: Yea or ill bring a buddy with me – 8:45AM

Me: most of the work is already done so that doesn’t matter much now. – 8:48AM

Adam: Yea it will be done soon once the motor comes out everything is easy – 8:50AM

*It’s the end of July and the motors aren’t even out yet? Well, damn! Everything is easy? Well, I can’t wait to see that, considering you said that to everything else, of which I saw was a bitch to do!*

Me: We’ll see. – 8:52AM

Adam: Are you gunna be there tomo – 6:59PM

Me: Hey, can u give me the model of the carborator and other things I need for a carb set-up for the other car? – 6:59PM

Me: yep, let me know what I need or email me the stuff so I can get a price. – 7:00PM

Adam: What do you mean? – 7:01

Adam: What car do you want to put a carb on?  - 7:05PM

Me: Mine, the 86 silly. U said instead of tbi, carb is easier to install.

Adam: It is then we need to go through and see how to hook everything up. The whole deal to get a carb on it is like four hundred. – 7:08PM

Me: Is that how much more you’re going to charge me or is that the parts? – 7:12PM

Adam: Parts you need an intake manifold. Carb. And distributor. And also headers because your getting rid of all that smog shit – 7:13PM

Me: K, can u send me the part skus from autozone so I can get a rough price for my friend? – 7:17PM

Adam: I can tell you all the prices. If you buy all the shit brand new. A distributor is two hundred. Four barrel carb is another two. Intake manifold is one forty. Headers are one fifty. That’s all brand new. 7:19PM

Me: K, cool. I honesty thought those cars already have carbs though. – 7:21PM

Adam: No. Its tbi. – 7:22PM

*Acutally, TBI (Throttle Body Injection) didn’t come out on the Firebirds/Trans Am’s until 1988 so you are actually wrong there. It is NOT TBI, it is just a four-barel carb with wires for the computer in the car, not for TBI so maybe you need to do more car homework and less video game playing and going out with your friends if you want to still be a mechanic. So, thank you for feeding me with false information to make me even more confused because, as you know, I barely know a damn thing about what’s under the hood!*

Me: Alrighty. Hopefully I can get all the parts tomorrow. U off tomorrow too? – 7:27

Adam: Yea ill be there tomo. – 7:29PM

Me: Cool. I’ll most likely be going to bed tonight so what time is good for u? 8 or so? – 7:33PM

Adam: I’ll tell you soon. – 7:34PM

Me: K, I’ll be awake until maybe 2AM. – 7:36PM

Me: Ah, change of plans… I’m heading out of town in the AM so maybe Monday if u r off or whatever… I need to get away for a few days. – 9:33PM

Adam: Ok

Saturday July 31, 2010

Adam: Your gonna be there Monday right? – 9:44PM

Me: Yes sir – 9:53PM

Adam: Alright- 9:53PM 

Sunday August 1st, 2010 

Adam: Be there around eight. – 11:22PM

Me: K, thanks man. – 11:22PM

Adam: Got my girls little brother come to help – 11:23PM

Me: Alrighty. – 11:24PM

Me: How little is he?

Adam: Might hear it run tomo or the next day – 11:25PM

*Tomorrow or the next day? Oh, boy golly g!*

Me: K

Adam: He’s like fifteen. – 11:26PM

*So, now I got an 18 year old and a 15 year old working on a car almost older than both of you combined. This ought to be fun!*

Me: Well that’s a young dude. Lol! – 11:27PM

Adam: Hes cool. 11:28PM

Me: K, no problem. – 11:29PM

Adam: Alright see you tomo morning. – 11:36PM

Me: Alrighty. Have a good night. – 11:33PM

Adam: You too – 11:33PM

Monday Autgust 2, 2010 (Worked on car. – 6^th day)

Adam: Heading your way in a couple. – 7:45AM

Me: K, let me know when your on your way. – 7:55AM

*Already outside What wonderful short notice*

Tuesday August 3^rd, 2010

Adam: Hey I got called to work this morning be there tomo have off – 7:20AM

*Well, of course you did! Working on my car two days in a row would just be crazy!*

Wednesday August 4^th, 2010 (Worked on car 7^th day)

Me: U coming today? – 8:57AM

Adam: Yeah be there soon in like an hour I just had to do a couple things at home. – 8:58AM

Me: K, cool. – 8:59AM

Adam: See you soon. – 9:00AM

Me: Alrighty. – 9:00AM

Friday August 6^th, 2010 (8^th day over but just took the other car away)

Adam: Be there around eight tomo. – 12:45AM

Me: K – 12:46AM

Adam: Hey ill text you before I leave ok. And I got someone that’s gunna come get that car out of your garage today. – 9:45AM

Me: Ok but I still want a couple more things out the car. – 9:44AM

Adam: Like what? – 9:45AM

Me: Like taillights and inside speakers and trunk cover. – 9:48AM

Me: And battery.

Adam: You never said anything about the speakers or trunk cover. But that’s fine ill text you before I leave.

Me: The trunk cover just pops out and my car has no speakers I found out. – 9:52AM

Adam: Your killin me. The tail lights ill have to look at im not sure if they will work or not

*I’m killing you? Maybe you should think for a second about the mess you left every time you left and how I had to clean all of your mess up for you, which, of course was not in the agreement as well as it is just common courtesy. You make a mess, you clean the mess up when you are done. I guess your momma failed to teach you that when growing up. I wonder how messy your room is!*

Me: They will. I actually know about some things. – 10:02AM

Adam: You sure? I know its got different wiring harnesses. – 10:03AM

Me: Same wire harnesses, same back end. Just 2 diff designs from the outside. – 10:07AM

Me: I took them off before.

Adam: Ok

Me: U coming over this morning or afternoon. – 10:38AM

Adam: Coming over soon – 10:41AM

Adam: I’m about to leave – 11:15AM

Adam: I’m here – 11:22AM

Adam: Hey im coming to pick up car you don’t have to be there im just letting you know so you don’t think it got stolen. 3:25PM

*Well, that was so nice of you to do such a thing! You said my mother would love me for getting that car out the garage? Well, to tell you the truth, she bitched at me and asked me why that car was gone already when you still have NOT completed working on my car yet! And, of course, I had to clean up the mess you left when getting the car out the garage. Of course there were still parts I still wanted off the car but, alas, it was too late. If you had remembered what I wanted out of the car from the paper I had printed out and you looked at during the start of said project, you would have left the car and taken the rest of the stuff I wanted OUT but no. You were in a big ass rush to get the car out so you can get your money for that already.*

Me: K – 3:27PM

Thursday August 12^th, 2010

Adam: Hey. They got me scheduled to work from yesterday to Sunday. Ill be there Monday ok – 2:15PM

*6 days after you take the other car away and you didn’t even do anything to my car while there to prep the other car to take away. To this day, car is still NOT running!  Over a month and you’ve only been here 7 days to work on the said project? Not cool at all!*

  

 ADAM LONG… YOU’RE FIRED!

Your tools and misc crap are in my garage to be handed off to Marty to stick outside of your garage because you’re not welcome back at my house. Your engine hoist and engine stand are no longer in my possession. That was handed off to my NEW mechanic I had to hire because you failed to complete the project in a timely manner and pissed me off to no end in the process with your immaturity and lack of common sense. The engine hoist and stand, which was yours, has been surrendered over to me to pay for the parts you FAILED to take off the ’84 before you gave it away!! Let this be a lesson to you to never screw someone older and wiser than you who has been screwed many times before in his life.

If you want to try to get your stuff back from the mechanic, feel free to swing by his house. Here’s his address:
[Not disclosed online for privacy reasons]
Port St. Lucie, Fl 34984

Good luck! Maybe he’ll teach you a few things too!

Some words of advice in case you ever work on a project or anything like that again:

1. Never over promise and under deliver to anyone because it will bite your ass in the end. Being in retail, you should know this or will soon. What I mean by this is, never say it will take X amount of time to work on something when it ends up taking much more time, pissing off the person you are doing the project for in the process. This also applies to saying something like, for instance, both motors will be out or a car will be running that day, when in fact, one motor is out, and the car is still not close to be running that day, or two weeks from that day.
2. When you make a mess, clean it up! It’s as simple as that and just common courtesy! You had a container to prevent many messes but you failed to use it. Next time, think about the “tools” you have available to you before you continue to prevent more work (of which I had to do) later on which could have been prevented if you just sat back and thought for a minute.
3. Never say you have to “work” or it’s been a “long night” when working on a project as excuses to not show up that day or the next day, while the person is up early waiting for your ass to show up, especially when said person IS NOT a morning person at all and has not slept the previous night! Started on a project over a month ago, being there to work on it for eight days and it still not being done is very bad work ethic and bad for a person’s self image.
4. Never stand on a car which is older than you to work on it. That makes the owner of the car scream from the inside. The whole reason I got this new ’86 was because the body was in good shape. Never stand on anyone’s car while working on it for that matter. That’s not just only rude, it’s silly and DANGEROUS.  Also, if something doesn’t go in easily, like an engine going back in a car, there is a reason. Instead of PUSHING and SHOVING the engine or other part to go in, step back and see what is PREVENTING it from going in instead of looking like an ass and DAMAGING parts of the car by using extreme force and by…. Standing on the car as well!! Common sense plays a role in that as well.
5. If a person gives you a project to work on two cars to swap parts from, never take the other car away they gave you, in exchange for labor on working on car, until the other car is COMPLETE and the parts the previous owner wanted out of the car is REMOVED! Now, I have to pay an additional $250+ on parts on this car I wanted from the other one because of your failure to remove the parts I wanted. 

___________________________

And this is also why I don't like being around kids that age. I never did when I was that age and still don't.The car is now at a mechanic's house who's 40, which, is a much better age than 18 as far as cars and everything else goes. From all the trouble he went through to tow it away, along with cleaning up after himself and misc. crap the dumb ass left behind, and the knowledge I gained from him talking to me about the car as far as the difference between TBI and regular carborated engines, I believe my car is FINALLY in good hands. I told him to take his time and that he will. Engine will be out AGAIN and gone through and a lot of the inexpensive parts will be replaced while the engine is out versus being charged a shit load for labor down the line when the engine is in the car. I wanted this done before with the dumb ass but he was in too much of a rush to get the half-ass job done, which has still not been done a week ago!

So, now I can finally say the ball is rolling the way it should have been when I got the car in the first place and the shit will be done right by someone who has been doing this for over 20 years instead of a kid who's done it for 2. Big difference.


So, stay tuned for another update tomorrow and maybe some pics. 


I was going to read but I'm ready for bed now,


Justin

 

Let the show, er, work begin!

I drove the '86 Trans Am home last Sunday from Fort Pierce. It honestly wasn't that bad of a drive home, with the exception of there being no rear-view mirror and the driver's side-view mirror glass is loose and the headlights had to be held up by sticks because the motors have been removed and placed in a box in the front seat for who knows what reason and... the front driver's side tire was flat. lol! Other than that, I made it home safe and when I made it in the garage, it was smoking like a bitch! Here is a picture of it in the garage the day after I brought it home:

*Just a quick note: You can click on the pics to make them larger and goto Google's Picasa Web Albums and view more information about each picture. If you want to go back to the blog, just hit your back button. It's that simple, folks. If you can't figure that out, give the Dragon a call for some computer help!*

From '86 TA in garage

Here is the '84 Trans Am next to it:

From '86 TA in garage

And the '86 for comparison:

From '86 TA in garage

Notice the slight differences in the nose and hood. The '84 has more of a "happy face" too with the lights on the bottom and light bar in the middle. Looks like the '84 lost a tooth too on the right. lol!

Here is a pic of the '86 depicting the broken headliner and massive cracks on the dashpad, which are simple fixes, but kind of pricey parts, nonetheless:

From '86 TA in garage

Now we get to the sweet pics! Here is one of the car in the outside, hosed off, looking like it's about to take off:

From '86 TA outside exterior

Here's a side:

From '86 TA outside exterior

And there's a side:

From '86 TA outside exterior

And now... the back side! Holy shit! It's a big ass snake!

From '86 TA outside exterior

Joking... it's just a vacuum hose! Ha, ha, ha!

Fender and flat tire side:

From '86 TA outside exterior

Now for the interior, after the headliner has been removed and everywhere vacuumed out...

From '86 TA inerior

Did you see that? It's an actual dashboard with gauges and they WORK!! Ain't that somethin'? You can also see the maroon color by the t-top area. That tells, er, shows you the car used to be maroon before it was painted black. My first '90 firebird was maroon too. What another coinkydink! I still wish I just kept that car to prevent all this bullshit throughout the years but ya live and learn and hopefully all of yous out there will learn without having to live it like I did!

Here's another view with the cool looking map pocket thing over there still intact, surprisingly:

From '86 TA inerior

Here's another nice shot from behind. Don't mind that dangling thing there. It's the dome light holder thing with no bulb in it. I might have that put back on later on after everything else is done or might not. I don't really like having the light go on when I open the doors. I have it disabled in the other car. I can easily have a flashlight within easy reach so I may just go that rout. If the new headliner has a hole for it, I may put it back up but not have it turn on but if there is no spot in it in the new headliner, I'll just do without because I prefer the plain look up top.

From '86 TA inerior

Overhead shot:

From '86 TA inerior

And another:

From '86 TA inerior

Seats in the back:

From '86 TA inerior

What have we here, behind door number one?

From '86 TA inerior

Why, it's a spare, of course! You'd think the '84 which cost over $16k+ would come with one of these but, alas, it did not!

From '86 TA inerior

Here is a shot of what's insulating the tire compartment. Looks like some lovely asbestos-type stuff made in China:

From '86 TA inerior

Oh, no! What the heck is this? There's a screw missing!! Ah Damn!

From '86 TA inerior

Ah, no biggie. Justin is here to save the day. I used ebay back then to bid on a few spares and, VERY coincidentally, the spare screws are the SAME EXACT color. Now, who would of thunk? Out of all the possible interior color possibilities, I manged to get the same exact color as the interior in the trans am I have now. Maybe my esp kicked in back then and knew I needed these screws this color? Whatever the reason, I did keep the screws around and they sure did come in handy now.

From '86 TA inerior

What's behind locked door number 2?

From '86 TA inerior

Why, it's a nice compartment full of spider webs and...

From '86 TA inerior

a lovely meal worm...

From '86 TA inerior

It's all good though. I gone did clean it up now:

From '86 TA inerior

It makes a perfect spot for my SAK:

From '86 TA inerior

This is a label behind the compartment thing. It says "DO NOT REMOVE." Why would one remove it and, even if they tried, it's complete failure because the sticker is a bitch to get off!

From '86 TA inerior

So, there are some pics of the '86 Trans Am in it's unaltered state, with the exception of the removal of the headliner.

Next up... pics of the '86 with some of the parts swapped out!

Stay tuned,

Justin