Body drop-off at Whitby's?

[Rook]

Hey guys!

I'm waiting for my kit to arrive and want to get the ball rolling on scheduling the paint and body work since I hear the wait can be long. I live about an hour away from Whitby's. I've visited them in the past; they're good folks and they do great work, so I'm happy to go with them even though their time frame is quite long.

So I talked to them a few days ago and they suggest that I drop the body off as soon as I get the kit. They've got a chassis they can put it on and they can take their time with it, have it at the ready when it's my turn, and let the different elements cure between stages. Maybe the timing works out that it's painted by the time I get the kit put together.

This is my first build and I had assumed that I would need the body on hand to do trial fittings or to work out the kinks once it's all put together but before paint. Am I wrong about that? Do any of you have experience doing this with Whitby or have advice about the wisdom of this approach?

-Andrew

[rich grsc]

NO WAY would I wait 18 to 24 Months. There is no excuse that you should leave the body with them for that time frame. They should just put you on the list as paint #xxx, so when they up to that position you then leave your body. Most painters turn your car around in 6 to 10 weeks. I member in our club just worked with a new custom painter, dropped his body off in mid June, just picked it up 2 weeks ago. It was the first cobra for this painter, and it turned out great.

[GoDadGo]

A Very Good Friend Nearly Had To Litigate To Get His Car Back!

His MK-4 Was Held Hostage For Over A Year!

The Choice Is Yours!

NOTE:.. If I didn't have a pal that owned a paint shop, my car would have gone to Jeff Kleiner.

Dependable Paint & Body:
https://www.collisionrepairslidell.com/

Jeff Kleiner Walked Us Through The Process With Phenomenal Results:
https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-ne...-mk4-roadster/

Check Out My Build Videos & You'll Hear Me Talk About Sir Jeffski On Many Of Them:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8m...4orIm7w/videos

Good Luck!

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Dropped my body off early. IIRC was around July. Was done around Christmas. They don't need the chassis. This was 5+years ago. Guys are saying currently it takes a loooong time.

[wareaglescott]

I took mine there right after I received it. You can do everything you need without having the body on hand. Worked great for me.

I dont know why every Whitby thread has to turn into a complaint about the time frame. He clearly stated he is aware the wait can be quite long.
I have had two cars painted there. Would send them a third without hesitation. Personally I'd rather wait longer for guaranteed results than take it to some local that has never done one before and may or may not do a great job. A decent job is not good enough for me. Maybe to some it is. They recently completed my 79 Porsche 911 and did a beautiful job. Took it down to bare metal. Looks spectacular. Jeff, Brooks, Matt and the guys are great people to work with. Sure it would be nice if the time frame was faster but they wouldn't have such a backlog if they didn't have such a great reputation for outstanding work.

[ronsdream]

Got my MK4 back this past March and it turned out Fantastic. It took 14 months.
Very pleased with the end result. They do it all and are very professional. I get nothing but raving remarks wherever I go about how beautiful the body and paint is.
Yes it took longer than I originally wanted BUT the result was worth the wait.
Just make sure that you plan accordingly. I recommend Whitby highly.

Ron

[GoDadGo]

Maybe The Gentleman Has Changed His Ways?
Maybe When He Says The Work Will Be Done In A Certain Time Frame It Really Is?
Maybe His Customers No Longer Need To Retain Legal Counsel & Threaten To File Suit To Get Their Cars Back?

Sometimes People Really Do Change Their Ways!
In The Bible, Didn't Saul Become Paul?
Maybe Jeff Did Too!

Good Luck!

Works Cited:
CBN
https://www1.cbn.com/biblestudy/how-...e-apostle-paul

[CraigS]

6-8 yrs ago a friend sent his body there and waited forever. Went to pick it up and said that isn't my body. How did he know that? Because he had drilled holes for both driver and passenger roll bars. They insisted it was his. He looked underneath thinking maybe a misunderstanding had caused them to fill the passenger side holes. Nope, no sign of that. After 30 min, he gave up and took someone's body painted to his specs.

[RBachman]

Agreed!
18 to 24 months is not reasonable. It sounds more like bodywork is a reluctant hobby with a part time effort.

I don't live that far from them and it's not a bad drive to their place. I had planned to stop by and stock up on stuff I probably don't need. But they talked me out of it. I left 3 messages before anyone answered the phone, and the part that they sent me (center console) had horrible/amateurish welds, even burning through at one spot. Not a big deal because I was modifying it anyway and the upholstery covered the defects. But the expected quality of workmanship wasn't there.

But back to painting, I'd be afraid that I'd be held hostage like your friend, and then charged a "storage fee" to get my car back. That's simply punishing someone else because of their own failures or incompetence. My build is done other than the body stuff, and I'm on Jeff K's list for the body and paint work. Not only is Jeff's reputation exceptional, he does unquestionably an excellent job. I'll haul it North 12 hours just to avoid the aggravation.

Maybe The Gentleman Has Changed His Ways?
Maybe When He Says The Work Will Be Done In A Certain Time Frame It Really Is?
Maybe His Customers No Longer Need To Retain Legal Counsel & Threaten To File Suit To Get Their Cars Back?

Sometimes People Really Do Change Their Ways!
In The Bible, Didn't Saul Become Paul?
Maybe Jeff Did Too!

Good Luck!

Works Cited:
CBN
https://www1.cbn.com/biblestudy/how-...e-apostle-paul

[BradCraig]

I have spoken to Jeff and he was honest about the time frame so I can't knock the guy. I personally don't want to wait that long but if you do he's a great option.

[wareaglescott]

Got my MK4 back this past March and it turned out Fantastic. It took 14 months.
Very pleased with the end result. They do it all and are very professional. I get nothing but raving remarks wherever I go about how beautiful the body and paint is.
Yes it took longer than I originally wanted BUT the result was worth the wait.
Just make sure that you plan accordingly. I recommend Whitby highly.

Ron

Literally have never seen a single complaint about their quality of work. That is the most important part.

[Rook]

Thanks for the perspectives!

I know from personal experience that the shop does great work, I'm convinced of that. The purpose of this thread was simply to find out whether I'd be able to adequately finish up the build without the body on hand. And from some of the responses here, it sounds like I will be able to. Though I must admit I don't love the thought of giving it up for so long. I want to see that shell parked in my garage, imagine it's the real deal, and make vrrroom vrrroom sounds!

I'm going to have to give this some more thoughtful consideration. Thanks again.

[Papa]

Rook,

The only things I'd really be concerned with (time not withstanding) is whether you will be able to get the body on your chassis and have it fit what they shaped it to on their fitting chassis? Other possible issues are side pipe exit openings. I'm sure others have done it and it works out, but those would be my concerns.

Dave

[Jeff Kleiner]

Rook,

The only things I'd really be concerned with (time not withstanding) is whether you will be able to get the body on your chassis and have it fit what they shaped it to on their fitting chassis? Other possible issues are side pipe exit openings. I'm sure others have done it and it works out, but those would be my concerns.

Dave

Dave Smith offered to give me a chassis and aluminum panels so that I could “mule” them but I declined because of my concerns about the repeatability and variations of things like the windshield holes, roll bar holes, exhaust cutouts, aluminum placement and body panel shapes. I want to do them on the chassis the body will live on but that’s me. Apparently Jeff Collins and his guys at Whitby make it work for them.

Jeff

[rich grsc]

So you have your car all built ready to be driven in 10-12 month's, they have your body for 18-24, you set and twiddle your thumb's for maybe a year? I drove my car for over 2 yrs before I had it painted. No paint on the body means it's no big deal to fix any issues that may pop up. I would never build a car without spending some time driving it with out expensive paint to sort out issues.
What happens, god forbid, they get hit with a tornado or a fire and there are a half dozen cars in the building? It would be great if they just put you on the list, then called when you were next in line. Thats how Jeff Kleiner works it, you go on the list, when he is close, you drop off your car. You get to keep driving the car in gelcoat, and your car is only gone 8-10 weeks.

[Rook]

Rich-
Yup, that part gives me heartburn: a glorified go-kart just sitting in my garage. I don't like the sound of that at all. I'd much rather drive the heck out of it in gel-coat until my turn comes up. Like BadAsp427 and his 10k+ miles before paint!

[RBachman]

Dave Smith offered to give me a chassis and aluminum panels so that I could “mule” them but I declined because of my concerns about the repeatability and variations of things like the windshield holes, roll bar holes, exhaust cutouts, aluminum placement and body panel shapes. I want to do them on the chassis the body will live on but that’s me. Apparently Jeff Collins and his guys at Whitby make it work for them.

Jeff

Jeff, my car is done except for mounting the body and waiting my turn on your list. Is it better if we leave all final body fitting/alignments to you? That's my preference. I have the factory cut outs on mine, but I'd rather have an experienced professional take it from there.

[Raddksn]

So you have your car all built ready to driven 10-12 month's, they have your body for 18-24, you set and twiddle your thumb's for maybe a year? I drove my car for over 2 yrs before I had it painted. No paint on the body means it's no big deal to fix any issues that may pop up. I would never build a car without spending some time driving it with out expensive paint to sort out issues.
What happens, god forbid, they get hit with a tornado or a fire and there are a half dozen cars in the building? I would be great if they just put you on the list, then called when you were next in line. Thats how Jeff Kleiner works it, you go on the list, when he is close, you drop off your car. You get to keep driving the car in gelcoat, and your car is only gone 8-10 weeks.

this make a lot of sense! when its my time this is route I'm going!

[michael everson]

Wow. That's a long wait. Even for perfection. I would be out of business if I had to wait that long for paint. I currently have 4 body shops that paint for me. They all turn them around in about 6-8 weeks. Glad people are happy with Whitbys quality. I have seen his paint. Its stunning. I too wonder about all the minor differences with these kits and how the body work is done without fitting it to its own chassis first. I have never seen 2 the same. Especially the exhaust cutouts.
Mike

[GoDadGo]

Wow. That's a long wait. Even for perfection. I would be out of business if I had to wait that long for paint. I currently have 4 body shops that paint for me. They all turn them around in about 6-8 weeks. Glad people are happy with Whitbys quality. I have seen his paint. Its stunning. I too wonder about all the minor differences with these kits and how the body work is done without fitting it to its own chassis first. I have never seen 2 the same. Especially the exhaust cutouts.
Mike

It would seem that our door gaps would be greatly impacted by the mounting points of the rear inner quarter panels.
If the quarter panels were positioned a tad high in the tail, then they would shrink the door openings.
Mount the inner panels a tad low near the rear and they'd open up.
This is why my gapping was done by hand sanding only.
It was not fun, but I'm glad I did it that way.

https://youtu.be/po1Bb2_XDDk

https://youtu.be/9WEe6-wdNtA

[wareaglescott]

Wow. That's a long wait. Even for perfection. I would be out of business if I had to wait that long for paint. I currently have 4 body shops that paint for me. They all turn them around in about 6-8 weeks. Glad people are happy with Whitbys quality. I have seen his paint. Its stunning. I too wonder about all the minor differences with these kits and how the body work is done without fitting it to its own chassis first. I have never seen 2 the same. Especially the exhaust cutouts.
Mike

IN my case, dont know if they do everyone this way, they do the bulk of the preliminary bodywork on their chassis and then I took them my go cart when they were ready for it and they did the final fitment on my car and painted it. They had my go cart about 6-8 weeks. It is not like you are sending them a raw body and picking up a completed body with no steps in between.

[michael everson]

Scott. That makes more sense. Except for the guy that got the wrong body.
Mike

[Papa]

The only benefit to leaving your cars (even just the body) with the painter for 18-24 months lies with the painter. It keeps the owners committed to them instead of finding another option. If you just have your name on a list, what's to keep you from going elsewhere?

I seriously doubt that Whitby's is actually working on more than a few cars at a time. The rest are just sitting there waiting their turn.

[swwebb]

I had my paint done by daBat. He picked up the body when he was in the area, and he had it for quite a while. Not his delay - it was on my part due to the MUCH LONGER time frame for my engine and transmission than given when I ordered it. Just see my signature line for some details. Anyway, I dropped the go-cart off on Monday if I remember correctly, and I picked up the completed car that Friday. And I had him mount the windshield. The body was already painted when I dropped the go-cart off. So, I didn't need the body to finish the go-cart stage, and it only took daBat a few days to do the body mounting.