I've worked for one or two banks, you will get your money back i'm sure.

 

MQ if you do hire the original workers to finish to the standard you want you do need to re-set the job spec and more importantly the prices that you pay. Aside from your fight to recover the money already paid in advance, which you will conduct via B/Card, remember that the rates you pay (paid) a Ltd Co for work will be much higher than what you should pay direct for cash to the lads. A company has all sorts of overheads. (I have just done this with a house build and from a project management pov, this is a similar situation.) Whereas a company will work fixed price with plenty of margin, with individual workers you are unlikely to be able to keep that model. Time and materials will be the way. Or maybe just possibly one of them will act as project manager for you. Either way, the golden rule still applies: do the work/achieve the milestones first, then get paid second.

I suggest that in exchange for having to take a much closer hand on the day-to-day works - a natural if it will be done on your premises - you should get much better rates for labour, especially for cash-in-hand. These guys will be hand-to-mouth and not worrying about next year's tax return or paying self-employed NI just yet, and then there is no employer's NI and other overheads to cover ... You will need to invest in a 2-part receipt book, circa £3: even if the boys won't want paperwork you do, so you keep a detailed record of exactly what was done for how much and by whom, just in case. You hopefully will never need it apart from keeping track of spend, much of which will be cash and your bank withdrawals won't be detailed enough.

Parts you had best source yourself, otherwise you will pay more for these not less. If the boys fetch or source parts they can reasonably add a margin and/or charge you their time - it's only fair if you think about it. I would get the boys to point you at their trade sources and try and get the discount of your now insolvent Ltd Co, although you will have to pay 'cash' (not actually cash but it means you pay as a retail sales customer on plastic and don't get a line of credit.) Get a look at the list of creditors, if you are registered with the liquidator as an official debt then you should get this in time; meanwhile the boys will know. Often, people that are owed money you will find are kindred spirits - you've both been stung - and will let you have the insolvent Co's discount rate yourself.

Personal insurance and Elfan Safety is worth looking into: if your engine crushes somebody's rib cage in your unsafe-to-work-in pit on your property there may well be repercussions in this litigatious age we live in ...

Quality and 'warranty' might be issues but I found that this was a plus, a Ltd Co with its accountants and quasi-corporate attitude is far harder to get to do good work and honour any warranty, implicit or explicit. Individual workers take far more pride in their work personally, for you, than when they were working for the man.

 

In my opinion, walk away from these people and find someone else to do the work.

Emotions will be running high at the moment, on both your part and the company that's gone pop.

The ex-bodyshop operator will probably make offers to complete work etc based on the promises he made when he was still running his business. He will be feeling bad about losing your money and feeling bad about letting you down.

Unfortunately, when the dust settles, its unlikely that he will follow through on those offers. He'll need to move on with his life and won't want to be constrained by the problems of his old business.

My advice would be chase a refund of the money paid to through Barclaycard and find another, reputable bodyshop to complete the work.

 

Unfortunate as the situation is, I suspect it is better to cut your losses and find someone else to finish the work, whilst seeking redress for the initial outlay through Barclaycard.

It isn't a nice position to be in, but at least they returned the car to you.

We have three customers at the moment, all who owe five figure amounts, all of which I suspect will go into administration in the next few months.

 

Thanks again all for commiserations and advice.

Must admit we are feeling a bit differently about things now. It was very upsetting to go into the shed and look at just a shell of a car surrounded by boxes of disparate bits. It took me ages to establish that the lovely stainless steel fillets that go along the top of the doors and wings were present. I was delighted to see however how the fascia has been cleaned up and painted. Very worried about the bare metal on the engine, that needs to be reassembled and filled with oil PDQ or it will start to deteriorate. It has also hit us that we have spent money and have no comeback if we get problems with the work carried out so far now that the firm has folded.

I have been in touch with Barclaycard, we are waiting for a form to be sent and I'm hopeful that they will be able to do something.

Whilst typing this I have just heard from Chris who says he will personally put the engine back together and arrange for a mate to finish the painting. (Mr Q and I haven't discussed this yet, so I don't know whether we will go for that.) He is going to get back to me after he has contacted a friend, who has a restoration business specialising in TRs, about an early finish of the remainder of the work.

I do feel very sorry for the guy. On top of everything else he has had to bury his grandmother.

 

If you can, store the engine parts somewhere warm and dry. That will prevent any damage to the machined surfaces.

Alternatively or in addition, spray wd40 or duck oil over all bare metal parts that you are worried about. It will give a degree of protection in the short to medium term against rust and won't cause any problems with regard to the engine rebuild.

 

The shed is not heated but being a former poultry house, it is insulated and dry.

You are correct lower. I was not here when the car was delivered and Chris tells me that they sprayed the engine with WD 40 and has just suggested that we continue to do so periodically until it is reassembled. I suggested that we do that to Mr Q but he wouldn't let me as WD 40 ruined the lacquer on his new Selmer baritone sax when he sprayed it after getting it rained on whilst playing a gig on a barge.

 

Engines are bare metal and most brass instruments have a protective laquer, which can go spotty if WD40 reacts with it.

Autoglym polishes & protects flutes quite effectively!

 

I love your stories

 

Things are looking up.

A couple of guys and a flame-haired young girl trainee from a fairly local Triumph specialist came to look at the TR yesterday. I was concerned that it was going to be a case of, ‘who sold you this then?’ but apart from a few minor criticisms they were satisfied with the work that has been done so far and happy to take on the task of finishing it.

A highly detailed estimate arrived in the post this morning. We are going to go for it as we were impressed by their intimate knowledge of TRs and have had good reports about them from locals.

We were discussing which panels were original. Mr Q said that the bonnet is, then corrected himself, remembering that it had been replaced early in the life of the car when a tree fell on it. The guy said that he knew it had been replaced because of the long power bulge. Early TR4s had a ’short’ power bulge which stopped about four inches from the back edge of the bonnet. This was needed to clear the carburettor tops and allow for engine movement. The feature remained as a nice irrelevance on the fuel injected TR5. I’m a bit upset as our car is not as original as I thought it was.

We have been told that the stainless steel wing strips that I was excited about finding will not be able to be used as the fixings are rusty and damaged. Luckily they are quite cheap to buy.

The guys made a point of looking for the windscreen frame as they are evidently like hen’s teeth. We’ve got that.

Whilst looking they found these steering parts.



They do not belong to the TR. The guys think they are from something much older. Maybe Bozwell has an idea of what they belong to? Someone valued them enough to put a heart on the label. Do hope that no vital bits of our car have ended up elsewhere.

I was right to worry about the fresh machining of the engine starting to corrode. If that happens it all has to be done again and then there can be problems with the fit of the pistons. I’ve drenched it in nearly a whole can full of WD40.



Gave the crankshaft a good spray too.



I am quite hopeful about getting some money back from Barclaycard, especially since I have been following an exchange of letters in the paper advising women with PIP implants to make use of Section 75. The Barclaycard people are being very helpful.

It is only a small business so it will be a while before the car is finished. I’m hoping that Saz and I will be able to hit the road in it in the summer.