Trouble with Patrick's Antique?

[jeffbcn]

47 Chevy Thriftmaster with 411 rear end.
Ordered 355 kit from Patrick's on 4/18 and was told it would ship out in a week to 10 days. Called back 2 weeks later and was told that he was still waiting for 2 parts and it would ship by end of week. Called again 2 weeks later and was told he was having trouble with one of his suppliers, apologized and promised to light a fire under his butt..called again Tuesday and was told that only one supplier makes the thrust bushing and he was in the middle of changing shops and that Patrick's was looking into getting equipment to make in house. Another profuse apology and promised a call back by end of day.
No word since.
Is this normal? Has anyone had similar experiences with them? Does anyone else have that conversion kit?
Any feedback would be appreciated.

[solidaxel]

That seems like that is what they do best

[Janky59]

Jeff - there has been a couple of threads on Patricks with similar stories to yours, on this forum and Stovebolt. I steer clear of them, good luck.

[dwcsr]

That's to bad, they were one of the conversion innovators on these truck and had a very good reputation. Maybe they change management and the customer service didn't follow.

[wolffcub]

grab a snack and read about my dealings with them

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=676143

[pvienneau]

I went with Patrick cuz I wasn't in a rush. It's been since August 2015 I've been waiting on a Oakie bushing. Same story as yours. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM.

[RINC]

I fear Patrick's less than Bodyshop/Paint jail.

[mr48chev]

On the gear sets they may be waiting until they get enough orders to do a buy with s bigger discount. I've never done business with them and probably will never need to but I have done business with other outfits that don't make the part or order the part until they get an order.

[pvienneau]

Patrick told me he refuses to pay the price from his foundry that makes it.

[jeffbcn]

Just had a 20 minutes conversation with Patrick's himself
I have been waiting for almost 8 weeks for a 355 conversion from 411 original.
I told him that I went to him after a recommendation from a trusted source. When I first placed my order I was told a week to ten days.. I called after 2 weeks and was told the same thing. I have been calling every 2 weeks since and getting same answer.
I gently cornered him. I told him that I have not cancelled my order out of respect for the work he did in 91 pioneering this item but that meanwhile I posted here and got almost all negative responses. I let him know that his reputation was suffering badly.
He came clean. He told me that the parts are getting harder to find. He does not want to use parts from China. The problem is getting the thrust bushing. He used a foundry for almost 20 years but the owner died. He switched to another foundry 10 years ago but the guy who made them also died. The owner had to move his shop and will have parts in 60 to 90 days. Meanwhile he is in process putting together the equipment together to do them in house. That should take 2 to 4 weeks.
He is very concerned that his reputation is slipping away. He invites anyone who has a question even if he did not supply the item to call him.
I decided to stick with him. Old farts that know their stuff are getting harder to find, besides I would rather get US made than a clone from China.
Was I too soft on him?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[wolffcub]

I'm going to bet its a stalling technique. I had lots of conversations with him and he always seemed to try to make me feel sorry for them. The took forever to refund me my money on visa because they claim they were setting up the "new visa machine". That excuse was used for months.

[jeffbcn]

Thanks for the input. Did they ever have a good reputation or are they professional liars?

[wolffcub]

I just called chev's of the 40's and they said they have 20 in stock. and for only 50$ more than Patrick. Who cares where its from just because its supposedly made in the US does not mean it will last forever nor always out perform other manufactures.

[jeffbcn]

Thanks Again will do if i get the runaround again.

[lv2tri2]

who cares where it's from is part of the problem

[wolffcub]

The manual for the install on the chev site is Patrick's install manual. Must be good old American product then.

[buckkoo]

I ordered a cam, lifters and push rods from Patrick's for my 261 last year. I asked him when I ordered, if the parts were in stock and was told they were.

Four months and countless phone calls later, my parts finally arrived. The cam was a symmetrical grind that is probably not as good as the 54 Vette cam that you can buy through Advance Auto.

He and his son are both very knowledgeable, but I can't say they are in my top 10 vendor list

[whitedog76]

I haven't ordered anything from Patrick's, but I have spoken with them before. They are a wealth of knowledge, that itself, you can't put a pricetag on.

I would personally cut them some slack. If you've ever had to deal with a machine shop for custom work, it's painfull.

First off, there's a lack of machine shops out there anymore. Secondly, the foundaries and machine shops that are left are only concerned with large orders.

[squeezers53]

Tried to order their door weatherstrip kit. Many weeks later I still didn't have it and my emails and phone calls were not returned. Got my CC statement and Patrick's had already charged my account for the weatherstrip, but had not shipped it. Waited several more weeks and no weatherstrip so I called the CC company and filed a dispute requesting my money back. I don't care what their excuse is, they shouldn't have charged my account until the product shipped!

I am done with that outfit!

[wolffcub]

That's the norm for how they do business. Charge first ship later. My order was charged within 2 min after giving the card number.

[73kay]

Same, still waiting for them to call me back after they never shipped my 235 cam thrust plate. Nice old lady said it would arrive by Monday. Called Wednesday and find out they didn't even have it in stock and were waiting on the supplier. Nice people but their business practices are keeping me away.

[pvienneau]

I'm still waiting from 8/15 order. Got everything but the Okie which Patrick says he found a machine shop to build them. I got one from another vendor so I will be able to do the rear end finally. The reason I believe he wouldn't order the parts is because his usual vendor went up in price. Talk about being held hostage. Good thing I have the need for 2 Okie bushings.

[OrrieG]

For the most part the places I have bought from take the CC info but do not bill until the part(s) are shipped. Running a business on customers money without any product is very risky.

[pvienneau]

Agreed, but I got to say the conversations with Patrick and his wife are always interesting.