L&P Auto Restorations

Based on my experience as a customer, I do not recommend L&P Auto Restoration. In Aug, 2012, L&P Auto Restoration agreed to restore my 1979 Dodge Midnite Express for $22,000 (Plus $5000 to replace the engine). After numerous false promises, they eventually returned my truck in Aug 2017, total cost was $34,000. Les requested additional funds during the restoration process. Les failed to inform me of increased costs until I requested the information. Project management was abysmal. Les promised to have the truck done in May 2015, May 2016 and May 2017…. the first year they accomplished practically nothing. The second year they made minimal progress. The third year they delivered a substandard product. Communication was nil, and didn’t convey actual status of the project. Sequencing of work made little or no sense. For example, L&P told me they would send the transmission out to be rebuilt for $1300. Early in the process they requested funds to cover the work. In the spring of 2017, they took the transmission out of the truck (the second time) and sent it out to be rebuilt. The truck was never a priority. The truck was completely disassembled, bead blasted and painted. The final paint job has orange peel on potions of the bed. The alignment of body parts is marginal. There are waves in the hood. The interior of the passenger door was scratched during reassembly. Even though the truck was completely disassembled, L&P failed to replace worn out items and their workmanship was marginal. A condensed list of issues follows. When the truck was delivered, the gear box was held on by one loose bolt. I couldn’t believe it either…so I took pictures. The truck was actually dangerous and should never have been driven. The gear box, steering column and speedometer were worn out and required rebuilds – which were not identified/corrected by L&P. The screws holding on the NOS grill fell out of their holes…as they oversized the holes. The wiring was pieced together; there was no soldering or connectors, just electrical tape. Instead of using a long strip of wire to cover long distances, multiple pieces were sliced together. The coil springs were not properly seated or indexed, hence the truck leaned to the left approximately 2 inches. The suspension was reassembled with damaged/bent parts. Even though I was charged for an alignment, there was no way to align the vehicle with the damaged suspension. The new battery failed to hold a charge as the A/C blower and radio were hot wired to the wrong side of the worn-out ignition switch. The new radio antenna’s lead was broken so the C/B radio failed to work. The buddy bracket, which holds the center seat in place, was not reinstalled or returned. The new speedometer cable was damaged during assembly, so the speedometer failed to work. The DODGE hood emblem was not re-installed, the holes were closed with body putty, but were obvious and looked terrible. L&P failed to return parts they removed/replaced. Most notably, the intake manifold and Edelbrock carburetor from the old motor. It took over five months and in excess of $5000 to fix everything L&P’s marginal work.

After 3 weeks I called back and learned that the owner had suffered a terrible accident. Apparently he did most of the project management for the shop because it severly impacted timelines for projects, including mine. Since I didnt want to bother them at a time when they were experiencing the severe injury of one of their friends I decided to wait a few more weeks before checking back to see if they could start work. When I called back they reitereated that they couldnt really begin work that week. At this point I told them that I needed to take my vehicle to another shop or have them begin work because I needed to have the vehicle ready to drive so I could attend a work event, which was in another state. They agreed to begin work on the car. I told them that I needed it to be running well, driveable and safe to be on the road. I also explained that the car didnt shift into drive well, (strong thud during shifting) but they said there was nothing wrong with the transmission. They replaced the brakepads, adjusted the hood hinges for proper closure (5 min. worth of work), adjusted the driver door (10 min worth of work), changed the fluids, changed the spark plugs, and distributor cap, and supposedly gave it a full tune up. When I turned it over I explained that the car had a high idle that I wanted them to adjust it properly. When I got the car back, it still had a problem with high idle and running roughly, they attributed it to the fact that the car was old and that it had the 10% ethanol fuel in it. When i asked if they could adjust the carburetor to make it idle at a normal operating idle, they proceeded to show me were the idle screw was, I f****** know where it is, and tell me that I could adjust it myself. They told me that with a fuel conditioner running though it and after a full tank of gas it would run fine and I would see the rough and high idle disappear. For $1156 dollars I basically had brake pads changed, fluids flushed and a car without a tuneup. Also, they failed to diagnose my transmission and exhaust problem, and even embarrassed themselves when they misidentified the kind of transmission on the car. The clogged catalytic converter was to blame for the misfires and the transmission needed to be rebuilt. So why didn't I just leave? Well my lousy Army Reserve training was coming up, my sympathy for the owner got the better of me. The shop I took it to after this shop took the time to show me my transmission opened up point out the items that the other shops missed, and they showed me every part that had failed so I know I was not duped and further more i told them to take care of the exhaust problem, which was obvious at this point because the muffler rattled when you accelerated quickly. All told, the owner of LP Auto restorations, the one who would be out of the shop indefinitely, was the one who had initially assured me that everything would be fine. When I started to have to deal with the other guys in the shop, it was clear that they weren't aware of what to do without the guidiance of the owner. I wished they had been more honest about what their capabilities were. Maybe they felt they were doing me a favor by getting me on the road but the $800 in labor that they charged sure as h*** doesn't indicate that. I'm sure when the owner gets back in the shop they'll get back to doing good work but for now, avoid this shop at all costs.

I had used L and P auto restoration to perform a front disc brake conversion on my 1969 Chevelle. Les and his crew performed top quality work at a fair price. The parts were shipped to me from a separate vendor and when I brought the vehicle in for the work on a Wednesday and needed the car back by Saturday. Les discovered that the company had incorrectly sent two of the same side brakes, instead of one for each side. I had the maufacturer contact Les and Peggy and they were able to get the correct parts overnighted to them so the work could be performed the next day. In addition, I had informed Les that I needed the conversion to be completed by Saturday since we were taking the car out of town on a trip. Les really came through and I was completely satisfied with their work. Needless to say, I will be taking all my vehicles to L and P for any work or services I may need on them in the future.

Les, the owner of Land P, personally gave me the estimate on the work to be done and all of the work was done within the estimated cost. There were a few much needed repairs that I was unaware of that were not included in the estimate (e.g., a leaking hose here and there). Les replaced the hoses, et al for about $200 including parts and labor! I never got that dreaded call where the mechanic tells you I've found something wrong with your car that needs thousands of dollars of (unnecessary) work. The best thing about Land P Auto Restorations is that they do everything-- body work, engine repair, expert painting-- and they do it at a reasonable price. You can't effectively piecemeal the restoration of a Classic Car at a good price if you have to get one shop to do the engine work, another to do the painting, etc. When the car was finished, Les personally drove it to my residence and we checked it out together. The paint job on the car looked like red glass. It was perfect! Land P is not a cheapo auto restoration place. But if you want it done right and at a very fair price, it's a great place to do business.

Needless to say, Les did everything that needed to be done in a professional and timely manner and he communicated to me everything he saw that needed to be done. Les and his staff are professionals in restoring all phases of classic cars. I recommend them highly.

Les was great to work with. He took the time to explain what needed to be done. He performed the work in a professional and timely manor. I would recommend L and P to anyone with a classic car.

Expertly completed all repairs and kept me updated to include pictures. Excellent communication and price. Friendly and professional team of folks. These is not any BS just good honest work.