There are very few companies that make custom parts for classic cars and when they do, the parts can be pretty expensive. Two Bay Area men -- who don't even know each other -- ran into the same problem with the same company.
Mike Quinlan of San Rafael has spent years lovingly restoring his classic, 1951 Ford sedan.
"It's like going into your second childhood. The cars we had in the 50s when we were kids going to high school, I'm trying to fix it up the way it was when I was young," said Quinlan.
He is rebuilding the engine with mostly original parts, right down to the hood-mounted horn. He kept the shiny grill and restored the original dash, complete with fuzzy dice. It reminds him of simpler days.
"If you got in trouble sometimes, the police would take you to your Mom," said Quinlan.
One problem was the car needed better suspension and brakes. Few companies sell parts for old Fords, so mike was thrilled to find one that does-- Jamco suspension of Fullerton.
"Better handling, easier steering, better stopping and the car would be much safer to drive," said Quinlan.
Mike ordered a $2,500 Jamco kit with all the right parts. He figured it was worth the big investment, but after he paid all that money, he didn't receive all those parts.
"My father had been looking at this kit for his car," said Tracy Elmore of San Bruno. Thirty miles down the road, Elmore bought the same Jamco suspension kit for her father, Wayne Elmore. He's been restoring his own classic car -- a 1951 Ford coupe.
"He was surprised because it was such a large gift so he was very excited about it," said Tracy.
His family had chipped in and bought him the kit for Christmas back in 2011 and Wayne didn't receive his kit either.
"It was a lot of money and it was really frustrating because I was really concerned that we were never going to receive this kit," said Tracy.
Wayne and Quinlan said Jamco would occasionally send them a few small parts, but the kit was useless without all 14 pieces.
"If you don't get the rest of it, you got to tear it off and put the old stuff back on," said Wayne.
Both families said they kept calling, writing, and sending emails. Jamco either didn't respond, or kept promising parts that didn't arrive.
"The only chance I had to get my parts was go to 7, Channel 7," said Quinlan.
Independently, both families contacted 7 On Your Side and we contacted Jamco. Owner Jim Genty tells us, a variety of business problems got in the way of the shipments.
Genty told us, "At the time of these orders, I was running this business by myself and things did slip by Jamco has since moved to a new location and now has a three-man sales team and two shipping guys to get things done."
Within weeks of our contact, Jamco sent the missing parts to both customers.
"Glad it's finished, I thought maybe I'd never see it," said Wayne.
Quinlan's looking forward to a nostalgic ride. He said, "Makes you feel like a kid again."
We'd like to thank Jamco for responding quickly to our requests to complete the orders. The owner tells us he also had problems getting manufacturers to get the needed supplies. He hopes service will be quick and efficient from now on.
