I would have to disagree with some regarding the workmanship and integrity of Ronald H. Bunnell owner of Ron's Auto Restoration in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. My experiences from 1991 onward were formed well before he ever sponsored a local NCRS chapter. As a matter of historical fact, there was not even a NE NCRS chapter at that time and I have never heard of any NCRS member who predated my experiences 15 years ago except for Vinny Giaquinto who introduced Ron to me at Corvettes at Carlisle. Regardless of any club awards or certificate that may have been subsequently awarded, this predates those events and is backed by facts and numerous business records. I don't base my opinion on club sponsored flight awards.
For me Ron did much poor work, did not install all the new parts I shipped to him, nor even return them with my car. He just never kept his word and became so very unreliable. He could not verify expensive repairs when I requested receipts. He agreed to return the original parts replaced on my car and still has some today. Ron still has not returned a complete 1967 one piece fiberglass front end with skirts that he said would not fit in his trailer when he returned my car. It was supposed to be delivered soon after the car was finally returned to me in 1997. That was 9 years ago. He never kept his word, nor could provide proof for activities that were supposed to have been performed.
This 1967 Corvette was neither a basket case, nor missing parts, nor mis-matched, nor shabby before it was sent out to Ron's in 1991 for a frame off restoration. The following pictures are from the day I purchased it September 8, 1988. Everything was still working, except the clock. I even used it in my wedding in 1989. The one piece front end, was the main factor in my decision to have this car re-done. I did not and still do not care for one piece hand laid front ends. In the center picture below, in a striped shirt is the Bridgeport, CT Police Officer who actually located this particular 427 AC Automatic that I had been trying to locate for years.
I went through a 6 year ordeal with of Ron's Auto Restoration. Nobody in my 27 years of business has bounced more checks and written them on more accounts that were already closed. All the while he was "restoring" one of my own cars. I also experienced billing for the same parts and the same services in duplicate. Parts were missing. Misplaced. Replaced. Used on someone's car. By 1994 it became apparent, I was in a struggle to get my car back and assembled and running as it was. This became such a loathsome job, that on every occasion that I ever visited this Fitchburg, Ma. shop this same Police officer would accompany me. I had lost complete confidence in their truthfulness, and knew that across the state line from Massachusetts to Connecticut, I faced a difficult and expensive recovery.
When I sought verification from Ron that he had purchased a complete front frame section to replace mine, he could not provide a receipt. When I asked where he had sectioned my frame, he could not remember or even show me while it was up on a lift. When I asked to see the my old front frame, it could not be located. When I asked if sleeves were used to mount the new front piece to the frame side rails, he initially could not remember. When I asked if he had a receipt for sleeves, he had none. My gut feeling was that I had made great error in choice. The knot in my stomach, got tighter and tighter.
Following are notices from Shawmut Bank (later called Fleet Bank, and now Bank of America.)
Some checks were deposited multiple times as shown above. You can see two of his "rubber checks" from different accounts with the note "Do Not Redeposit" right at the top of the page.
NSF Twice = No sufficient Funds = It bounced twice
This was 3 years after he had my car.
Uncollected = No money to cover check = It bounced also Account Closed = After bouncing once this was re-deposited and then the account went POOF ! Besides writing a $7,000 check directly to Ron in advance for his services, and other checks for his invoices whenever he sent them, we also shipped him $13,000 worth of parts open for other Corvettes he had in for his other customers. This was in addition to the parts we were freely supplying for my own car, and which were invoiced separately as being intended for my car. After three years and little work being done on my car, we began to ship Ron COD when he would order parts for his other customers cars. After this he began to bounce checks regularly and not cover them. And frankly the bank would no longer accept them for re-deposit.
Eventually by 1996 he was only shipped parts "cash only" and then he refused those shipments. This photo shows a UPS Return to Shipper Notice from August 25, 1996 stating Delivery Refused for $523.75 by Ron's Auto Restoration.
After pleading to have my car assembled and driveable after a six plus year ordeal, Ron had me drive up to Fitchburg for a final inspection test drive of his "frame off workmanship." I could not get out the driver door and I could not roll down the drivers window to get out. The PB went to the floor (due to a serious vacuum leak) hence my big block ran very poorly and would not idle. One of the front directional - parking lamps would not work. There were gouges in the new paint and new sill plates where someone's screwdriver slipped. Some gouges in new paint where the weatherstrip is attached to the body over the doors near the mounting screws. The rear window glass and a reveal molding were scuffed by a buffer. On the inside the hood, up front right over the radiator - it was not even re-painted and had old lumpy ??? stuck in the paint. I could go on and on.
I told him I would not accept the car, and that it would not even pass a safety inspection or even be safely driven home. Next he sent me the following certified letter and wrote he was going to charge me storage and sent me a bill for $50 per day. Below is the letter from Ron.
In reality I never did pay him any storage fees and convinced him it would be very bad for his advertising. All I did was tell him that I would add a page to my catalog to describe my experiences.
His bills were very vague and very sparse of any hard verifiable details. In late 1996, a couple of months just before my car was finally recovered, he sent me an additional bill for $4680 labor that he explained has been misplaced from 1994. When I asked for some verification of that work, he sent me some copies of time sheets that were ludicrous for their lack of content. I did catch him fudging the "timesheets" he allotted to the work on my car to justify his bills. He had one mechanic who "worked" 16 hours in one day, part of it on my car, part on another, and another working on a holiday. He seldom could prove his statements with any verifiable details like receipts.
He billed me $795 to re-chrome 4 bumpers and the center front license bar. Later he billed me again another $50 to re-chrome the same front license bar. He billed me to rebuild my trailing arms and requested the bushings, spacer tube and beveled retainer washers which was shipped to him. In 1996 after entering all the parts and services on one Microsoft excel spread sheet, I pointed out to him that we had already shipped him complete new trailing arms with the bushings, tubes and beveled retainers already installed for my car. Who got what? Did I get my trailing arms rebuilt, or did I get the new trailing arms we also shipped? He claimed a specialty heli arc welding repair was required to repair my powerglide, however he never did provide any receipt.
He would call or fax my warehouse and send lists of parts that were needed for my car. However, in numerous instances he would over time re-order the same parts, and apparently could not keep track of what car that part was actually used upon. My staff would fill his order and ship it open. Years later when my car was finished that I showed him the numerous duplicates that were supposedly used on my car as a result of entering all the receipts on an Excel spreadsheet.
These duplicate were finally deducted, however only when I would point out to Ron his duplicate billing errors. It was definitely up to me to catch his errors, and the plural errors is no exaggeration. Either he had serious book keeping problems, loss, theft or a pilfering of parts that were to be used on my car. Poof, where did those parts go?
Ron's Auto Restoration is way overpriced and way over rated. I should have known better and investigated longer and deeper before relying on a recommendation. Prior to 1990's this was a used car dealer, not a specialty Corvette restoration shop. Ron's Auto Restoration came highly recommended by the famous former Corvette collector Vinny Giaquinto. Vinny must have had 10 or so Fuelies, Big Brake Cars and other desirable old models. Even Zora's 1962 Fawn/Fawn FI with 800 original miles.
I think their fortunes were intertwined closely as Vinnie confided in me that he was in fact Ron's best customer and claimed his work kept Ron in business. But in retrospect, I now realize that Vinnie was not really paying multiple expensive bills for Ron's work, because it wasn't really Vinnies money. Vinnie was never concerned with the bills for "his" Corvettes; it wasn't his money after all. And they weren't even his Corvettes.
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http://www.ins.state.ny.us/press/1999/p9909291.htm
Vinnie was a multi million dollar embezzler, who recently got out of the federal penitentiary after pleading guilty to felony embezzling of American Express investors funds. There was NO trial. The feds got all of Vinnies or rather American Expresses cars.
I caught Ron billing so many parts and jobs twice, three times that it added up to thousands of dollars. And after Fifty thousands dollars in parts and labor and I don't even have a single dash bulb that illuminates my dash, the center AC vent is upside down, etc., etc. The day after Ron delivered my "frame off", it leaked all the automatic trans fluid from the Powerglide on my garage floor.
I did not know the severity of the problem, and paid a tilt and slide from Stratford Collision, Honeyspot Rd., Stratford to take me to Joey Delorenzo's Town Line Auto in New Haven, CT. Joey found they left the o-ring off the adapter holding the speedo gear. If I had not noticed the puddle and driven my car, I surely would have blown the automatic transmission big time. That could have been an unfortunate "accident", but I wisely did not drive the car the day it was delivered by Ron. In retrospect, I had even told Ron there was a serious leak from the automatic months earlier at his shop, and did so in writing in a registered letter. Obviously all he did was add fluid.
The next summer the auto shifter linkage lost(?) a cotter pin and it had to be towed twice again. On a Sunday morning I got stuck at Dunkin Donuts and had to be flat-bedded home by AJ's Repair & Towing, Rt 110, River Rd, Shelton, CT. Then later, Stratford Collision flat-bedded the car to Bill Ross at Star Spangled Sports Car in Bethel, CT. Bill put a cotter pin back in the linkage. After all what would you expect from a $50,000 restoration, a new cotter pin or a secure used one.
If you are ever tempted, please contact me first. I honestly have a file of receipts and numerous letters one and one half inch thick that is devoted strictly to this phony. I am sure, I have forgotten a lot of this nightmare also. (Note: on August 26, 2003 I actually measured the file and I lied. It is actually two inches thick, no exaggeration.)
Ron's ethics and integrity (or book keeping) are very poor. He adjusted my bill numerous times to deduct the numerous part billing errors, duplicate billings for jobs he subbed out for service, and time sheet errors. It was up to me to catch him and then get him to deduct these duplicate charges, There are other ethical shops that deserve business.
All the following are letters sent to Ron Bunnell and two letters he sent me. If you want to read more about his ethics and restoration read them. These are two of the US Postal Service receipts for some the following registered letters.
August 7, 1996 letter to Ron requesting completion of my car.
December 23, 1996 letter from Ron telling me to pick up my car
The above letter from Ron Bunnell is really a gem. After my issuing literally thousands of dollars to him, in advance, in the form of my checks to him - he has the gall to actually question the integrity of my checks. And this is after this dead beat has bounced at least 5 checks on me. He must have a selective short memory. I have never bounced a check on him or anyone ever - period.
Through these many years, I never had owed this fellow a thin dime, nor could he ever even claim I owed him anything. In 1996 even when he said he "discoved" an unpaid labor bill from 1994 for no less for $4680, that he claimed he never sent to me. - I reluctantly even accepted that billing - and paid this beater that full amount.
Feb 3, 1997 letter to Ron about my car not being safe or even legal to drive page 1
Mar 4, 1997 letter from Ron billing $50/DAY STORAGE
Mar 27, 1997 letter about Rons work page 1
Mar 29, 1997 letter about billing adjustment
Geoffrey Coenen
June 2, 2002 and updated Sept 7, 2003 and May 20, 2006
PS Has he changed his practices since then? I don't know, but I do know I was shorted parts, had parts exchanged, never go back all that I gave him and would not risk it again.
August 11, 2003 Ron alleges he will SOON file a suit
