re: Metalcrafters and small tailfins

[ak118@xxxx]

Hi Everyone,

As a former employee of Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, I have been watching 
where this discussion has been going in the last day or two. George 
McKovich's letter about his 'friend/auto restorer' and 'skeptic' '(who many 
of you know)' prompted me to write. If I know this restorer... be careful 
who you make your comments to..as they may be published without your consent!

He inferred that Metalcrafters quality would be substandard should the 
quarter panels be produced. I can tell you in all honesty that nobody can 
produce these parts better than this company. They have the know-how and the 
tools to do it (including a two-car-garage-sized press)

For those of you who may not know... Metalcrafters is the company that 
builds most, if not all, of Chrysler's concept cars. Each is built in metal, 
runs, drives, has a full interior, and each vehicle is nearly fully 
functional. 'Flakes' , as the 'skeptical restorer' called them, generally 
don't get multi-million dollar car building contracts renewed year after 
year. Metalcrafters does work every year for Chrysler and many others -- 
they are certainly not flakes. As an employee they worked me very hard... 
but they also paid me VERY well for that work. The crunch time at 
Metalcrafters is from August through the last week in December. During this 
time they are finishing the cars for both the L.A. and Detroit auto shows. 
Nothing else matters as much as those cars during that time.

The fact that it's hard to get a call back should be understandable to you. 
EVERYONE in the Metalcrafters building is focused on finishing the cars. I 
doubt they'd stop production on a multi-million dollar group of cars to 
fabricate quarter panels for a 57 Chrysler. Look at the big picture and see 
how it doesn't make very good business sense for them to focus on 300's at 
this time.

My suggestion... be patient, designate one person to contact their office 
after the dust settles there. Please keep the bashing to a minimum or 
they'll just say no. Do you think their business will want to do work for a 
bunch of car guys who doubt their quality or integrity? My best guess for a 
great time to call -- The 2nd or 3rd week in January. At that time everyone 
will be back from vacation and they may have time for a small project like 
this.

Aaron Kahlenberg