Apex Autosports Grafton, WI

schlett7nu1 · February 13, 2021, 06:04:08 AM

I'm looking for a reference customer to contact who used Apex Autosports in Grafton, WI for a full or partial restoration of their Mopar. I've seen Andrew and his team's outstanding work at Nationals a while back. Their shop is close by me. Before I reach out to Andrew I'd like to talk to someone who used them. I'm mainly interested in considering them for paint and bodywork only. I'd disassemble/reassemble the car. I'm not concerned about quality that speaks for itself. I'm working on a rough budget. The car needs minor patches baring any unforeseen after blasting. Floors are solid. My best guess right now is to budget $30k-$40k for paint and bodywork. Being retired I need to attempt to plan the spend profile. Any help is appreciated.

gzig5 · February 13, 2021, 06:56:30 AM

Two of us (members) had our cars at APEX last year. Myself and @blucuda. I was very happy with the work they performed, which was a substantial amount of sheetmetal replacement and accident repair. Andrew worked with me and I did most of the grunt work teardown and I'll finish the work doing the quarters and roof. I simply couldn't handle the Dynacorn back half by myself and the accident repair was beyond my means. Communication was pretty good, just be clear what your expectations are. We can continue offline on the phone if you want. I'll let blucuda describe his experience but I can say that I was VERY impressed with the body and paint work on his car as well as the other cars that were in the shop. You can stop by and see what they did, it's still in about the same state as when I got it back. Been a busy year. That reminds me, I need to get back there when the weather breaks and get my cribs back that I loaned him.

anlauto · February 13, 2021, 07:19:48 AM

Quote from: gzig5 on February 13, 2021, 06:56:30 AM
.... Communication was pretty good, just be clear what your expectations are.

I think this is the best advice ever... In the past I've dealt with customer's expectations that have far exceeded my ability....They expect a Roger Gibson quality restoration at a fraction of the price...and I've also had customers that were blown away with the quality of my work which far exceeded their expectations....
So it's important that you really discuss the level of quality you want and expect, and it's more important that you realize what quality your budget will allow. You have a real strong budget, but it might not be enough if your car comes back from media blasting looking like swiss cheese, or it might not be enough if you're going to walk even inch of every gap with a 3/16" gauge looking for perfection...

I think APEX has a tremendous reputation and I don't think you can go wrong, but keep in mind....you're PAYING for the reputation...

JS29 · February 13, 2021, 07:36:40 AM

A shop builds a reputation on the quality of there work. Therefor the customer is paying for there quality that built there reputation. not just paying for the bragging rights that said shop did there car.

schlett7nu1 · February 13, 2021, 07:45:52 AM

Excellent feedback. The message I received is exactly what I was hoping for. Being a retired engineering executive I'm accustomed to defining expectations. I would provide a detailed document defining explicitly the work to be performed. Additionally, that document would be fully reviewed with the shop prior to work beginning and the document would be revised accordingly. Success comes when expectations are transparent. I'd very much like to discuss process timing/cost with one of you to help me with rough budgeting. I got the ok from my wife but need to provide details. Although I'm retired I still have a boss.

R/T's 4 R/P · February 13, 2021, 07:58:50 AM

Schlett7, I must live near you.
Pm me. I have worked with Andrew and Apex often, although not on a full blown resto.
I have judged their cars at MCACN and can say their quality and detail work is outstanding, but it comes at a price. A number of his customers have the ability to afford that, but he is willing to work with anyone.
I would be happy to meet you and give you some insights into restoration costs. I presume you're working on an e-body. You're welcome to come over and see my cars that have various ranges of levels of restorations.

schlett7nu1 · February 13, 2021, 08:20:15 AM

Awesome. Thanks for the offer. I'll PM you. I think we may have met at a Mopar show at Schlossmann Dodge City in Brookfield several years ago.

blucuda · February 13, 2021, 09:29:19 AM

I am very happy with the work that Apex did. As others have stated, you will not be disappointed in the quality of the work that they perform. The biggest benefit that Andrew provided that I think fits your situation is protecting me from myself. The problem that I have is the "why nots". The car is completely apart, so why not do this? The car came back from the dipper, so why not fix this tiny imperfection? He really helped keep my eyes on the end goal and staying in the ballpark for budget. Some things were important to me, so I spent the extra money. Some things were not as important, so we took a lower cost route. The point is that he left all of those decisions up to me. He explained the pros and cons of each item in question and moved the budget as I determined. He invited me to the shop regularly to verify that I was happy with a particular step (AMD alignment issues, level of orange peel, etc). My goal was not to build a show car, but he wanted to ensure that it met my expectations. I would recommend him without hesitation.

Skdmark · February 13, 2021, 09:30:12 AM

I've been considering them and another out of state shop for doing some work too. I've seen several of their cars at MCACN and liked what I saw. Apex is about 50 miles from me which is certainly a plus. Appreciate seeing the feedback from the other members here.

71383bee · February 15, 2021, 07:38:56 AM

Their shop is very impressive.

Weren't they originally Aloha auto?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

gzig5 · February 15, 2021, 10:30:37 AM

Not sure about the name, but I think someone told me that his shop used to be in West Bend or Slinger and is now in Grafton. Kind of funny (to me), because his shop is just down the street from the Grafton Bowling alley where I spent a lot of time before it closed, but I had no idea he was there until I got a tip. He does no advertising, but his schedule is slammed. I was lucky to slip my car in when he had a slot open for a few weeks while another car was out dipping. His hourly rate was significantly lower than a well known shop in Northern WI I was considering as well.

R/T's 4 R/P · February 15, 2021, 12:07:18 PM

I don't think they were ever in Slinger or West Bend. There are a couple of shops in those areas (Midwest Muscle Car Restoration, etc) that also do restoration work.
Andrew's father ran Aloha in the past but is not associated with APEX.

schlett7nu1 · February 17, 2021, 05:38:15 AM

I had a great discussion with Andrew at Apex. My car will be heading to Apex the end of this year. A modest deposit tied to an intent contract will ensure a scheduling spot. A ballpark cost estimate was provided based on his experience and my feedback on condition. He will examine the car to personally assess condition prior to my teardown. I'll likely begin the disassembly process starting this fall. He has a front end bolt-on dolly I can use to avoid having to purchase one and only use it once. Next winter I'll restore the engine, dash, k-member/front suspension, and other components while the body gets redone. He anticipates the process will take less than 12 months which will allow for car reassembly over winter 2022. Therefore, I'll have plenty of work over two winters. Very excited about the project and confident in a positive outcome.

Cuda_mark · February 17, 2021, 05:42:08 AM

Quote from: schlett7nu1 on February 17, 2021, 05:38:15 AM
I had a great discussion with Andrew at Apex. My car will be heading to Apex the end of this year. I'll likely begin the disassembly process starting this fall. He has a front end bolt-on dolly I can use to avoid having to purchase one and only use it once. Next winter I'll restore the engine, dash, k-member/front suspension, and other components while the body gets redone. He anticipates the process will take less than 12 months which will allow for car reassembly over winter 2022. Therefore, I'll have plenty of work over two winters. Very excited about the project and confident in a positive outcome.

And you will save a TON of money doing a lot of the work yourself!

anlauto · February 17, 2021, 05:45:43 AM

Quote from: schlett7nu1 on February 17, 2021, 05:38:15 AM
I had a great discussion with Andrew at Apex. My car will be heading to Apex the end of this year. I'll likely begin the disassembly process starting this fall. He has a front end bolt-on dolly I can use to avoid having to purchase one and only use it once. Next winter I'll restore the engine, dash, k-member/front suspension, and other components while the body gets redone. He anticipates the process will take less than 12 months which will allow for car reassembly over winter 2022. Therefore, I'll have plenty of work over two winters. Very excited about the project and confident in a positive outcome.

...and what kind of quote did he give you ? I mean what did he have to say about price, can he even quote it BEFORE it's stripped to bare metal ? Was he able to "ballpark" it based on past work ? Does he require a deposit to hold a spot ?