Betrayed by a long term friend

alloy

alloy

Dan, Retired old fart
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2014
Messages
2,776
Back before 9-11 I had a large shop. vmc's, turning centers, lathes, mills, auto band saw, ect.. After 9-11 all my customers went away ad I lost my shop and house. I have a few machines I wanted to keep but had no place to put them. I had a friend that had a shop and he built racing engines, AC nutter in Vancouver, WA. We made a deal that I could store them there and he can use them as much as he wanted, and if he broke them he fixed them. And they were mine and I could use them any time I needed. This went on for a number of years. About 4 years ago I had a stroke and didn't get over there very often anymore to see him. Last week I went there and he was gone along with my bridgeport mill and victor 16 x 40 lathe. I found out he retired 2 years ago and sold his bushiness to a family member along with my machines.

So now wht do I do? I bught the machines in the late 90's and don't have anything but my word they were mine. I can file i smalol claims court but they only go up to $10k. I treid to file a police report over the phone but the person I talked to wouldn't even take a report. I called an attorney today and am wiating for them to get back to me to see if them will take the case.

Im ****** and want to hurt him, and I want my machines back, but I'm not sure that I have a leg to stand on. The dealer that I bought the lathe from is out of business, and the saleman died. I bought the mill from his son and have no idea where he is now.

So I have a feeling I'm just screwed.
 
You might be screwed, you wouldn't be the first and definitely won't be the last. Assuming this is the guy?

Nutter Racing Engines & High Performance Dry Sump Oil Pumps

Nutter Racing Engines specializs in building winning race engines for drag racing, oval-track racing, boat racing, road racing, off-road racing, vintage racing, and unbeatable street engines, as well as a line of standard and custom built dry-sump race engine oil pumps, specially hand crafted...
nutterracingengines.com

I bought a business in 2007 from a man who had sold his original business after he started having heart attacks. Long story short, he never got paid (over 1m) and had to start up a new business where he couldn't even use his own name.

This is Mike's book (RIP)

books.google.com

The Crew Chief's Son

In this memoir, Michael Clements recounts growing up in the early days of stock car racing. From 1957 through 1965, his father, Louie, travelled the NASCAR circuit, bringing his wife and five children along to every race. Owner and crew chief for champion driver Rex White, Louie introduced many...
books.google.com

Mike was an awesome human being who let me apprentice for a full year and taught me so very much about engine building, business, and life. I miss him very much.


If your buddy is still around I'd suggest going to visit him and politely asking WTF?

Maybe he also had health problems and didn't remember your deal when they sold the business.

Hope it works out....

John
 
Yes that's him, his family member now owns the oil pump business now.

There were 3 people I contacted and I'm very sure all of them contacted him. I was hoping he would do the right thing, but so far he hasn't.
 
Sorry for what has happened. It is hard to trust anyone now days. Hope things work out for you.
 
I've found waiting for someone to do the right thing is waste of time. Likewise, hoping someone else tells them is a waste. A face to face conversation always gives me a clearer picture of what the outcome will be.

Go talk to him.
 
alloy said:
Yes that's him, his family member now owns the oil pump business now.

There were 3 people I contacted and I'm very sure all of them contacted him. I was hoping he would do the right thing, but so far he hasn't.
Click to expand...
I'm sure the new owner paid the previous owner for all the equipment in the shop and has the receipts to prove it. I doubt he's going to pay you again for the same machinery. Having someone come out of the woodwork 20 some years later claiming they own the machines isn't going to fly unless you have paperwork supporting that.

Your problem is with the person you made the agreement with. That's the only person who would have any knowledge of the particulars of the agreement. It could get nasty to say the least. I've seen scenarios like this in the past. Don't be surprised if the other party says they sold the equipment to pay for the storage charges accrued against it. Keep in mind the machines are now 30+ years old and have little if any value on the retail market.
 
That sucks. But I have a feeling nothing will happen. I have been burned by 2 people like that. I lost a motorcycle like that, sold for parts, only 2 years .. I lost some saws, and other woodworking equip, about 3 thou, that person gave me $150 and thought it was good. One of these was a best friend. Needless to say.. not anymore. I had had surgery to rebuild my shoulder, and had no strength to ride the first year, and then other stuff got in the way.. We were seeing each other all the time during that period, every couple of days. I didn't know he was stripping it and selling it.
 
The lathe it worth $10,000, and the mill is $5000. The mill has ball screws in it, was a cnc retrofit and is a vari speed head with dro.

This is an identical lathe. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2957312492...-b721-f679cec970a6|iid:1|vlpname:vlp_homepage

Confronting him would do no good, I know him and that wouldn't do anything but make it worse. I've been out of the racing world since the 70's so I don't know anyone that would be relevant.

And yes I'm betting nothing will happen, but I'm still ******. I can file small claims and make him show up and have my say in court at least. I don't expect the new "owner" of the machines to pay me, I want the machines back. I do not want or need the money, I want my machines back, and to hurt him.
 
well, hurting him, without talking to him first, is a bad choice in my book. You had no conversation with him. You need to face to face first, before taking it to the next level. Then go full whatever (vengeance, retribution).. It won't make you whole again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top