It's taken me well over a year to get the nerve to write this review. I've struggled w/ the concept of trashing a service provider/vendor on this forum b/c in the past, several commentors frowned on that practice but in the end, I felt that it's in the best interests of the Bronco community to do so. What pushed me over the edge was that two other brothers were wronged by this same creep and I felt guilty not writing sooner, warning everyone against this nightmare shop. My only goal here is to provide honest feedback and to make sure that this guy never screws anyone again.
It all started in June of 2015, I was looking for a quality shop to build my dream car. I looked at several shops across the country and contacted JFB Restoration in Joliet IL. I live in NY and there weren't very many options close by back then, so I flew out to CHI to meet w/ the shop owner John Huber. He seemed like a good guy and his price for a full build was in the middle of what I was seeing for a show-quality truck (~$75K). I did my due-diligence and spoke to a former client who seemed happy, though he never took delivery of his truck due to financial issues. in hindsight that should have been a red flag but I was so jaded by the end product I had to have it. We signed a contract in August of 2015 and John claimed that it would take about six months to complete. He also claimed that he would send me pictures along the way to photo-document the process as well as retain all receipts and paperwork so that I could more easily get the car insured under an agreed policy. I got neither.
Early on, we communicated a lot as we talked about the specs, he even pitched my on an upgraded engine (+$2,500) that was custom built and gone over by a speed shop down the road from him...he also assured me that the engine was under warranty. Long story short, 14 months later he hadn't delivered a thing. Always some excuse, the tub is on a shipping container from China, they sent the wrong parts, your's is the next one out the door.
Eventually, he just didn't answer his phone or return messages or texts...he had majority of my money. It was incredibly frustrating, all I wanted was my truck. In the end, after showing up (flying) unannounced several times and threatening legal action he put my truck on a transport that I arranged and paid for.
After 300 miles the engine blew and of course he was nowhere to be found. The shop that did the repair work said he clearly had no idea what he was doing...There were an insane amount of issues, most of them safety related! Sloppiness and negligence was everywhere. He never even capped off the fuel tank, it was just open internally. Missing body mounts! A crooked frame. I changed the oil and antrifreeze poured out! I can't confirm that it was his incompetence that caused the engine to implode (by not accounting for the overheat when he improperly installed the AC unit, bigger fans , pulleys & belts) or just that the engine was garbage but it cost me an additional $14,000 just to get the truck safe and running again. When my mechanic reached out to him directly he picked up the phone but when he found out it was my truck, he never answered again. Several demand letters later nothing. After pursing the legal route I found out that John Huber was previously a contractor that went bust after the housing bubble and decided to build broncos. I get it now.
The most heartbreaking part is that he was able to do this to at least two other members of this site...and that's what hurts the most. I regret not speaking up sooner. I'm sorry guys. My attorney advised me not to at the time. Please avoid this person/shop at all costs. He's a horrible business man and more importantly a horrible person, what he's doing is nothing short of criminal. Feel free to reach out with any questions/comments/concerns.
AK-
