Unsolved Mystery

[nightcrawler]

I was told once that there was a guy goes with the name of "Butch" in Napa Valley who does SOA and do practically any fabrications on FJ40s.

So is anybody out there that knows where I can find him?

-nc

[Medusa]

That would be Butch Lewis (owner of ButchBuilt) in Napa, CA. He truly builds quality Cruiser parts. His phone number is (707) 257-3454, and his email address is butchblt@pacbell.net.

[KrustyKruiser]

You are speaking of Butch Lewis, ButchBuilt, Napa, CA

[Fat 65L]

There must be a echo in here !!!!!!!

That must be Butchbuilt yeh I think that is him

Rhino

[nightcrawler]

Fawkin' Awesome!

Thanks for the information and I owe you guys a pack of <IMG SRC="smilies/beer.gif" border="0">

-nc

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: nightcrawler ]

[nightcrawler]

Arrrggggghhhhhhh! I called Butch and almost had a heart attack. I personally think hes somewhat related to Brian at BTB cuz both of these guys charge too much for the task. $2,500 bucks to do the SOA....I don't think so bubba

Reddog's soa posse, I need you fellas!

-nc

[Land Crusher]

I personaly would not pay that much
but.

If the job is done corectly.
his price is not to far out of line.
you must remember that he is running a business and has bills of his own to pay.

Did he tell you what was involved ????

ps for that much money and doing the
complete job myself I could install
dana 60 front and rear.

[nightcrawler]

Land Crusher Exactly, if its too expensive to do the soa conversion, the d44 &d60 combo will be the best investment especially getting rid of birfields for good. However if I can have someone to do the soa conversion for cheap, I'll do that as well.

-nc

[KrustyKruiser]

In defense of Butch; he is a fine fabricator/welder, and I would have no problem recommending him. There's a line credited to Burt Reynolds asking his date about choosing wine for diner - it goes "do you want something good, or just expensive!"

That's the difference between Butch and BTB IMHO!

BTW did you price a SO from BTB, Wardens, Mudraks' or anybody else??

[nightcrawler]

KK I juggled some words with Brian at BTB and he personally said that he doesn't recommend the SOA conversion. However if I still want it done, it's gonna cost me about 2.5 - 3 grand. Bear one thing in mind if any one of you talk to him, hes one helluva cocky SOB! I'll talk to Warden today and see what he has to say about this. *groans*

-nc

[Arnett]

Dont talk to danny if you think Brian is cocky danny will surely piss you off talk to Scott our mike at Extreme gear off road there realy good guys #(916)990-0419 and do alot of extreme work.built my 60&44. o TPI350,th400,D60ARB,D44ARB,sprgover,rvs,35s,pwstr. <IMG SRC="smilies/scary.gif" border="0"> creep,crawl and conquer <IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smokin.gif" border="0">

[KrustyKruiser]

Originally posted by nightcrawler:
<STRONG>KK I juggled some words with Brian at BTB and he personally said that he doesn't recommend the SOA conversion. However if I still want it done, it's gonna cost me about 2.5 - 3 grand. Bear one thing in mind if any one of you talk to him, hes one helluva cocky SOB! I'll talk to Warden today and see what he has to say about this. *groans*

-nc</STRONG>

NC - one thing I can tell you is Butch is not a cocky SOB - just straight talking, down to earth guy. BTB has put down SOA conversions for years prefering the "rock catcher" shackle reversal w/2" lift front/4" lift rear approach. Ask Dog House about this "ultimate" BTB lift - none better, eh Dog House! Like I said - Butch is not cheap, but well worth the money. KK

[rubytoy]

hear hear FJ Junkie

i do a lot of work on my rig with friends, alone, whatever. it saves me some dough. but i've got butchbuilt fabs on my rig, some mudrak work and some o' luke porter's too. these guys do quality work. at the PMC swap meet, i won a certificate to get some of alans work too, and i can't wait to see what he can come up with. the reason i've got the stuff on my rig is that they do better work than alot of other yahoo's out there. i've seen tons of redneck engineering out there, that i wouldn't trust my life to. its' your safety so do what you want.

if you can't afford their work, fine. but trying to compare any of these guys, and particularly butch, to brian at BTB is just plain wrong. brian's got a bad rep because he's usually charges more than anyone for the same product, and he's generally mean and rude while he's doing it. butch charges more, because his shit is the bomb. and he's the nicest guy around. if you're gonna talk smack about somebody, you should sure know the guy first.

[brainless]

Originally posted by Land Crusher:
<STRONG>


ps for that much money and doing the
complete job myself I could install
dana 60 front and rear.</STRONG>

could give us a price breakdown on how you could do d60's front and rear for 2500 with a spring over..i am curious

here is mine
front d60 $1000-1500 stock needing to be rebuilt
front d60 rebuild with locker and gears $800-1000

rear d60 300-500 from junk yard needing to be rebuilt
locker , gears ,custom axles $1500

driveshafts 400-600 dollars
brakelines 25-
ubolts 40-50
new wheels for the d60 400 and up

all this ads up to around 5000 give or take a little here and there , i hope you dont need new brakes on those d60's cause your going to spend another couple of hundy and if the rear axle need's to be cut to offset the pinnion for the toyota t/case that's going to cost ...
i am sure i missed a few things in my breakdown so add another 100-200 bucks for things like spray paint ,hardware ,sanding disks, brake fluid ect. ect...
i am curious if you have a recipe to do this for 2500 i am all ears ...

[morgan]

A guy who used to post here a lot helped me do a significant mod to my cruiser. I traded him some cool stuff, but no money changed hands. The mod was cool, but it was half-baked, and the fact that it was half-baked made the truck a bit unsafe and I ended up having to pretty much re-do the mod later. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing and learned a lesson.

I paid Butch to fix a problematic part of the mod. Butch knows his shit. He has probably been doing excellent fab since before many of you were born. He is worth his price, at least to me. His solution was elegant, and now the mod is much more useful, the truck is more safe and the work is just sano.

He's also built a cool bumper and some excellent rocker protection for me. There is some stuff I'll do myself, and some stuff I'd rather a pro did. Butch is a real pro.

Props to Butch,

morgan

[brainless]

Originally posted by morgan:
<STRONG>A guy who used to post here a lot helped me do a significant mod to my cruiser. I traded him some cool stuff, but no money changed hands. The mod was cool, but it was half-baked, and the fact that it was half-baked made the truck a bit unsafe and I ended up having to pretty much re-do the mod later. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing and learned a lesson.

I paid Butch to fix a problematic part of the mod. Butch knows his shit. He has probably been doing excellent fab since before many of you were born. He is worth his price, at least to me. His solution was elegant, and now the mod is much more useful, the truck is more safe and the work is just sano.

He's also built a cool bumper and some excellent rocker protection for me. There is some stuff I'll do myself, and some stuff I'd rather a pro did. Butch is a real pro.

Props to Butch,

morgan</STRONG>

morgan you must have got a lil' help ehhh !
nothing is worse than someone that thinks they know what they are talking about only to fawk up a new guy in the process...
we are glad he posts no more !

[nightcrawler]

KK I never once mentioned that Butch is one cocky SOB and I personally never met him in person let alone call him names. However I can say the opposite for Brian at BTB cuz I personally met him and I can say it out loud......he's a prick! Its simply a fact that I met him personally and he charges too much for something that lacks in craftmanship nor quality.

Speaking of quality service and craftsmanship, if you think Butch excel in this field then I'll look him up and see what he has to offer for my needs. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

-nc

[nightcrawler]

FJ You are mistaken for one thing, you should NEVER trust anybody with your life to begin with. Also even if you said you build awesome roll cage, I will never take up on your offer cuz I don't trust you with my life on your hands but mine.

Quality and excellent craftmanship are two of many important things that crosses my mind before buying anything for my 40. I'm building my 40 from the stratch and only "best of the best" components will be seen on the vehicle. I have huge pride in my project and only "few" people will get their chance to work on it. So I'm looking for "few good men" to help me out with my needs to complete my 40 the way I want it. I have met several cocky SOB who stated that their service is the "best" when its for the fact its not. Speaking about facts, I called Butch and inquire him with the cost to do the soa job on my 40, he just said "$2,500" without mentioning what process or fabrication it requires to make the task a successful one. Lack source of information leads to assumptions. I might as well admit that I probably made an ass out of myself, accusing Butch of something bad when he excels in this kind of task. Sales pitch is probably not his strong suit. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Again, like I said, only top-of-the-line will be seen on my vehicle so "cheap" doesn't apply. So I have every right to seek for service at the best rate and it has nothing to do with being "cheap" ass redneck. The way I look at it, the more $$ I save, the more parts I can buy for my 40. You catch my drift?

-nc

[ 08-18-2001: Message edited by: nightcrawler ]

[nightcrawler]

Morgan Many thanks for the input.

-nc

[Hogie71]

i can second nightcrawler when he says brian is a real prick. when ever you go there he always has a smartass remark to anything you say. <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> he basicly thinks his shit dont stink and that he knows everything there is to know about cruisers. <IMG SRC="smilies/pissed.gif" border="0"> their customer service is really <IMG SRC="smilies/rainbow.gif" border="0">

[peterfj40]

seriously, i just had to deal w/ that <IMG SRC="smilies/rainbow.gif" border="0"> brian the other day, then had to deal w/ older fat ass today...he says those "legends" leaf springs can outramp a sprung over 40 <IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/laughing.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/laughing.gif" border="0"> speaking of spring over stuff, i just finished today..total time: aprox. 7.5 hours..not bad, considering my dad said it was gonna take way longer, and i did it all myself...hey nightcrawler, if you want someone to do it for you for cheap, swing on by my house and i could do it for you...1 thing though, i cant cut and rotate (ive never tried and dont want to on your housing), so you'd have to have dogwalker cut it, then i'll do the rest of the job for you...
<IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0"> BTB <IMG SRC="smilies/pissed.gif" border="0">

[ranger]

Wardens used to do spring overs for a grand, but I don't think so anymore. The way he does it it's pretty labor intensive. He sleeves the frame, extends the front of the frame 2", does the shackle reverse, and rotates the front knuckles. There are alot of other little things that he does also. Wardens does good work, he did the SOA conversion of a friend Cruzah a many years ago, and it was sweet. I mirrored Wardens SOA when I did mine, and personally I think his way of doing it it the best and strongest design. Well proven, cause he uses it also on his Sweet Cruzah. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
Needless to say I have seen some really scary fab work folks have done, and I sure as hell don't want to be in or around their junk on the trail!

[Beanz2]

The best way to see a guy's work is to see it in person. I suggest you visit Butch to see the SOA conversions he's done. He's only a 90-minute drive from where you are. Compare his workmanship vs. the home jobs you've seen on the trail, etc. You'll also see there are a lot more details than the how-to webpages show.

Butch is not a salesman, that's true, but he's no BTB Brian. He's done a lot of these conversions. C'mon, if you were to have a vasectomy done, do you want an experienced doctor to do it for $2500 or some guy in Tijuana do it for $500? My cruiser is almost as important as my balls.

Dave

[brainless]

Originally posted by Beanz2:
<STRONG>My cruiser is almost as important as my balls.

Dave</STRONG>

your killn me dave that was good <IMG SRC="smilies/beer.gif" border="0">

[60seriesguy]

Comparing Butch Lewis to BTB is insulting...to Butch, that is. Butch is one of those "artisan" type of fabricators, who take their time and to things right, to the point of perfectionism. This may not result in any bargains, but once you see the stuff he puts out and the trucks he builds, you understand why. I've met Butch Lewis in person and he's a straightforward guy, an excellent fabricator, and a Cruiserhead to boot. It's not often that you get this package in the Cruiser world, sadly.

I have a lot of respect for people who build their own Cruisers from scratch and do everything themselves; but you must also understand that there are a lot of us who for various reasons (lack of expertise, time, workspace/tools) do not have that luxury, and thus depend on fabricators and businesses. In the last 7 years, I've met and worked with a LOT of different Cruiser businesses and fabricators, some good, some shitty. If you were to ask me who I would recommend of those that I've worked with, I'd DEFINITELY say Gary Kardum of Mudrak Custom Cruisers (Sonoma, CA), Dave Gore of Renegade Fabrication (Phoenix, AZ), Lance Williams of LobsterFab (Farmville, VA), and Butch Lewis of ButchBilt (Napa, CA). None of the above are what you'd describe as "cheap", but if you want fantastic fabrication at reasonable prices, you can't beat any of these guys.

Good fabricators that understand wheeling AND Cruisers are REALLY hard to find. You may know a great welder, but he may never have worked on a vehicle's suspension; you may know a great fabricator, but he may not be a wheeler. Finding all of the above in one person in rare indeed.

Just my biased $0.02, I happen to like Butch Lewis and consider him a friend, and while I agree his prices are definitely high-end, so is his level of workmanship and the end result.

Later!