Jason Short

[QC97Z]

Jason Short is a member here and is also on LS1tech. He's been an AWESOME guy to work with. Goes WAY above and beyond the responsibilities of a seller.

I first started dealing with him right at the beginning of January, and things have evolved up until now...4 months in the making!

I, being a dick at first, flamed him about another motor he was selling (I was going with N/A 396) and he had started talking to me about my horsepower goals...and eventually suckered me into the F/I side :D. I decided to buy a Procharger F1A kit from him, which was super complete and bolt-on, for a really great deal. He even included a modified bumper support for the FMIC, so there's NO cutting of any of my original parts...all the fab work was done!

Then, he mentioned he had a built T56 lying around....picked that up too for a great price!

Then, as I was planning my engine build for a 383....he caught a break from a local buddy on a whole car with a fresh built-for-boost 383 in it...so, I picked up the motor too! He inspected the entire motor inside and out to make sure everything was good to go. He kept the cam, and the springs were too heavy...so I had a cam and springs sent to him, he installed them for NOTHING. Then, there were some intake manifold gasket issues (AFR's website and Edelbrock's website conflicted), so he had to get creative with that, which he also did for NOTHING.

And then he was able to sucker his dad into selling their Moser 12 bolt, ULTRA clean, also for a great price...so I picked that up too. Catching a trend here?

Shipping on everything was more than fair, as he catches a pretty decent break with a freight carrier.

I don't know how many e-mails, texts, and phone calls went back and forth between us over the last 4 months, and I don't even WANT to know how much I've spent (but it was all worth it...somewhere to the tune of 12-13K!!!)

I just received the engine crate and the Moser 12 bolt Saturday, and it was the most glorious Christmas morning in May EVER.
And BTW, the engine crate he built was bomb-proof. He took great care in making sure everything was shipped in overkill materials, so everything got to me in the same condition (or better) than he got it in.

Jason, Thanks for all the time, advice, and wisdom you've given to me over the months, all the great deals, phone calls, e-mails, and in general, the best communication I've ever had with a seller. Although a LOT of money exchanged hands, and you're halfway across the country from me, the trust we built made me feel like you were just down the street...as you were always just a phone call or an e-mail away. Thanks again man, I'd have no problem buying anything from you again.

Vouch complete.:claps:

[Z28pr0jekt]

He is not a mod on here

[QC97Z]

He is not a mod on here

My bad, I thought he was. Oh well, still the same comments. Original post edited.

[Tarheel'Z']

well whats his name on the site?or is that it?

[joelster]

Hrmm, I have a somewhat different story, lol. I think people give him instant "hero" status because he is a "mod" on LS1tech, so that means he MUST have instant credibility, right? He buys complete cars and parts them out. He strips them BARE. He gets wrecked cars and takes every teensy tiny useful piece off of them, and then pieces together a car with the table scraps and sells that too. I bought a 1995 Z convertible off of him. Yes the price was fair...but, my god..........I wouldn't want him working on my car. Sensors cut, brakes installed incorrectly, NOTHING bolted down whatsoever, shifter backwards ,yada, yada.

To the OP, you just said you spent $12-$13K on your car? Is that money you sent to him or including the price of your car?

I don't hate the guy or anything, but he doesn't really hook people up like they think they are.

[QC97Z]

well whats his name on the site?or is that it?

that's his real name, and also his name on the site.

[QC97Z]

Hrmm, I have a somewhat different story, lol. I think people give him instant "hero" status because he is a "mod" on LS1tech, so that means he MUST have instant credibility, right? He buys complete cars and parts them out. He strips them BARE. He gets wrecked cars and takes every teensy tiny useful piece off of them, and then pieces together a car with the table scraps and sells that too. I bought a 1995 Z convertible off of him. Yes the price was fair...but, my god..........I wouldn't want him working on my car. Sensors cut, brakes installed incorrectly, NOTHING bolted down whatsoever, shifter backwards ,yada, yada.

To the OP, you just said you spent $12-$13K on your car? Is that money you sent to him or including the price of your car?

I don't hate the guy or anything, but he doesn't really hook people up like they think they are.

No, I didn't give him instant credibility or "hero" status because he's a mod on LS1tech. Actually, at first, I thought he was a douche, because I had cash in hand ready to buy the 396 off of him that I talked about in my OP. But, it was me who was the douche, because he had several in line already that had "dibs" before me, which is more than fair, and a stand-up thing to do.

So what if he buys cars and strips them? He's able to get ahold of these cars for cheap, strip them, sell the good stuff, and make money off of it (while still offering super fair prices). What's wrong with that?

Everything I bought from him was installed or removed correctly. Nothing cut, torn up, or anything. I'm not sure where you seem to think he doesn't know what he's doing...he's earned a lot of respect in the f-body community, and he's a really sharp guy. He had THOUSANDS of dollars of mine for several months before I got everything...because we were talking back and forth making sure everything was right. The guy has a hell of a conscience, wants everything to be perfect, and takes total responsibility for the parts until both parties agree everything's OK. He even threw in a few freebies here and there (MSD 6-BTM ignition seutp, boost gauge, Racetronix hotwire kit, etc)

I have a clean '97 Z28 that I bought 3 years ago (less than 80K on it) in Indiana. I did not buy my car from Jason. I bought all the new drivetrain from him though. And yes, I did spend about 12K with him. That included an entire forged 383 with pretty bling parts in it, built T56, complete F1A procharger, complete EFI connection setup (LS1 PCM/Ignition conversion), and clean Moser 12 bolt with driveshaft. Try building/sourcing all of that for 12K.
The T56, the procharger kit, and the 12 bolt did NOT come out of some other cars he stripped...they came straight out of his father's car.

[joelster]

Talk about defensive, lol. I'm headed out for a bit, and when I get back, i'll go into detail about what is wrong with the car that i purchased from this master mechanic who "wants everything to be perfect" as you put it.

[Z28pr0jekt]

Just keep it civil guys. You're fine so far. You're allowed to voice your experiences, everyone needs to know what to look out for.

[joelster]

Ok, here's the deal I got.

As, advertised, 1995 Z28 Convertible, T56, teal with black top. Needs a cat-back and THE BRAKES BLED. I go and look at it. Starts up, but every light is on and it's loud as hell so I can't take it for a spin (plus brakes need to be bled). Price was fair at $3800 so I bought it. I had my friends with a trailer go and get it for me.

Anyways, back at my friends shop, my friend Mark literally spends the good part of a day tightening stuff. What stuff you say?, Um...seats were hand tight, console, dash, door panels, shifter was backwards, etc, etc....

Now time to bleed the brakes, lol. Pop the hood and top off the fluid, depress pedal and...........brake fluid is PISSING out of the abs module. I mean like full-shower mode, lol. Who unhooks that? Tighten that all up, re-top off fluid, depress pedal and........PISSING out of all 4 calipers. Crank down left front caliper, depress pedal....still PISSING. Hrmm, something MUST be wrong here. The bleeder is as tight as it will go, but fluid is coming out. Unhook brake line and discover...........

The tiny copper/brass (whatever they are made of) washer are missing on all 4 wheels. OOPS...I guess it is a little deeper than a simple brake bleed job here. Have my friend scrounge his parts warehouse and he comes up with a set of them an hour later.

Now it's on to the engine lights. Oil level light is on. Check the oil level, it's fine. Hrmm....check the sender on the side of the pan...OOPS, he cut the wire right off of it. Nah, can't just unplug it to swap the motor, that's too easy, gotta cut it right off, lol.

MAF sensor, deader than a doornail (not a biggie to me really) but it effects how it runs a little.

Radio, lol. He bragged about the Pioneer CD player that was in the car. Yep it sure works good, but if you don't drive the car every week or so it will kill the battery because it is wired all fucked up. Basically we traced a pretty good-sized draw to the 10-amp fuse that controls the radio and a few other things. If you run the car every few days you are fine, but if I know I won't be driving the car for a while I pull the fuse out to be safe and not smoke the battery. I took a look under the dash and it is a hodgepodge of wires. To give you an idea, the car is a 1995, but has a motor from a 94 a tranny from a 94, door panels from a 98 and who knows what year rear-end is in it.

Speaking of rear-ends, lol. When I finally was able to put the thing on the road, I backed it out of my friends shop in reverse. Hrmm....something must be wrong here, i'm slipping the clutch and the car is going like 30mph in reverse. Yikes! I put it into first, and I really have to get the thing to slip to get it moving, uh-oh. Start going through the gears and it feels pretty good. Take it up on the highway and put it into 4th at about 2500rpm. Hrmm....i'm passing everyone. 5th at 1600, still passing everyone, 6th and it is chugging and bucking at 1200rpm and i'm going like 70-75. Yep, he put a 2.73 rear-end in it. If I want to cruise at 90 it's perfect!

Now before you fire back at me, just hear me out. I still like the car, I really do. It wasn't described to me very accurately, but the basics were all there that I wanted. It just needed FAR MORE attention than what he stated and when digging around we got a good look into his mechanical prowess. I have no problem with the guy, he will still be parts-slinging all over the net, that's what he does best. But I would really take a good look at ANY car he is selling because he DOES NOT make things perfect as you put it. He throws shit together, from whatever is in his parts bin . He is the first guy to snag someones 10-bolt for $200, and then 2 weeks later he's selling it for $300. He's all over the classifieds everywhere you look.

He's just a parts slinger. He probably bought some stroker LT1 with a pro-charger and a 12-bolt for $9000, and disassembled it and sold you the pieces for $12-$13k. Now he has the shell and he's putting a stock motor out of a wrecked formula, a rear out of an old v6 car, and the car will be on LS1tech next week for $3500. Or maybe not.

[Tarheel'Z']

im not taking sides here but joelster how could you hand the man 3800$ without looking the car over better,sorry man but if im handing over 3800 of my hard earned dollars i aint taking anybodys word for shit,,if you say the brakes need to be bled ,ok then lets bleed them that shouldnt take long,then im buying,,or if its loud and lights are on and i cant drive then get it drivable and ill be back..from your story he obviously sounds like he could be a little shady,but he's looking out for him not you,thats your job.

[joelster]

im not taking sides here but joelster how could you hand the man 3800$ without looking the car over better,sorry man but if im handing over 3800 of my hard earned dollars i aint taking anybodys word for shit,,if you say the brakes need to be bled ,ok then lets bleed them that shouldnt take long,then im buying,,or if its loud and lights are on and i cant drive then get it drivable and ill be back..from your story he obviously sounds like he could be a little shady,but he's looking out for him not you,thats your job.

It needed a cat-back to make it quiet. It's not like everyone has one laying around. I'll say it again, I got a 1995 Z28 Convertible in the best color with a T56 for $3800, yes the price was fair to me. I'm not looking for sympathy, and not trying to act like I got robbed of my money, I didn't. My point is he isn't some amazing mechanic that wants everything to be perfect. I went into detail describing his mechanical abilities, that's all. The more we dug into the car, the more we laughed at how it was put together. I wasn't expecting a perfect car for $3800, but some of the problems were unreal at the time. I was sort-of swayed a bit by the guys reputation. He has this following online as though he is the go to guy for LT1 knowledge.

I have another story involving a friend of mine and a purchase, but I will let him speak for himself as well. i'll try to get him to come in here. You guys will get a laugh.

[QC97Z]

I've got nothing else to say. The entire idea of this thread was to give Jason a good vouch for MY positive story/feedback.
I appreciate your concern and your story Joelster, but I can't help but feel a bit of an egotistic overtone in your posts, almost like you have something to prove over him. Maybe you did have issues with the car you bought from him, and maybe he caused the issues, or maybe not. However, everything was done RIGHT with my purchases from him. The only thing he didn't do with the motor was set the valves, because he changed out the springs (with better ones that I purchased and sent to him) and probably just forgot to do it. No big deal, as I'm inspecting the whole thing over before trying to start it, that is my responsibility as a buyer.
Your comment about him pulling a stroker lt1 with a procharger and a rear end and piecing them together...you must not have been paying attention to my posts.
I've seen pictures and videos of these cars/parts. The motor came out of a car he recently acquired in his local area, and the procharger and rear came out of his own father's car (they're going even more wild with the setup).
You're absolutely free to think/feel anything you want, this is why it's an open forum. It just seems like this is a night/day difference between your experience and mine, and makes me wonder what changed (provided all of your story is true).

[Z28pr0jekt]

Please do not question Joelster's honesty as he is not questioning yours

[joelster]

I've got nothing else to say. The entire idea of this thread was to give Jason a good vouch for MY positive story/feedback.
I appreciate your concern and your story Joelster, but I can't help but feel a bit of an egotistic overtone in your posts, almost like you have something to prove over him. Maybe you did have issues with the car you bought from him, and maybe he caused the issues, or maybe not. However, everything was done RIGHT with my purchases from him. The only thing he didn't do with the motor was set the valves, because he changed out the springs (with better ones that I purchased and sent to him) and probably just forgot to do it. No big deal, as I'm inspecting the whole thing over before trying to start it, that is my responsibility as a buyer.
Your comment about him pulling a stroker lt1 with a procharger and a rear end and piecing them together...you must not have been paying attention to my posts.
I've seen pictures and videos of these cars/parts. The motor came out of a car he recently acquired in his local area, and the procharger and rear came out of his own father's car (they're going even more wild with the setup).
You're absolutely free to think/feel anything you want, this is why it's an open forum. It just seems like this is a night/day difference between your experience and mine, and makes me wonder what changed (provided all of your story is true).


I have nothing to prove here, and i'm not bitter, no egotistic overtones either.. It's just that when you purchase a car that was "built" by someone who supposedly has a great knowledge of LT1's and cars in general you might let your guard down and assume certain things to be done correctly. Some of the issues with my car are very minor, but they are there and they reflect 100% on the person who turned the wrenches on the car in the first place. My post was just a rebuttal on your statement that he makes everything perfect. I still think I got a good deal on the car, but my 2 friends who did a lot of work on the car won't buy anything from him now that they've seen his work first hand.

There is even a sort-of inside joke about him amongst some of the car guys in the wny area, but that i will send you in a pm if you wish, lol.