Galen Govier...Is it worth it ?

[Dennis H]

No.

 

[Cranky]

I still hear his name being tossed around at car auctions trying to get the bidding up on certain Mopars. It's kind of funny and sad at the same time. As far as having your particular car decoded and listed by Govier, I don't think it's worth the $. JMO.

Yeah, just recently some auction house mentioned his name on a car that was going across the block.....didn't do a bit of good either. The bidding was dead and stayed that way.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Yep I watched that, laughed my *** off as too. I see dealers trying to put it in ads as well doesn't impress much.

If he was smart he would have created a more open mopar only business like allpar did, he could have had a site were we could decode our selves with say his proprietary software or something etc have vendors advertise and pay him like all other internet sites do now, but instead he just took the people's money for a worthless piece of paper, I mean it would have been one thing if Chrysler themselves endorsed him.

He he did work for some dealer type outfit as the "mopar" expert.

Yeah, just recently some auction house mentioned his name on a car that was going across the block.....didn't do a bit of good either. The bidding was dead and stayed that way.

 

[mmissile]

I gotta laugh at the auction stuff. That should be a warning of the future of this hobby and economy. Galen started the gathering of knowledge in the mopar hobby before all the internet experts started thieving everything in our world. In some ways, he created the desire for people to want mopars. The Corvette guys bought up all the good mopars in the 80's, and made tons of money. People paid for his time and knowledge, and nobody else was doing it or cared[all done by phones and snail-mail]. Like everything else... the internet has made everything average and boring. He's from a time when people actually worked for things and knowledge. Today, everything is taken for granted and people need to build things like a lego set, and to someone else's standards. A bunch of us worked very hard to collect the cars, parts, and knowledge we acquired. Fortunately, us older guys reaped the benefits of this, and now the young guys will have a flooded market of cheaper cars, that'll continue to decrease in value.....due to lack of interest and players. The guys currently restoring basic/production cars, are keeping the repop parts guys in lots of money, while their cars depreciate during construction. The guy deserves his due, and like it or not....the hobby is easy and boring, now. Internet experts...LOL. Buy em and drive em....there are no things of investment, anymore. He may have no relevance now, but Galen is the 1st guy to have really made an effort in the mopar hobby to gather info.

 

[Derwud]

Didn't care about him then, don't care now... Might care if I was paying for a museum piece, but I can't afford that, so whatever.. These guys like Julius, Mark Worman, and Galen are wanna be know it alls and when someone presents alternate info, oh no that can't be true, really...

 

[flypaper]

go take the 278 bucks you were going to spend on that clown
and donate it to a local food bank in your area.
at least the money will go to a good cause..

 

[ws23jrt]

This guy has gained a reputation of value and apparently lost most of it.
As far as I can tell the importance of his input to the hobby has passed.
Threads like this come up and it's more likely that any negatives will be the ones we see the most. (human nature).

I too have no particular motive to defend where he is now. But I do remember meeting him when he inspected my car over ten years ago. His report and effort seemed like well spent money at the time.

Times have changed and we can do what he used to do (for his fee) for ourselves with greater ease.

Another point I'd like to make is that it doesn't take but a few disgruntled customers to ruin a reputation on the internet.--My two cents--

 

[GetX'd]

Never heard of the guy - but I wouldn't pay that kind of $ to have someone decode my fender tag. I guess I don't care that much. Have had the car for 44 years - it says what it says..... I'll ask my FBBO bros if I need to know.

 

[steve from staten island]

When i got my car it came with a bunch of papers,old receipts things of that nature. Included was five pages of breaking down the fender tag. It was from a guy called Galen V. Govier and it had what I'm guessing was his seal stamped into one the pages. I had no idea until i came onto this site who Mr Govier was. I did find the information helpful. The papers were dated July,2004 so i guess at that time common Mopars were still being decoded as my car is a 69 sport satellite conv with a 383 two barrel and single exhaust. Nice car but not a muscle car

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

My mopar.com has a decoding service for $40 and up if you must pay someone else to do what you can do yourself online. But hey I'll only charge $20 so if you really want it hit me up.

 

[tommyg29]

Correct me if Im wrong but now cant you just google "mopar fender tag decoder" and do it yourself in 5 minutes for free.
Also, the sales numbers as well as percentages of many of the options, colors, etc are easily found online or on this site.
I agree that he probably was very valuable to the hobby and the business for a couple decades before the internet made everything easier, but like most "old school" stuff nowadays his time has passed and he's not getting the respect he once had.

 

[patrick66]

Correct me if Im wrong but now cant you just google "mopar fender tag decoder" and do it yourself in 5 minutes for free.
Also, the sales numbers as well as percentages of many of the options, colors, etc are easily found online or on this site.
I agree that he probably was very valuable to the hobby and the business for a couple decades before the internet made everything easier, but like most "old school" stuff nowadays his time has passed and he's not getting the respect he once had.

Yes, you can, but the vast majority of online "decoders" are just plain crap. They try to be all things to all '66 - '80 Mopars, but fail miserably. For example, there is one that shows a 440 being available in A- and B-bodies, which is dead wrong. Or, a tilt-tele column in a '68-'69 B-body. Again, dead wrong. Or, they try to list the engine codes for several years grouped together. No useful info there. The online sources are sources I avoid. There are plenty of knowledgeable people that can be asked directly.

 

[Jim's Maxie]

Never heard of the guy

You didn't miss anything !!

 

[roadrunnerman]

I've got my 71 charger se and my 72 charger rallye both in his registry. also my 69 RR. I had that done back in the late 90's early 2000's. I did it more for personal info/options and production numbers. I know I didn't pay that much for my paperwork. I think I paid like $15 per car then to have it in his registry. I think you'd be better off to get his books. they'll have the same info as to what he would tell you anyways.

 

[gtx1of1]

GOOGLE will give you all you need.

 

[patrick66]

Or Bing, or Ask. Avoid G--gle. It is evil.

 

[Sonny Black]

My non restored '63...Galen/Chrysler registry
he has written 8 books on identifying Cars & Parts
...I would put credence & plausibility........... :sunny:

 

[ws23jrt]

It is true that their is more information available on the internet today. But it has been pointed out that information is just a mix of what the public is talking about. One needs to dig deep and still comes up unsure of what they find.

What Galen provided was something that could be brought forward with the car. --A document that attested to facts (as he had come to know them).

What we find by independent searching is what the public is talking about currently.

Again without a dog in the fight--His efforts have compiled much information as revealed over time that is more likely to be correct than a quick google search.

It's a shame that he seems to hoard his information like some car collectors do with their cars. But that is his choice.

 

[moparstuart]

It is true that their is more information available on the internet today. But it has been pointed out that information is just a mix of what the public is talking about. One needs to dig deep and still comes up unsure of what they find.

What Galen provided was something that could be brought forward with the car. --A document that attested to facts (as he had come to know them).

What we find by independent searching is what the public is talking about currently.

Again without a dog in the fight--His efforts have compiled much information as revealed over time that is more likely to be correct than a quick google search.

It's a shame that he seems to hoard his information like some car collectors do with their cars. But that is his choice.

yup he is said to have a list of all the 69 charger 500's that only he has seen . Well alot of good that does anyone else or the Hobby .

 

[Richard Cranium]

...I would put credence & plausibility........... :sunny:

What does one have to do with the other?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6iRNVwslM4