PROJECT " LAID BACK 2 " - 1978 SALON 2 DOOR AEROBACK

[JAMCAR223]

did he screw them up, or just not do them?

He did them. Missed 4 completion / ship dates ( somewhat irrelevant ). Sleeved (2) bolt holes ( guess he jacked those up?? ) . I paid for Edelbrock valves, but he installed (1) Edelbrock intake valve, (7) Speedmaster intake valves, (5) Speedmaster exhaust valves & (3) longer exhaust valves of unknown origin. He said " Didn't realize it until after they were assembled ". He installed Howards valve springs for a .640 lift cam ( can you guess what that spring pressure would do to my flat tappet cam during break in ). He never told me any of this...I found all this information on a handwritten note he included in the box. He KNEW this was not what I paid for. He told me... " You got more than what you paid for ". I told him I was uncomfortable with this, and was going to take them to the machine shop to get their opinion. He quit responding at that time - never heard from him again. Well you already know what the machine shop said... "Shitty workmanship" + $269 to fix. He used mismatched parts he had in the shop. As Mike stated... instead of going out with a bang, he showed his true character, knowing it would not affect his business. I will fix them and move forward.

 

[fleming442]

Well, I guess the $270 to fix them isn't so bad? That's definitely jacked up, though.
I went through something similar with my block the last go round. Thought I was getting my stuff done by a local legend, Bill Coleman. He had a speed and machine shop FOREVER (behind Autofab) on route 1. Frank got it back, sent it to get fixed, and put me 3-5 months behind schedule.
I guess there's a reason these guys are retiring. Kinda makes ya wonder if they lost their touch, or did they just do the best of the worst for their whole career?

 

[64nailhead]

Thanks for sharing. I'll guess that many of us can share a story similar to yours and Bruce's. I have a term for it that I believe is the same from from TX to MD to NY, but I'll pass on being too negative.
.
Hopefully you've moved on. Something to consider, there are alot of people in the know about making your stuff (and my stuff) run - I truly hope you can find someone 'in the know' in your locale. I know a guy that will make your Olds stuff run in PA a little south of Scranton if you need someone - but I'll bet you'll find someone closer. I've posted some 4L80 woes I experienced until I found the trans doctor, as I refer to him. My trans docter is not a big name or selling on the interwebs, but he's built a 200-4R and 4L80 for me that have withstood 800 whp. My point is that these people are out there - look around.


Hope you found a guy - Houston is a big area - I'm sure you have. And F this jackhole that took your money.

Good luck and keep the faith - Jim

 

[69hurstolds]

At least they can be fixed. That's good news anyway. I don't even have a dog in this hunt and it boils my beans. I absolutely hate these jackholes that take people's money and then fugg everything up.

But as stated...moving on!

 

[olds307 and 403]

Yeah, Speed Master valves are the bottom of the barrel. I know Benard Mondello won't use them, they measure all over the place for dimensions according to him and a few others. Good thing you had them checked over. Moving on, only good things happen in 2020, oh wait...

 

[Texas82GP]

Well, I guess the $270 to fix them isn't so bad? That's definitely jacked up, though.
I went through something similar with my block the last go round. Thought I was getting my stuff done by a local legend, Bill Coleman. He had a speed and machine shop FOREVER (behind Autofab) on route 1. Frank got it back, sent it to get fixed, and put me 3-5 months behind schedule.
I guess there's a reason these guys are retiring. Kinda makes ya wonder if they lost their touch, or did they just do the best of the worst for their whole career?

You should dispute the charge with your bank, James.

 

[Texas82GP]

You should dispute the charge with you bank, James.

Sean bought a used LS1 type T56 from a guy in El Paso, when we were building the Camaro. It showed up here on a pallet. I forget how I detected it, but right off the bat, there was a loose piece or two rattling around inside it. I opened it up and it was thrashed.

Sean had paid with PayPal so he filed a claim or dispute. PayPal was taking forever so Sean disputed the charge with his bank. The seller ended up paying to ship the trans back to El Paso and Sean wasn't out a dime.

Tell your bank or credit card company it is a fraudulent charge. Screw him!

 

[JAMCAR223]

On a lighter note... I got my Thornton manifolds back today. Cerakoted Glacier Silver. They look really good. Guy said if I ever had a problem, he would recoat them. I may have the intake manifold done to match.

 

[olds307 and 403]

On a lighter note... I got my Thornton manifolds back today. Cerakoted Glacier Silver. They look really good. Guy said if I ever had a problem, he would recoat them. I may have the intake manifold done to match.
View attachment 161904

Those look great. I know there is power lost with these but these are no doubt a good improvement over the regular SBO manifolds. I was impressed by how nice they were cast. What do the outlets measure? I would appreciate a verification on that. I have slowly failing ceramic coated Sanderson shorties, which all headers do on the 88, 10+ years old. I might say screw 20 hp, still be able to run my stock starter and have a ton of ground clearance. Did you buy down pipes? The Ram Air Restorations down are true 2.5" down pipes unlike the Pypes which are 2.25" into 2.5", mandrel bent and look really nice. The only plus of Pypes is 409 stainless, if they fit, there has been issues vs aluminum coated for the RAR pipes.

 

[Ribbedroof]

Sucks to hear about the heads. Glad that you are moving forward though, and with a good attitude.
Honestly, this is one reason why I'm leaning towards just getting out of the hobby. No decent machine shops anymore. Lots of high priced "celebrity" builders and so-so work.

Last work I had done was a valve job on a pair of iron LT1 heads....$300 and 4 months....too busy building engines for the racers at the dirt track he bought.