Worldy Scions,
Thought I'd share a little conversation with Ken at British Frame & Engine. I
caught him on the phone just as he was returning from Steamboat Springs, where
his car had just taken first place. Apparently, after the tech inspector saw
the car, he got dumped into group 1 rather than his usual class. Didn't seem to
matter much, as he still won.
Based on these successes, he is considering making it out to Elkhart Lake for
the 20th.
I called him looking for a timing chain, and the crank and cam timing gears, as
I thought the prices from Vicki Brit and TRF looked a little high.
When I called him with my parts list, he says, "I'll sell you the timing chain,
but you don't want the gears."
"Whaddaya mean, I don't want the gears?"
"All of the new gears being made are coming out of India, and the steel is soft
as butter. Your timing chain will chew the hell (sic) out of 'em in no time.
Also, the old gears are set up to be adjustable for the cam timing. They say
the new ones are too, but they're not. If you can stick with your old gears at
all, do it. And if you find somebody getting rid of old engine parts, save em."
"Okay, Ken, thanks. I'll just take the timing chain then. By the way, do you
sell Webers at all?"
"Yeah, I sell 'em, but what do you want em for?"
"Uuhhhh...."
"I get 4 1/2 more horsepower out of the SU HS6s than I've been able to get out
of Webers after 2 years of development. The SUs are also better on low-end
torque, and a helluva lot cheaper."
"Okay, Ken, I'll skip it. Just send the timing chain, then."
He had a possible sale for $1400.00. Instead, he sold me a $12.00 timing chain.
I've seen a lot of bad vendor experiences written up here, I thought I would
share a good one.
David Rupert
75701.242@compuserve.com
1967 TR4A (rigid axle)
1980 TR7 convertible
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