Interesting....
I too was dealing with Ian Priestly. He never sent me my A type OD.
Maybe he did me a favor.
I first contacted him in November of 2002 and asked for an "A" type. He
said he didn't have any, but would have one in January of 2003. They
were rebuilt and would be $400.00. I contacted him in Jan 2003, and he
said he could not sell it for $400.00 any longer because of exchange
rate changes between US and New Zealand, but he was coming to the US in
May and would ship it to himself and then "deliver" it to me for the
$400.00. I asked if "deliver" meant mail it to me from the west coast,
and he said he would be in the US for 3 months, was buying a motor home
and would deliver the A type to my house. He said he could also install
it on my trans. I said OK. I asked about the OD switches, and he said he
would sell me a top cover for $125.00. I said OK. He said he should
reconn my trans while he was here and I said OK. I never asked for a
price. I agreed to everything he suggested. All I ever asked him for was
the original A type, which for $400 was a great deal if reconned, and
not too bad for just a core. All the rest was his idea. I theorized that
maybe there were lots more OD's on cars in New Zealand, as there were in
Britain and the continent, so maybe they were just cheaper over there.
I built a workbench in my garage for him and built a test bench with an
electric motor to test the trans/OD as described in Nelson's OD articles
at Buckeye Triumphs.
Then the interesting stuff started. He had trouble with his motor home
and the trip to the east coast was delayed. Last month it became clear
he was not coming, and I was running out of time, so I started asking
him repeatedly to mail me the OD. I had contacted John Esposito, and I
would have him rebuild and install it on my trans. There was also a
local guy here I could use. Ian kept hedging and making excuses. He
wanted me to send him my trans and he would install/rebuild in CA I
guess. I wondered about shipping my trans to wherever his next stop was
on the west coast. Didn't sound so good to me.
By this time I knew a little more about rebuilt OD and trans, and was
getting the impression that there were lots ways to rebuild them: both
good and bad. I was starting to wonder about Ian's rebuilt trans.
So after waiting for 10 months, I finally gave up. I have a deposit on a
trans and OD with John Esposito, and will be picking it up soon.
I found out later that Ian was shipping these OD to other folks on the
East coast, and after he refused to send me mine I was irritated with
him, and sent him several scathing notes. He no longer responds which is
understandable considering the tone of my last note to him.
So, maybe, in my situation, he did me a favor by not taking my $400.00
for a greasy 2000 OD painted black. I'm better off going with John Esposito.
As my Mom always said, "If it sounds too good to be true, maybe it is".
Don Malling
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