I would like to preface this by sayinig that I am not usually one to publicly express my concern or disgust of a situation using a medium, such as X-h20, however due to a recent unfortunate transaction I feel as though this is the best way to express my concern, not only to the person responsible, but also to any other individuals who may have had similar problems.
I'm sure this will spark some interesting discussion and comments and I hope that people understand that I am not here to try and personally attack someone or some company, rather I am here in hopes that either the situation can be remedied or at minimum this person understands that the way they conduct business is unacceptable to me.
At the end of last season I tore down my boat to rebuild it and at that point I decided I would have a motor built for me. Long story short I decided to go with the Jetworks 4mm Stroker set-up and purchase it through CG Racing. Being a start-up business owner myself and a promoter of the sport I thought that it was a nice idea to go through a small company that was in my region (for sake of assistance with tuning and such) to build the motor. I understood that I could have gone straight to Art at Jetworks in CA but I wanted to give the local shop the chance to make a couple dollars while affordinig me the boutique and local customer service that I feel is important. So I purchased the Motor, Carbs, Reeds, Valves, etc all through Chuck. With plans of making the Daytona trip I felt I gave more than enough time to get the work done and have it sent back to me.
I recieved the motor just in time for Daytona and was reasonably happy with everything. Seing as though all that Chuck had to do was assemble the motor and bolt everything up and check it I thought I was all good to go.
I got the motor along with a call from Chuck to inform me of a few issues. He forgot the Carb to Manifold gaskets as well as not installing but sending me (as extras) the ADA dome o-rings. Then when asked about the leak down test that he said he would perform (which he didnt) he told me that hes "batting a hundred" and for me not to worry about it. Now I was a bit concerned because his Job was to properyl assemble the motor that Art machined, expoxied, ported etc.. but I was very anxious about Daytona and to try this motor out that he sold me on. Bolted it in and it fired right up. Sounded great out of water. I had checked the compression ( I had it set up as a pump/race mix) and it seemed a little high (232lbs on my guage) and chuck assured me that he checked the squish and that the high compression would give it some awesome hit.
In Daytona it ran like crap. On top it seemed clean but ran like junk on the bottom, always shutting off at low RPM....I asked Chuck to take it for a ride and he told me he didnt have any time. This started my chase for the problem....carb jetting, ignitions, coils, pump sealing, air leaks, higher octane fuel....and on down the line. I spent a lot of money replacing electrical parts, switching out the plugs everytime I rode it, $6/gallon straight race gas....All the while chuck assured me it was simply carb problems and i just need to get it tuned up right.
To make a really long story a little shorter I later ran into some serious problems. I noticed everytime I rode that the plugs had soot around them...thinking the coil was arcing I replaced it and it continued to occur...Then I rattled the Jug loose one day and Chuck told me I probably didnt torque them down (I was confident that you shouldnt need to re-torque head and girdle bolts after every single ride) but I accepted my error and bolted the not so smooth jug down to the not soo smooth cases (due to the loose rattling). Then I realized the thing was rattling plugs loose (the cause of the soot) and chuck again told me that you need to keep tightening them etc...IM NOT AN IDIOT but i listened to the reputable builder. Then the last time I rode it I actually blew the center out of one of the plugs. Pulled the head off again and started noticing pings all over the pistons and domes. Randy at Watcon confirmed that I had some serious detonation going on. I called Chuck again and he promised he checked the squish. I said F-it and told him I would just pay someone to haul my boat out to him in MI. He was near impossible to get ahold and I could tell he was sick of me calling him but nonetheless I setup a meeting point. He was gonna "tune it up" for me. Unfortunately Chuck was in an accident a few days after my boat was to get there. I thought the thing was MIA until someone informed me of his accident. He did end up calling me to tell me the boat was fine and that he was doing alright and had a guy that was working for him that could handle it. The boat never ended up making it to Chuck (he was going to grab it from his buddy where i had it delivered to) and I had to haul out to the middle of MI to pick it up one night from an airport hangar in the back of someones truck. Nobody touched my ski and I was back to square one with some Gas expense and a pain in the behind and a messed up motor.
I ended up buying a stock '06 short block from Butch Musick (it runs great).
My motor never had the squish checked...The pistons actually stamped their part number up in both domes. The squish made the cylinder rattle loose, the squish spun sprak plugs out and the squish tore my brand new stuff up. If there is one thing that I feel any engine builder needs to be sure of when assembling a motor is that it doesnt leak and the squish is correct. He assured me of one and concerned me with neglecting to do the other.
Art at Jetworks has my motor and concluded that due to some light machining of the cylinder it needed a thicker base gasket. He has been extremely receptive to me and is helping me put this thing back togatehr as cheaply as possible. I really appreciate his time and speedy help.
I went through Chuck because I knew a busy guy like Art would be hard to bother..now I realize if Art would have built the motor I wouldnt have had to bother him because it would have been right the first time. I should have been a little more casutious when I finally met chuck in Daytona and all the boats "he built" to bring down there were all slopped togatehr (some missing chin pads, others with no turf anywhere on them) The summer is near completion and I am still 4mm-less although It should be on its way next week form CA.
Still no response from Chuck after many attempts.
I want to reiterate that im not here to bash anyone however this was by far the worst transaction I have had in this sport and it cost me a lot of my hard earned money and is continuing to cost me more. Im sure Chucks margine of profit was small on this deal and I understand that. But the way I see it is that when you advertise your business and your services you need to back them and do the Job that people paid you to do. And when you make a mistake it is your responsibly to remedy the situation.
To all the respectable engine guys out there, including Art and everyone else who makes a living building motors.....I apologize for not buying direct through you guys.
It was a good lesson learned........
Sorry for the novel but thanks for your time.
I enjoyed meeting many of you in Daytona and am looking forward to January :wiggle:
Mike Widdes
opworm:
