Whos been shafted by their engine builders?

[347Stroker]

Well guys, after my new engine failed a few weeks back, the autopsy has been carried out........what an eye opener.

Mainly here I will focus on heads.

I spent alot of money on a set of E7TE heads, mainly due to the head guy telling me he was getting great results from them, and was told all the great stories of how good they work.
Well, I believed him, paid the $$$ and had them done.
I was led to believe that they were amazing, flowing over 400 hp at 500, all the crap, and this was from a so called mate.

Anyway, I pulled them apart after the failure, to check them, and bugger me, no 3 angle valve job.
This is the single most effective gain you can do when doing a set of performance heads, and nothing there, just basic seats. Well I bet you can understand how I felt.

Basically, he lied to me, and did jack s..t and now is on my black list.

So if you want heads done in Brisbane, I would stay clear of these guys, and as a hint, I said they were good in some previous posts, if you search, but are located on Newnham road.

Caviat Emptor......be wise where you spend your money guys.

[Gammaboy]

Yeah, I got screwed by the guy that used to work on my Alfa back in adelaide when I first got it... his head guy definitly screwed us, never installed the valve guides to the right height, never trimmed the exhaust guides to length..... and the port job was never particularly brilliant... made good power though.
Anyway, given that I didn't know anyone from a Bar of soap up here, I wasn't going to take pot luck on getting heads ported up here, so I went with my CHIs....
I know how bad it can suck when people screw you...

[347Stroker]

I guess I want to make sure no body else here gets screwed by them, and as I had recommended them in other threads, I will say otherwise now....

[Heeno]

ooo damn unlucky mate, sorry i didn't catch it before but where was this place? are they going to fix it up for you or what? i think thats quite illegal for them to do that and not fix it, by the sounds of it any mechanic will say it was a dodge job.

[347Stroker]

Originally Posted by Heeno

ooo damn unlucky mate, sorry i didn't catch it before but where was this place? are they going to fix it up for you or what? i think thats quite illegal for them to do that and not fix it, by the sounds of it any mechanic will say it was a dodge job.

Well, I may not be able to say what place, but maybe someone else could suggest them......Nick?????....lol

I am lucky enough to have had them at Bryant Engineering before this shop, and they flowed one head, and I have the flow data on them, with the Bryant job number stamped on the head, so I have pretty good data as to go back on them, but he is a pathological liar, and will deny everything, and accept no responsibility. I guess his loss is my gain, because I was about to get him to build my big engine, which could have ended up really bad....

If you know where Repco is on Newnham road, they would be right behind them...

If you have a receipt showing the 3 angle seats were part of the deal then hit consumer affairs. I've been done over by so many big talking hot up merchants I've lost all interest. I won't get any more engines built ever again because you simply can't get what you pay for and when problems arise even if the shop does the right thing the car is off the road and you get stuffed around and it simply isn't worth it.

I'm sorry you got done but as far as I'm concerned until the authorities get serious about protecting consumers I'm not interested.

[347Stroker]

I know what you are saying Aussie Pete, and this was for my work ute too, and I run a business....

Anyway, I have spoken to my lawyers, and........

To all Queensland readers........

If you are considering using "The Torque Team" of Mt Gravatt, on Newnham road, beware, because the truth is, I didnt get what I paid for, and was told lies.

I would recommend that unless you want to get sub standard work, as I did, use someone else, and definatly not THE TORQUE TEAM.

I also feel that Glenn MacNamara, the main guy there knows nothing about performance work, and is one of those "rip every guy off" type of people.

I have written this for the betterment of public knowledge.

[nugget378]

about a year ago i bought new alloy heads for my clevo rebuild and after about 2 months the car started smoking badly on throttle back off and dropped a valve at eastern creek the heads came off and the machinist found the guides were **** and replacede them 6 months after that i had more trouble and this time it was the seats which were as soft as butter my engine builder will never buy complete heads again but buy them bare and get seats and guides installede by his machinist the heads were made by a company in melbourne (not 2v or 4v) they make awsome power but id never buy them complete

[nang3]

my mate had a worked 308 built for his 1 tonner , flat tops, high rise manifodl etc etc.. all up about $5000 worth of parts... after running it in, me and 4 mates in a stock gemini dragged him off, the next day a camry station wagon 4cyl dragged him off as well haha.. and traction was NO issue haha.. i dont know how the engine builder managed that, it was slower than a stock 308 !!

[TZENU]

I got severely screwed by a supposed friend of a friend (possibly mistake No 1).. Put motor in ran cam in and everything was fine... then car started becoming tempramental. i.e. wouldnt start, running like a dog.... at that point i was ready to go absolutely mental at that guy :jab:
Took it to the boys at Hallam Performance where they basically pulled it apart to see what was goin on ohhh yeh....
Cam lobe sheared off, one of the lifters was severely screwed, wrong valve springs where used, wrong retainers, the rockers werent copping with the lift of the cam, valve springs were hitting valve covers, wrong mainfold was being used and wasnt ported and matched to suit......
So this guy who built this motor had NFI what he was doing
So they fixed all dat for me and now the car is purrring like a kitten.... So Hallan Performance did an awesome job!!!!

so 347 Stroker i know how you feel m8....

[vino3o2]

@#$%!! Matt thats bloody atrocious!!! sorry to hear that.....what a stooge!! I know the place your talking about...2/238 Newham Rd behind Repco ( Im exposing there address so all FF members are aware) It's bloody hard to trust any one in this line of bussiness....Having said, I "finally" got my car back from Marty White from John White Race Engines at Woollongabba and I'm so happy with the result....The old 302 is alive!! ask Nick he'll tell you how well it goes :eclipsee_

[347Stroker]

Yes mate, you have the place nailed in one.
I just hope nobody saw my recommendations, and went there.

If any of you did,

SORRY

[Heeno]

i agree with you fully, the day i meet an honest mechanic who does a good job is the day i also start believing in aliens!

[bindi]

I am sick to death of them, but nothing I can do to get away from them either. I have had more than my fair share of stuff ups...

The rolla is a case in point. About 4 years ago I decided to get the engine replaced with a reco one as she was spewing black/blue smoke and running terribly. I went to an engine rebuilder rather than an average mechanic, thinking that if these guys did this stuff every day, then I'd have no real problems. I was also happy with the 3 year unlimited km warranty. I also got the clutch replaced at the same time.

Within the first week of owning the nice "new" engine, the head gasket blew. Fine, I took it back to him, he replaced it without too much hassles. A week after that, my gears started to grind when I changed em. Pulled over to find the gearbox casing was coming apart. I could do the bolts up with my fingers. When I let him know, he wasn't too impressed.

A month later, he was gone. My warranty went with him. All kinds of things started to go wrong from the steering not being bolted up (I thought I needed new tyres!) to another suspected head issue. Water leaking, etc etc etc.

It was truly awful. I have all the information packed downstairs cos I took him to the MVRIC (Motor Vehicle Repairs Industry Council) and then onto the Dept of Fair Trading. He didn't show up for the case. I wanted my money back as I felt I had been duped, yet they thought I should only be compensated what I had spent on repairs up to that point. Fine, that was around $600.

The guy never paid. He ignored the ruling by the Dept of Fair Trading, and disappeared. He reappeared 6 months later, under a new trading name. I couldn't touch him. I was told I could go to the court and get the Sherrif to get him to pay, for around $150 but it wasn't guaranteed that he would.

So I just gave up. No point in fighting, not for $600.

Got other stuff done, and the engine is all good... but the bugger got away with it.

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by Heeno

the day i also start believing in aliens!

Explain Michael Jackson and Marilyn Manson to me then.


WEEEE SEEE YOUUUUU!!!!

[Casper]

Originally Posted by Heeno

i agree with you fully, the day i meet an honest mechanic who does a good job is the day i also start believing in aliens!

I have no issue with mine, I trust them with my car and know that they will do the right thing.

Wanna show me that alien now?

[ratman]

not good to hear fellas, sounds like the black list should become a hitlist

[brenx]

I've had a engine builder put a set of 2V heads for me. They were to be used along side my solid camshaft (still using it). After 4 broken valvesprings, scraped roller rockers, 12 snapped pushrods and failed ratainers. All at nothing over 5800rpm. Camshaft by spec is 3800-7000rpm. I decided to take a look myself. Got sick of taking it back and waiting for months for it to come home again. Well the geometries were up the creek without a paddle :( I ended up going back paying for the heads to be machined for screw in studs $160. After that I had 2 years hassle free. Got bored and upgraded to alloy heads and haven't looked back. 2 years so far

Now it's time for a new engine or just a freshen up. I don't know who to really trust to machine it or build it. As so far I've found it costs almost nothing extra for them to screw it together.

[svo347]

Been bitten too.
Get motor back from full rebuild, slapped it in the falc, everything good till i started it.
New cam allowed the rockers to hit the valve covers, result 2 lash caps smashed, 3 bent push rods. Ok got that fixed, Still bloody cost me $400 odd in labour, 1/2 price they said as they had to remove the manifold 3 times to bleed the ticky lifters ... Yeah ok.
5 months later car started sticking its nuts off, great no oil pressure, pulled eng out & sent back to Perth explaination, circlip from lifter dislodged & jammed in oil pump drive WTF??
Ok 347 kit time, drove around for awhile, same again no oil pressure, This time I was living in Perth so back again, oil pick up had broke, full tear down & inspection at their expense.
About 1 yer later no oil pressure again WTF is goin on here, So i dismantled the engine myself to find that one oil pick up bolt was in the sump, the other had worked its way loose so the pick up was just swinging to & fro.
So to a guy who actually knows what hes doing, Leon Withnell from A1 Performance in Myree & after new rings bearings etc I havent had a problem with it since.
DONT take your engine to a highly regarded mob on Broun ave Morley NUFF said...

[steamin63]

there's a million of us out there . paid top dollar for crap work. i use to own an 85 trx bluebird [between my 80 xd fairmont ghia and my current 76 xc fairmont hardtop.] did my best to kill the old girl [drove it very hard] and finally after 287000 km it blew a head gasket, so i decided to get a full performance rebuild. after listening to a number of different opinions [they are like #rse holes everyones got one and they are usually full of sh#t] i decided to take it to Coorparoo engineering and performance on old cleveland road [my first mistake].$2800 and 12 months later [after taking it back on average once every 3 weeks to get their latest stuff up fixed] i had a car that was running worse than what it was before i took it in.i told terry the b grade mower mechanic who owned the place to shove it and took the car to a bloke called nev dowling in smith street, capalaba to try to repair the damage. 3 hours and $250 later [including bits and pieces he had laying around his shop] i was driving home in the sweetest dato in the redlands. the moral to this story is look hard there are still some good spanners out there and when you find him treat him better than your missus.

IF IT AINT STEEL IT AINT REAL -----steamin63

[NIGHTHAWK]

You know it wasnt all ways like this. There was a time when you got what you paid for and it WORKED. Nowadays its do the job grab the money and if it left the workshop working then its your problem, and the mechanic can give you at least 5 good reasons why something else has gone wrong and it is not his problem.
The engine in my xf s was missing as you started accelerating through the gears, changed plugs,leads,coil, had the injectors taken out and cleaned etc etc. Talked to alot of mechanics about what the problem could be before a friend of mine recommended one that could fix the problem. His solution was to strip the engine. $1700.00 later still the same problem. He said he was stumped but he had done what he could(taken me for a ride}. Any way i found out later(about a year) it was the hall sensor in the distributor which was playing up, bought a second hand one for $95.00
Somewhere between the late seventies and now these and other trades people seem to be able to take you for a ride and get away with it. So it is very heartening to find out that the mechanic that i am now using has twiced been on A.C.A who have been looking for dodgey mechanics and he has come up squeaky clean.

[Casper]

Seems that there is a need for decent mechanics in Qld/Brisbane.
I know when I lived there I had a great one who never stuffed me around with the EB. Only one time did something go wrong (intake cracked) and he fixed it immediatly and free of charge becuase he said that it was his responsibility to ensure the car was in good condition even though it wasnt his fault. Now thats a mechanic. Anyhow, used him for years and would use him again if I was still in Qld.

Place is called RJB Autos behind Hungry Jacks in Strathpine. I think he's moved to Lawnton now to a bigger workshop.The owner/main mechanic is Robbie. I trusted him and so did a heap of guys who had SERIOUS performance cars. He even did a number of Mustang and "old School" ground up restores.

As for these days, noone but Brenden Mock touches my car.

[347Stroker]

I do know of a few good ones up here, Marty White, of John White Race Engines (Vino has praise and a top running car to attest to this) Bryant engineering, and Mendahms is about all that I will say I know are good.

Maybe we should start a "Dont use this guy" thread....

It seems that there is just too many cowboys up here and its just not cars where the rip off boys are...buy thats another thread another time..

[347Stroker]

Does anybody know the guy in the white XF, with big chrome 17 or 18's, car is white, that just had a new engine built by The Torque Team.
Its a clean, white 4.1 XF falc, beige interior, auto nwith these big pretty wheels.
The new motor went in 2 weeks ago, and is painted red???

Sorry its not much information guys, but he might like to chat to me

:MrT_anim: NICE WORK 347 STROKER FOR EXPOSING A FRAUD. I KNOW OF TWO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF BY THE SAME BLOKE AND ALSO ANOTHER WHO WAS MIGHTY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT A FLEX PLATE JOB DONE ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO ON HIS CRUMBLEDORE, APPARANTLY THE JOB WAS NEVER DONE PROPERLY AND IT COST A WHOPPING $770 WHICH WAS MONEY HE HAD TO BORROW. HE HAS SINCE HAD A MATE PULL IT ALL APART AND FIX IT PROPERLY FOR 2 CARTONS OF BEER, GUESS HE IS LUCKY TO HAVE A GOOD MATE. I FEEL REALLY SORRY FOR YOU AS IT MUST HAVE COST YOU A FORTUNE CONSIDERING IT IS ALSO YOUR WORK CAR.
THESE TYPE OF PEOPLE NEED TO BE EXPOSED FOR WHO THEY REALLY ARE, MAYBE A CURRENT AFFAIR WOULD BE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING UP ON THIS SHONK!
IF ANYONE ELSE HAS BEEN RIPPED BY THIS CLOWN (YES HE IS A JOKE) THEN LET EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT IT.
PS 347 STROKER, MAYBE A CLASS ACTION IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION?

[Black XR6]

Geez man, whats with all the yelling.

[NIGHTHAWK]

Originally Posted by Black XR6

Geez man, whats with all the yelling.

Explain it to him,nicely.