TheSamba.com :: View topic - Old Speed - Russell / Dave

Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:08 pm

I had some work done at Oldspeed and those guys are very helpful and their prices are not bad. keep up the good work Oldspeed. john

Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:47 pm

I agree. When I lived in Long Beach, I cant count how many times they helped me with my 59 convertible. They also drilled my rotors to porsche pattern and Russ was able to answer all my questions about doing the Porsche 944 disk brake conversion and IRS set up on my 60 double cab. Those guys at Old Speed know A LOT that other average VW shops dont want to get into and they arent afraid to talk shop and give pointers. Good people over there.

Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:09 pm

I agree, Russel is one of coolest shop owners around!

Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:22 am

Not much else to add except that I agree. You tell Russell "it can't be done; it's impossible to do" then, a few weeks or months later, he calls you and he's done it. Russ thrives on doing stuff that people say can't be done, and I *think* he was one of the first, if not THE first, to adapt the '69 and later Type 1 IRS trans to a pre-'67 Bus, to lose the reduction boxes, and that way you can lower the car and keep the wheels from de-cambering, or keep it stock height, and shift into 4th at 65 mph... I've heard that people sometimes get a little scared by the appearance of the shop, it is a shop, after all, and has parts and cars and who knows what floating around at any given time, but their work is some of the best, IMO.

Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:54 am

Sounds like everyone has had the same experience with Russell as I did this year at the Classic. He is without a doubt the coolest VW enthusiast I have met since I got back into VWs.

Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:41 am

I dealt with Russel on a few accasions and he was cool everytime. He answered and helped me out when I was lowering my s.c.

Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:12 pm

Russell is a great guy... I remember when he was working on cars in his home garage... We were into to vw's when they were just getting big.. As it grew so did Russell and then came Old Speed... Cant say to much about the other guys there although I do remember them comming around us and wanting to get into the vw's as well.. But if there working under Russell they got to be great guys also...
So take your vw's to OLD SPEED you wont find a greater bunch of guys... Im in Alabama now and im thinking about shipping my DC to them just to get some work done...I know it will be done right.

Fri May 26, 2006 5:49 pm

I should have posted this topic reply WAAAY bach in March when I got my engine installed. (Actually, I thought I had.)

I bought a 2007cc engine from Oldspeed via email and telephone contacts while I was deployed in Bosnia for a year. Russel was very friendly over the phone and promt to reply to emails. When I got home I fould that he is a great guy and all the people who work there are too. The engine was ready when promised and I asked if he could install my T-3 cooling tin, baby Dells and DIS-X. When that was done I picked it up, they had (FREE OF CHARGE!) cleaned and painted all the parts and it looked GREAT! After the install I found that this engine rocks!!! It is just wicked fast even below the 4500 RPM break in speed.

My only complaint (Not their fault) is my 1,540 pound Bradley GT now only gets 18.5 mpg.

Would I go there again? definatly YES.

Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:05 pm

just a quick feedback --bought set of connecting rods through samba ad and got it next day ! the funny thing was that I was just about to order a similar item from Serranos and lo and behold it was shut down. It was a good thing I bought from these guys and all the rods weighed smack down to the same weights !! great quality and I would not hesitate to buy from them again.

Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:06 am

I asked Russel if he could make some Boxster caliper to 944 adapter brackets and he got right on it. We have been going back and forth on fitment and his service and attitude are TOPS bar none. The workmanship and guality are top notch and I am just about done with this headache of a project.
It would of taking forever if it wasn't for Russel and the crew from OLD SPEED

Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:15 pm

Russel sells a good set up and i have always bought from him from my Heb all the way to the 50 split vert i'm building right now. Top quality stuff and he ships stuff out in a timely manner.

Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:18 am

just ordered some new rear drums drilled and studded in 5x130. very fast shipping, and very helpful when it came to my questions. definately would recommend them!

Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:29 am

I had never tried Old Speed before and opted to have them do a swing axle bug conversion and tune up in my girlfriend's 67 21 window bus. No complaints about the time involved: the project was done in one day. That's the good news. Now the bad news: After the conversion, my girlfriend kept complaining that the bus was now underpowered (1776 dual Kadron Scat engine with a mild street cam). I wondered if maybe the gearing in the new trans was too tall for the engine or if the girlfriend was delusional. A couple of days later she showed up at my house in the bus and it was indeed running terribly. I took it for a drive and agreed that something was amiss. Turned out that Old Speed had neglected to tighten down the distributor after the tune up, so it just kept slowing rotating, getting further and further out of time as it was driven. I reset the timing, tightened down the distributor and had no more problems. Not a big deal I guess, but it was a "first impression".

Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:49 pm

Thumbs up to Oldspeed. Russ took care of the application of a porsche 944 disc brake conversion, new m/c, crossdrilling my rear drums to fit my fuchs and at the last minute agreed to fix my ride height in the rear. I wish they were in O.C. instead of Paramount. I would only take my delux bus there if they were!

Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:32 am

I bought rebuild rods and a flywheel from oldspeed.

The prices were good and russel offers a great customer service!

Great communication and fast shipping.

I' will definitely buy from oldspeed again.

Thank you!

Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:55 am

I just had some work done at Oldspeed on the recommendation of a friend and found that Russell is the best. I have never met a nicer shop owner ever. He truly wanted me to be satisfied with my experience and even called me a few days later to make sure everything was alright and to see if there was anything he could do for me. I will definately be back in the future . 8)

Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:19 pm

I purchased one of the fuel tank outlet fittings for my '62 so that I could connect a -6AN line to the tank. I have some specific requirements for shipping since I'm on a military base with a post office box, and the shipping got hung up. Russel worked with me, without getting too agitated, and got me my part so I could get my fuel line run in my car.. thanks overall is due to Oldspeed.

Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:39 am

Russ just did another set of Boxster caliper mounts and 944 hub machining for me. Done quick and right. He even did a set of 944 rear brakes for my split case trans on project Judson/60 beetle.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:45 am

I bought some 944 caliper brackets, spacers, and dustcaps from Russ. Fast shipping, excellant products. Equally fast core credit return as well. It's great to deal with people that know what they're doing.
Paul

Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:56 pm

LISTEN TO RUSSELS ADVICE. THEY TAKE A LONG TIME BUT THE WORK IS GOOD!

1957 OVAL :bug_blue:
1914 LONGBLOCK BY OLDSPEED :vw:
TRANS BY TRANS STUFF :vw:
DUAL EMPI 44S TRICKED OUT
INSTALLED AND ADJUSTED

NEXT TIME I WILL LISTEN AND GO WITH THE 2LITER !!!! ](*,)
1914 A LIL SLOW BUT GOOD TO GO!!! SAVING FOR THE 2387 :wink: