Car Craft @ Riverside CA.

[JMoney$]

I am somewhat new in the Volkswagen scene, and I recently bought a case on the Samba, thinking I was going to be able to bore to 94mm and stroke clearence for 84 crank, I thought I had a great deal, Car Craft did it no questions asked after they inspected the case upside down and right side up right in front of me, they said "No Problem", so the bore and stroke was done succesfully. I took it to Steve at Serrano's in Torrance for a little Tech Question, and it turns out the case was a Single Relief Case, which I found out had no buisness having machine work done to it. so after this embarrising news at Serrano's I called Car Craft and asked them, "why they took advantage of me by wasting my time and theirs boring and stroking a single relief case" they simply replied "you brought the case in and asked for work and we did it, end of story" . So please if you are new in the industry DO NOT DO BUISNESS WITH CAR CRAFT, go to Serrano's their help was unbelievable. Look forward to working with Steve again.

[email protected]

[Mongo63]

As a tech in a performance motorcycle shop, I see customers come in all the time and purchase all the wrong mods and do all the wrong things to their bikes because that's the way they have to have it. I all but gave up trying to talk them into the right mods and parts, so it seems to me you are the one to blame for your situation. You came in and gave them a case and told them what work to perform, they did it and you presumably paid. I imagine they figured you knew what you wanted and where informed enough to make your own decisions about application and fitment. I have not dealt with CarCraft or Serrano's, but based on the information provided they fulfilled their obligations to you. It seems to me you just weren't informed enough about what parts you had and what you expected of them. If a customer comes into my shop and just has to have a set of 2 inch straight pipes mounted to his old shovelhead, I'll put on a set of 2 inch straights. I know damn well that's about the worst working exhaust out there, but that's what he's gotta have. I'll mention this to said customer and about 1 in 10 will actually listen. I've had customers argue with me that their new air cleaner is making them 10 horsepower when my dyno says he's actually down eight. I'm not trying to belittle you, just see things from the other side of the counter, that's all.

[JMoney$]

I know and understand what you are saying, but this is a high performance shop, they could have been honest with me and said, " hey dont use this Single Relief Case for a Big Stroker Engine, the oil galleries are way small. And by all means I would have listened to them after all they should know about big motors all they do is Turbo Engines.

[Paul Wilson]

"Car Craft did it no questions asked" Statement should be: I had the work done "No questions asked" It appears that they inspected the case and saw no reason not to machine the case. Was there a problem with their machine work?
Paul

[JMoney$]

Well as a reputible machine shop they shouldnt have done all this performance work to a single relief case, and I wasnt to knowledgable on what I had, the oil galleries are super small, the case walls are thinner, I am not trying to get any feedback on myself, just think where I am coming from, I have a junk csae now. I am just saying they could have said, dont use this case for those reasons, and it would have been fine. I would have done a little 1600.


But now I have a junk case because you cant use Single Reliefs for Big Stroker Engines

[Matt B]

I agree with JMoney that they should have tried to advise the person of the mistake they were about to make then if the cust still wants it give it to them.
On the other hand like Mongo I also know the frustrations of trying to talk someone out of a pointless upgrade and having a small success rate of steering them in another direction.

[serrano]

It would have made more since if CarCraft had just advised the customer that a single relief/10mm case saver/6mm oil pump stud case would be a poor choice for a 2332 motor.....

The machine work was fine but that's not the point, it was just not the right case to start with.

Steve
Serranos

[[email protected]]

I agree 100% that the case is not the best fit for a high performance engine but I also agree with Mongo63 too. I have people bring in cases all the time that I would never build a high performance engine on and demand to have case work done. I do always tell them that I don't recommend it but they tell me they know what they're doing. One thing you are wrong on though is that you do not have a junk case. You will need to change out the inserts for 8mm studs but you can still build a 1914 with it. I wouldn't dump a ton of money in it but you can build a mild performance engine that will work great. I understand completely why you are upset but Car Craft did not rip you off. You brought them something, asked for work to be done on it and they did it. My only advice is that you always ask questions before having anything machined. Hey, at least your experience was only a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand.

[UncleBob]

So, Car Craft did exactly what you asked, and they have Bad Business Ethics?

Don't bash them because you didn't do your homework. Should they have given you a refund for the machine work that was done, because YOU made a mistake?

You obviously knew enough to buy a bare case off the Samba to start a performance engine build. You knew enough to take the case in to have it machined for your stroke and bore. But DIDN'T know to start with a dual relief case?

This thread should be removed.
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OG JHC

don't worry, the ciggaret is fake.

[serrano]

But since the case had 10mm inserts and it was bored for 94mm ( cutting into the inserts) it's just not the best choice for much.

It sounds like he didn't demand the work be done, he was just not advised of the options out there.

Steve
Serranos

[jtcmac7]

Been screwed by them a couple times long before Samba was up and running, almost forgot about them .These days anyone building anysize motor should inform you about a single relief case and the advantages of a dual relief case.it just comes up, especialy if the person wants a big motor.I mean these days used cases are getting to be a pain in the rear to work on anyway ,cam studs pulling ,old inserts pulling out when you go to torque heads down ,yeh I think in general a good machinist will tell you more than you probably need know just to help you out and save themselse some time .There isnt anything wrong with using a old case as long as you do a good inspection on it and are willing to spend a little extra time fixing it.but customers defenitly sometimes have no idea what they are getting into and end up spending enough money on an old case they could have just about bought a new one.anyway had nothing but issues with them .

[Behemoth]

I called and asked for pricing on a set of lowered front shocks and a set of rears, all fluid, for my 68 Beetle. I got my pricing and being satisfied I bought them and lo and behold 3-4 days later they were on my east coast porch. I knew what I wanted, I asked for it, and I got it.

Had there never been big motor successfully built on one of these cases then CarCraft would have been taking advantage by machining it but since there have been then they were not in the wrong believing that the person asking for the work knew what they were doing.

Asking tech questions after you have work done is a mistake. If that's the biggest regret in your life you're going to live a great one.
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63SunNotch...."Don't qoute me on it but I am pretty good when it comes to tits.
Been sucking on them since I was a baby. "
vdubmax..."I thought we were friends. I will be by to drop off your recently fucked up parts next weekend fool"

[B Ramsey]

car craft is still there. where is serranos? and btw i had a 2180 supercharged with a single releif case and flogged it pretty hard at glamis, did well.

[Rico Suave]

I ordered a merged header and I couldn't be happier! I called and left a message with Ron and he called me back promptly. I had my header on the east coast in less than a week. Also with shipping it was still cheaper than what the other guys are selling them for! I will keep his number for when I need other parts.

[vw donvieira]

just bought a rebuilt trans and some other parts too. Was very satsfied and they have some great OR parts. vwdon

[so-calvwdude]

Like some people have said, you asked them to do something and they did it. I have dealt with car craft and i have not had any bad experiences. But, i have had some bad ones at save a bug.
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[k-town-64]

great seller quick shipping highly recommended A+A+A+

[frodin1]

I would like to say I've had good business, be it not that much as of yet, with Carcraft. They are one of the few places that don't have a minimum on what you order. They seem friendly and very helpful. As far as the post above, if anybody is "AT ALL" in question about things your doing to your VW. For god sakes, ASK! This forum "The samba" and a few others, have always answered any and all of my questions, and at the very least given me advice on different options out there. Sorry you made a bad call on the case. But you probably should've asked if you didn't know. Hell, I probably would've done the same thing a couple years ago. I still make mistakes here and there, but that's all part of the learning process.

[jfats808]

Just wanted to pipe in... Ron has been very pleasureable to buy from. He ships using USPS which is a bonus for us Hawaii guys.He responds quickly on emails and provides great suggestions. I will continue to do business with him. Information is power. DO YOUR RESEARCH! -Jon

[ralf]

just wanted to chime in also..

bought 2 alternators (75amp) units from Ron/Carcraft

about a month ago..

called in for the order, he estimated a shipping price

since we wer not in a rush to get them we agree'd he ships them out a day later.. gave him the credit card info etc

checked that he charged for 2 alternators and his estimate on shipping was spot on.. even the actul shipping charges he did on the credit card was 2-3 $ below the estimate..

and to add to that.. 2 alternators shipped like it was 1 alternator.. costwise..

couldnt ask for more (but he offered great service)
so really couldnt ask for more hehe

thanks RON