Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 15:09:04 -0400
Reply-To: walt spak <wnsopc3@3RDM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: walt spak <wnsopc3@3RDM.NET>
Subject: Fw: Vendor reports
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Walt Spak
Pittsburgh, Pa.
wnsopc3@3rdm.net
----- Original Message -----
From: walt spak <wnsopc3@3rdm.net>
To: <vanagon@vanagon.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 2:16 PM
Subject: Vendor reports
> Hey list,
>
> I wanted to pass on my experiences with 2 vendors for everyone's benefit.
>
> I had a set of locks from a 1957 Lancia that we are restoring that needed
> cleaned, lubed, and adjusted prior to being sent to the chrome plate shop.
> I have had trouble in the past finding a lock smith that would under take
> such a job. After reading some posts from Steve Sandlin in Texas about
his
> Vanagon lock service offerings, I decided to give him a try. I ask him
via
> e-mail if he would try the job. He responded very quickly and told me
that
> he had no experience, but felt sure that he could help. Now these locks
> would be very difficult to replace, but I took the chance, insured them,
and
> mailed them off. Steve e-mailed me as soon as they arrived, worked on
them
> right away, informed me when there was a slight delay while he was waiting
> for shim stock, e-mailed me when he shipped them and charged me a very
> reasonable price. I think the whole process only took a couple of weeks.
I
> very highly recommend using Steve for all your lock needs.
>
> My regular Vanagon is a 91 that is in pretty good condition with only
99,000
> miles. This winter I developed pretty bad coolant leaks from the heads
and
> a bad oil leak from the cooler. I decide that I wanted to install a
rebuilt
> engine and replace anything that might leave me stranded on a trip. I do
> not trust a factory to rebuild an engine and in fact have a side business
of
> rebuilding exotic old Italian car engines. I did price out all of the
parts
> that I would want to put into a rebuild and found that they totaled about
> $1800.00. I then compared that to Bob Donald's price for a rebuild and
the
> difference wasn't very much more. Now, I mentioned that I don't trust a
> factory to rebuild an engine, but Bob Donald's is far from a factory. Bob
> rebuilds VW engines all the time. He does most of the work himself and it
> is obvious from talking to him and visiting his web site that he takes
pride
> in his work (see Karl Bloss's pictures). I finally broke down and sent
him
> a check. He was very good in communicating with me. I knew where I stood
> through out the whole endeavor. He recommended other related parts that
> should be changed, only some of which I was already prepared for. He
> arranged the shipping and had the engine delivered in a nice crate so all
I
> had to do was put the core engine back in the box and call the trucking
> company. I haven't installed the engine yet, but I am very pleased with
> what I got from Bob and highly recommend him for engines. I might add
that
> he does have some very good prices on other parts as well. You can be
sure
> that when you order from him, you will be getting top quality parts.
>
> I also recently bought a "digitool" from Darrell and have had a chance to
> use it yet. I will report on the engine and digitool after installation.
>
> Walt Spak
> Pittsburgh, Pa.
> wnsopc3@3rdm.net
>
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