Date:         Fri, 25 Aug 2000 09:39:28 -0500
Reply-To:     Chris Smith <chris.smith@aquila.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Chris Smith <chris.smith@aquila.com>
Subject:      Open Letter to GEX
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Gentlemen,
        I've been the owner of 3 of your engines in the last 2 years.  2 were 1776
type 1 and one is a 2.0l type 4.  The 1st 1776 broke a connecting rod with
only 50 miles on the engine. It took the threat of several lawyers on the
Vintage VW list to get you to replace the motor.  The replacement broke
another connecting rod 14 months later.  Had I mistreated them, ran cheap
oil, or neglected a single oil change, I might blame myself.  But since
they were taken well cared for, oil was changed at a maximum of 1643 miles
once, the rest before 1500, and only Mobil One was used; the tune-ups were
religious in nature; the revs were limited at 4300; the tin was tight; the
car was never raced; and overall the engine was treated like a baby, I can
only blame poor quality control.  I make this claim not out of one
experience with one type of motor, but out of experience with all 3 motors.
        Since the only warranty on 1776 engines is 12 months, I decided to accept
defeat and go the long route of building my own engine.  This has proven to
take more time than I thought so it is going much slower than planned.  The
good part is that it is built correctly.  I won't have to worry about what
junk is thrown together in the engine.  Hmm.. I wonder why it was easy for
me to magnaflux the rods (all of them showed cracks, but the junk pile rods
lying on my garage floor were good) and not you?  this would have cost you
a few dollars up front, but saved you a customer in the long run.
        Last night I needed to replace the heater boxes on the type 4
engine.  This probably should have been done less than a year ago when the
engine was installed, but that's another story.  When I put the wrench to
the nuts they turned quite easily.  This I 1st thought was a good
thing.  Then, when the studs sheared off with little effort, I realized
that it was going to be a long night.  The good part is that the studs
still had a couple of inches sticking out of the head.  When I put
Vice-Grips (tm) on the studs and tried to remove them, the sheared a 2nd
time.  This is the 1st time I've seen vice grips shear a stud.  It seems
that you guys decided to save money by using inferior studs, and to keep
them from working out of the case you glued (ok, ok, "thread locked" them)
into the heads.  This is how a 1st year automotive student would attack the
problem, not how a reputable engine builder operates.
        I've bought a fair number of engines over the last 20 years.  Some were
better than others.  Mofoco is known for crap, but you came recommended by
some reputable folks.  They were wrong and are no longer recommending
you.  It's funny that with all the money you spend to promote your
business, very little is spent on quality control or customer service.  At
least I have learned to treat your motors the same as a Mofoco motor.  The
type 1s make great bon-fires and the type 4s are best to slap in a vehicle
right before I sell it overseas.

A former and now educated customer

Chris Smith