Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 07:52:35 -0700
Reply-To: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Inside a GEX 2.0L engine, not pretty.
In-Reply-To: <080720071103.7353.46B851680009E1B000001CB92216566276C9C9CDCB020E03020100@comcast.net>
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As Jeff said, GEX did do decent work a very long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away. Actually they did great work in their Baldwin Park, CA location
up until the late 70s when management changes sent their quality into the
toilet. I know this from first-hand experience having practically growing
up virtually next door to the place in the late 60s to 70s (OK, it was a
couple of miles west of my house down Arrow Hwy, then two blocks over on
Nubia Street) and using several of their engines in the various VWs I owned
and drove.
In those days, they couldn't supply their product fast enough to the local
folks, let alone truck shipments to every which way they were headed. And
the "defective rate" was so low it was unheard of. But they went cheep on
the local inexperienced labor pool (with minimum instruction) to maximize
profits, cheep on their engine components and instead of rebuilding the
heads in-house, farmed it out to a machine shop outfit that had a
questionable rep (later found out to be one of the worst in the So Cal VW
scene). It's a shame.
--
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On 8/7/07, Jeff Stewart <fonman4277@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> My first Westy, a '76 with a highly bastardized 1.8 that had a single
> Weber carb, was a GEX rebuild. If the PO was correct, it had 75K on it when
> I bought it. On it's first oil change by me, chunks of what looked like
> crumpled aluminum foil came out in the oil! I thought for sure it's days
> were numbered. But, I figured what the hell, I'm gonna drive it til it
> blows-6K later it was still going strong! Then I sold it to a guy who drove
> it 75 miles a day to work and back for a year, then he sold it. That engine
> never did quit-as far as I know anyway, I lost track of it after that. It
> would have been rebuilt sometime around 1996-1997. I've heard at one time
> GEX did do decent work-a long,long time ago. Jeff
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