Date:         Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:31:58 -0800
Reply-To:     John Anderson <wvukidsdoc@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Anderson <wvukidsdoc@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Value of 2.1 Engine Cores / Crankshafts?
In-Reply-To:  <4af9b0fc.0c58560a.1768.13d5@mx.google.com>
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You know I'm going out on a limb and defening GEX a bit (not over their core $ offers though.)  Several listees know I used to build 3-4 T4 engines a year for list members here and there, and have built countless for personal use to resell in vans, and several waterboxers on top of that.  I personally have NEVER had a problem with a GEX part that I have inspected and decided to use, but on the flip I've taken apart several GEX engines that only made it 25-50k miles.  In the day when both Steven's (when in business, is Mark doing anything now days?) and AVP still had a stellar reps and GEX already a bad one I warned of both of their stuff becoming crap as it did, long before it became accepted as such.  I've bought 10-20 GEX rebuilt T4 and waterboxer heads off ebay over the last 10 years, never had more or less problems than I've had with an AVP head, and actually had more (one) problem with one of Bob Donalds' heads, though I still had him do all my
 personal ones over the years depite that isolated issue (which he of course immediatel rectified as the stand up guy he was.)
 
So as with everything YMMV, I think personally GEX's attention to detail has always been quite consistently only fair.  In the very early 90s Mark Steven's was much better than fair, in the mid 90s AVP's was better than fair, some current providers are currently better than fair, but history shows on the first two, and may on current suppliers things change.  Oddly enough, there GEX is 30+? years later still rebuilding engines (of course so is Bernie isn't he?) when how many others have come and gone out of the pages of the glossy mags.  With GEX it has always been a "get what you pay for" sort of thing, sometimes you got lucky, sometimes you didn't, if you built it yourself from their parts, you could at least inspect and choose and maybe stand a sl;ightly better chance.
 
John

--- On Tue, 11/10/09, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:



Not to mention that considering GEX's reputation amongst us, it would be cosmic bad karma to give them any cores at all...

Cheers,
David