[TPR] Fluidyne is now CRAP as far as I'm concerned

[Asa Jay Laughton]

So with this latest debacle... I'm this close to skipping the effort to 
even -try- for SSCC anymore.  I am -sooo- out of sorts now.

I just returned from my recent trip to Charlotte, NC.  The new Fluidyne 
radiator had showed up and they took the other new one that was all 
horked up in shipping.  The first thing Shelley tells me before I even 
look at the box, is that there is a hole in it.  So I look at the box.

http://www.teampanteraracing.com/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&Itemid=57&g2_itemId=5351

Sure as shit.  This time the petcock hammered it's way out and got all 
bent up.  That's probably alright, I can probably deal with that if it 
hasn't caused anymore damage.  So I open the box.  It's no longer sure 
as shit, but rather HOLY SHIT!

This one has hammered around inside the box even more than the first, 
just not breaking entirely through the outside box.  The tabs are bent, 
one pin is bent, one inlet is bent, the threads in the sender holes are 
rough (galled?) and on further inspection... the holes in the tank where 
the pipe connections are welded, are smaller than the inlet pipes.  
WTF!  Nothing like a smaller hole to give you a little restriction in 
coolant flow.  What am I talking about?  Apparently, they drill a hole, 
let's say an inch and a quarter, in the tank.  Then they weld an inch 
and three-quarter pipe connection on it.  Big pipe, small hole.  Oh, and 
they bent one before they shipped it.

There are also bent fins, which I can probably get over.  But there are 
also rows , actually most of them, where the fins don't even go up to 
the tanks.  There's upward of half an inch of air gap between the tank 
and the fins.  Maybe that's the new way to do them, but compared to what 
I got 10 years ago, this radiator looks like CRAP!

Their new shipping method doesn't work with a Pantera radiator.  They 
take a piece of cardboard and wrap the radiator to it with plastic.  
There are some folds in the cardboard to help it center in the box, but 
it's not a tight fit and with all the pointy stuff sticking out on a 
Pantera radiator, it doesn't work.

I'm highly unamused and still don't have a radiator.  I'm not happy.  
I'll now have to work with some other vendor and create the specs for 
the radiator to produce.  Or, I need to go to a Pantera vendor and buy 
one of theirs.  Ron Davis makes them for Pantera Performance, so they 
won't sell one directly to me.  I could ask for a slightly different 
design, but I imagine it's going to cost about the same as what I'd pay 
Dennis Quella.  I like his radiator by the way.

meanwhile......
The heads are done and I have to go pick them up.  Shelley also got a 
call the block and crank were done, so I need to call everyone back 
tomorrow and find out how much money I'm out for those parts.

The new rings arrived too.  I've not finished buying the rod bearings 
until I get the crank back and re-mic it.  I might have to go with more 
than 0.010 over bearings.  Something I hadn't thought about until 
earlier this week.

Did I mention I wasn't happy about the radiator?

Oh, but I did have a safe trip home from Charlotte, I'm now back with 
Shelley and Sam and that's enough to make me happy.  Just don't get me 
started on radiators.

Asa Jay

-- 
Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
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