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

[cengles at cox.net]

Dear Asa,


             Sometimes things fall apart and sometimes they fall 
together.  I don't think that your situation is the latter.   Even the 
US Navy had to fall back and regroup after Pearl Harbor...........


                         Warmest regards, Chuck Engles




On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 10:30 PM, Asa Jay Laughton wrote:

> 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
> ******************************
> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
> http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism
>
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