That is the great thing about this forum. I have e-mailedboth John Walker and Henry on projects that I have in in mind and save for a ppi John performed (saved me from a huge mistake) have not spent a dime. Yet, if I have question, both Henry and John always show the courtesy of a reply. Thiis why I like the info here. These guys (and others who are helpful)will get my business at some point (Along with our host).

Henry, I'll be 10 miles from Costa Mesa in a few weeks. I will be bringing my heads and some other parts with me on the plane for you. I am planning on stopping by Monday November 8th early morning to drop them off and to talk to you. Looking forward to you helping me plan this project.

You know what is terrible is that MM is so easy to find on the web, and honestly I think there web page is pretty informative to someone, like me, who really doesn't know everything about these engines. If it weren't for my absolute lack of dinero there is a good chance I would have turned to them for p/c's for my engine before I ever found pelican or any of you guys.

Another job well done Henry.

You know -- I don't understand why MM continues to hand out
half-ass work when they can secure a good market share of the rebuild work that's available by taking the time to do it right. From other posts I've read, they seem to be hit or miss, not totally bad. Somebody there knows what Porsche engines are all about. I don't have personal experience with them but from reading the various bad to VERY BAD posts I never will. These people must realize that high dollar hose jobs will be posted to those very people that provide their bread and butter. It seems that the guys that know how to do the work at MM are trying to spend more time managing than doing the hands on work. I've seen this locally when a top shop in my area begins to turn out poor work when the old reliable shop hands move into "management" positions and then turn the work over to a bunch of less experiecnced bozos. This sort of job transition stuff happens in all buisness venues. It's all about job training and work standards. Quality is tuff to maintain but it can be done. Hopefully they'll take notice and get back in step.

OH MY Gawd... Is that case dunked in cosmoline or tar??? I thought the case for my project was bad!!! :eek:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1097982356.jpg

Great job Henry!!!

Henry you almost make me want to live in California. Nice work. Having an engine apart in a shop and getting no where is a gut wrenching experience I never want to repeat.

Nice to see a shop with pride in their craft and willling to go the extra mile for a customer.

Henry,

I notice your address on Grace Lane. Are you close to Econo Motors? I know Merle there for over 15 years. Is the good bakery still there as well?

Good job saving your customer from those guys. He may have paid more, but at least its done right.

Ralph

Merle, Chris and Hino are all still there at Econo Motors. Unfortunately the German bakery is gone. It seems the IRS had thier way with the owner and he just gave up.

"Unfortunately the German bakery is gone.”

The other thing gone from that neighborhood is Boston Cyclery, which was a cyclist's cyclery.

While I agree that a grudge match isn't going on, I do think that a turf war might be. Henry, I respect you for your professionalism and everything you've brought to this site. However, the bottom line is that you and MM are basically competing for a shrinking market. Maybe that's what has MM so torqued up. That said, you’d think they’d be more responsive to the customer. Maybe they have so much business it doesn’t matter to them. The lesson here? As the customer, doing research and obtaining referrals is (almost) everything.

The bottom line is that all people deserve to be treated fairly and with respect no matter whether they are customers or competitors. My story illustrates a situation that occurs far too often and suggests that there are solutions for customers who is being mistreated. If we were only interested in competing for a "shrinking market" perhaps we would be less interested in assisting DIY enthusiasts with their projects.
There is more than enough work for all those who enjoy working on these cars.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1098221736.jpg

No grudge match here. When Henry rebuilt my engine, I made a couple of backhanded remarks about MM. I could not get Henry to say a bad word about them (basically, "no comment")... Of course, treating a customer like this stinks and I am glad Henry posted pictures.
Unlike MM, Supertec writes up a contract...and that is exactly what you pay...and it is ready when he says it will be! Plus, you get a warranty. I know for my engine...the price was darned good considering how many new parts that Henry uses. I did the math and I could not have built what I wanted any cheaper myself.

Oh Henry...nice 2.7!!You guys do great work!

Henry has been nothing but helpful. I plan on building the engine for my current project with Supertec doing all of the advising, machining, etc. Like many others, I just need to do this first one for the experience and all of the ups and downs. I've silently lurked on pretty much all of Henry's earlier posts and he's earned my respect. The next project I do, Supertec will be doing the whole engine. Just look at what the guy does with engines--all you can do is drool and try to forget where you've put your checkbook.

About 6 months ago I called Henry about an engine rebuild. It was at the beginning of lunch hour on a Friday. He basically dropped his lunch and either provided and answer or gave advice for every question I asked.

Having read both Wayne and BA's book a few times before talking to Henry, I had a pretty good idea of what a DIY rebuild was going to cost me if I didn’t make any mistakes. Henry's estimate was more than fair (it was actually really close to the cost I had added up for DIY) and included a warranty and a 30 day turnaround. Before I hung up the phone, I basically promised to put the engine on a pallet and send it to him.

Shortly after that conversation, I decided that there was no way I could swing the cost of a full rebuild within a 30 day period. Against the advice of (and basically a verbal commitment to) Henry, I proceeded to tear the motor down myself and start my own DIY rebuild. I’ve been sending bits and pieces of the engine off for reconditioning, trying to spread the cost of the full rebuild over a broader time frame. Naturally, I’ve run into issues and posted questions on this board. Every time I have posted a question here about this engine, Henry has contributed and continued to help me out.

Take some time to read through Henry's old posts the next time you have an engine question. I bet you find a free answer in them.

Thanks again, Henry. Hopefully you will keep hanging out here. I know I need all the help I can get :)

Its ironic that MM never posts on this board to defend themselves, mmmmmmmmmmmm Fishy,
I believe Roy is the son of the gentleman I dealt w years back. The father trated me fairly and sold me what I needed at a resonable price. The only time i dealt w Roy he treated me rudely and charged me way over market for some parts. I have never returned.

What happened to the father? How do these guys stay in business?

When I bought my 911 (first Porsche) as a basket case I started to do some research on where to buy parts and get machine shop work done. I bought the car as a project and planned on doing everything myself. My internet search turned up MM and the site looked like they were knowledgeable, so I thought I should call them to see what this $2800 rebuild was all about. I spoke to them on the phone and they did a good job telling me how they were able to turn around engines for $2800 because they did such a high volume of work. I thought for a minute – hey this is a good deal. Lucky for me, shortly after that call I came across Pelican Parts and this board. Searching on MM and reading the stories convinced me that the old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” definitely applied here. Especially when the old pros are saying it’s going to cost northwards of $6000 to do the engine. Buyer beware.

Kudos to Henry Schmidt !!! You are a man with passion for what he does...
a man that takes pride in his work ... integrity is your mission statement..you enjoy helping others with your invaluable hands on knowledge as is evident on this board..
I almost fell for the MM sales pitch but luckily found this board.. these guys promise something they cannot deliver jsut to get you to commit and drop your engine or parts to them. Once they have your parts or engine torn down the story quickly changes and the underhanded tactics begin cause they have you hooked and start reeling you in unmercifuly.
Shame on you Roy for taking your fathers hard earned buisiness reputation and squandering it for the quick buck ... you missed the most important lesson,... INTEGRITY...That will be your failing..
We the consumers have a duty to do our buisiness with people like Henry... We have the power to make change.. if they are not savy enough to figure out why their clientle is falling then they will go out of buisiness.....
Henry .... My hat is off to you ... YOU are the MAN! I only regret I wasn't there when you went to MM to get your clients parts..!
my $.02

Henry,
I must admit, about one year ago with my 911 still in storage, I made a call to MM and asked about their rebuild process. Wow -did they sound like true professionals over the phone, but after reading the Pelican Parts Tech BBS and receiving YOUR personal email, I will deal with you after I return from Iraq. I'd be awful upset to have spent that hard earned money (after being in a combat zone for one year) ... getting shot at and then being taken to the cleaners by MM.
Keep me in mind for a rebuild in 12-18 months.
VR,
Bavaria
Infantry leads the way!

It's called pride, having pride in your work. Some people have it. Some don't. Motor Sheister would seem to fall into the later category.

I must agree with everyone, Henry is a great guy. I called him out of the blue this past summer to discuss rebuild options ( contemplating MFI at the time). Now my dad and I want to buy a motor and rebuild it ourselves at our leasure. TRE and Henry have been great resources regarding options for motors and so on and so forth. Our engine will be built by my father and I but all the machining sent out to either TRE or Henry because of their experience and good attitude towards someone with much less knowledge and patience to deal with myself.

As far as MM goes, I tried calling them once, got nothing but attitude, Dave and Tyson at TRE are willing to explore all engine options and so was Henry. They both pointed out pros and cons of each type of motor I had in mind and in the long run will save me money even if they ended up building the engine or not. That is the kind of rep that good shops have, that is why ppl constantly go to them. Just look at the motors Henry has built, look at the cars TRE has worked on (BBII just for starters, Ian Stobies car, Dickinsons, my dads) all awesome work. To top it off they both post here regularly helping us normal guys out. Kudos to all of you which would mean in no particular oder: Jenry Schmidt, Tyson, Dave (TRE), Jeremy, Steve Weiner, Jerry Woods, Kevin Mentzer (awesome guy and great painter), I know I am forgetting a whole slew of Pcar shop owners, thats why the board is here to fill in my blanks.