Almost lost my '58 Edsel yesterday...

"Robin Banks" > wrote in message
...
> Goddamn Precision Tune!
>
> I took my '58 Edsel in there earlier this year for a tune. They were
> recommended to me as having experience with other classic cars, two of
which I
> know the owners.
>
> Well, they quoted me a price of FIVE HUNDRED for a tune up! Why?
<snip>...

...because they DON'T know what they're doing! Classic car, figured you
may not know too much, sooooo, let's ream this guy and tell him he needs a
new carb. "It's an old car and it's "hard" to find parts for this, and when
you do they're expensive."

Personally if it was my car I'd take the bill back to Precision and tell
them to pay for the parts. They were the last people to do the work on the
car. If they refuse take em to small claims court, just to be a thorn in
their side, Let them pay an attorney, or loose time to defend their crappy
work.

Robin Banks wrote:
>
> Goddamn Precision Tune!
>
> I took my '58 Edsel in there earlier this year for a tune. They were
> recommended to me as having experience with other classic cars, two of which I
> know the owners.
>
> Well, they quoted me a price of FIVE HUNDRED for a tune up! Why? Because I
> needed a carb rebuild. I don't know about you guys, but I can get a NEW
> Autolite 4100 for around $200, and a place in town does some of the best
> rebuilds for $133. They look like they just came out of a box. (I found an
> Edsel club member who did mine for $15, I supplied the kit... nice guy!!)
>
> So, with that quote, I told them "no thanks, just go ahead and replace the
> solenoid to starter cable", as it was looking rough. (And I was about to have
> back surgery, so there was no way I could do all the bending/laying to do it
> myself at the time.)
>
> Apparently they ran it too damned close to the exhaust manifold. Yesterday
> the rubber softened enough to short to ground, causing ALL the cables to burn.
> Battery to ground, battery to solenoid, the solenoid itself, and the solenoid
> to starter. Nothing left but bare wired, and a nice hole melted in my NEW
> damned 29N battery. The car stalled at an intersection, and a nice guy
> offered to push me around to a driveway, then we noticed smoke coming from
> under the hood. I grabbed my ABC fire extinguisher, popped the hood, but
> luckily, no flames, but right on the verge of it. (I hope EVERYONE with a
> classic knows to ALWAYS carry a ABC rated fire extinguisher. I've seen cars
> burn too many times, causing a loss of all your work, and your beloved car!)
>
> Lucky for me, the old solenoid burned out and stopped the current flow, as I
> didn't have any way to cut the battery lead. I now have a big set of wire
> cutters in the trunk in case this ever happens again. (Most battery cut-offs
> won't fit the posts on my Interstate 29N battery, otherwise I'd have used
> that)
>
> Also lucky, there was a huge NAPA store about 1 mile away (combo
> store/warehouse too!!) with a good clerk that didn't get a blank look when I
> said "'58 Edsel" like so many do. I bought all the cables & a new solenoid,
> the wife came in my truck with my tools, and I worked on the cold asphalt of a
> party store, but got old "Eddy" running again, making it home successfully. I
> sealed the hole in the battery (top edge) with silicone, we'll see it that
> holds. Hope so!
>
> Always carry a fire extinguisher if you value you classic! This could happen
> to you!
>
> I also learned a lesson to carry wire cutters too, big enough to cut battery
> cables. Perhaps I'll find a battery cut out that'll fit my poles someday,
> then I won't need the cutters, but until then...
>
> All in all, a very scary morning, I'm just glad the Edsel wasn't destroyed, or
> permanently harmed. I wasn't so lucky. I had back surgery a little while
> back, so all that bending and laying left me barely able to walk today.
> ...but I'd rather be hobbling around than talking to my insurance agent about
> paying off a claim on the car!
>
> Tomorrow I'm going to get some heat-resistant fabric tube to pull over the
> solenoid/starter cable, even though I know *I* ran it far from the exhaust.
> I'm not taking any chances!
>
> ~~R.Banks



You need to go after them thar' tune up meisters...



--
JT

Just tooling through cyberspace in my ancient G4

That's why I NEVER tighten down my battery cables. I tighten them just
tight enough that I can twist them on and off. Never had a problem
with them that way and it has saved my bacon a time or two over the years.

Leon Rowell


Robin Banks wrote:
> Goddamn Precision Tune!
>
> I took my '58 Edsel in there earlier this year for a tune. They were
> recommended to me as having experience with other classic cars, two of which I
> know the owners.
>
> Well, they quoted me a price of FIVE HUNDRED for a tune up! Why? Because I
> needed a carb rebuild. I don't know about you guys, but I can get a NEW
> Autolite 4100 for around $200, and a place in town does some of the best
> rebuilds for $133. They look like they just came out of a box. (I found an
> Edsel club member who did mine for $15, I supplied the kit... nice guy!!)
>
> So, with that quote, I told them "no thanks, just go ahead and replace the
> solenoid to starter cable", as it was looking rough. (And I was about to have
> back surgery, so there was no way I could do all the bending/laying to do it
> myself at the time.)
>
> Apparently they ran it too damned close to the exhaust manifold. Yesterday
> the rubber softened enough to short to ground, causing ALL the cables to burn.
> Battery to ground, battery to solenoid, the solenoid itself, and the solenoid
> to starter. Nothing left but bare wired, and a nice hole melted in my NEW
> damned 29N battery. The car stalled at an intersection, and a nice guy
> offered to push me around to a driveway, then we noticed smoke coming from
> under the hood. I grabbed my ABC fire extinguisher, popped the hood, but
> luckily, no flames, but right on the verge of it. (I hope EVERYONE with a
> classic knows to ALWAYS carry a ABC rated fire extinguisher. I've seen cars
> burn too many times, causing a loss of all your work, and your beloved car!)
>
> Lucky for me, the old solenoid burned out and stopped the current flow, as I
> didn't have any way to cut the battery lead. I now have a big set of wire
> cutters in the trunk in case this ever happens again. (Most battery cut-offs
> won't fit the posts on my Interstate 29N battery, otherwise I'd have used
> that)
>
> Also lucky, there was a huge NAPA store about 1 mile away (combo
> store/warehouse too!!) with a good clerk that didn't get a blank look when I
> said "'58 Edsel" like so many do. I bought all the cables & a new solenoid,
> the wife came in my truck with my tools, and I worked on the cold asphalt of a
> party store, but got old "Eddy" running again, making it home successfully. I
> sealed the hole in the battery (top edge) with silicone, we'll see it that
> holds. Hope so!
>
> Always carry a fire extinguisher if you value you classic! This could happen
> to you!
>
> I also learned a lesson to carry wire cutters too, big enough to cut battery
> cables. Perhaps I'll find a battery cut out that'll fit my poles someday,
> then I won't need the cutters, but until then...
>
> All in all, a very scary morning, I'm just glad the Edsel wasn't destroyed, or
> permanently harmed. I wasn't so lucky. I had back surgery a little while
> back, so all that bending and laying left me barely able to walk today.
> ...but I'd rather be hobbling around than talking to my insurance agent about
> paying off a claim on the car!
>
> Tomorrow I'm going to get some heat-resistant fabric tube to pull over the
> solenoid/starter cable, even though I know *I* ran it far from the exhaust.
> I'm not taking any chances!
>
>
> ~~R.Banks

Robin Banks wrote:
>
> Always carry a fire extinguisher if you value you classic! This could happen
> to you!

Thanks for the warning. I have one in my truck, but somehow it never occurred to me
to buy one for the '40.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

"tranch728" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Robin Banks" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Goddamn Precision Tune!
> >
> > I took my '58 Edsel in there earlier this year for a tune. They were
> > recommended to me as having experience with other classic cars, two of
> which I
> > know the owners.
> >
> > Well, they quoted me a price of FIVE HUNDRED for a tune up! Why?
> <snip>...
>
> ...because they DON'T know what they're doing! Classic car, figured
you
> may not know too much, sooooo, let's ream this guy and tell him he needs a
> new carb. "It's an old car and it's "hard" to find parts for this, and
when
> you do they're expensive."

I had enough experiences like that with my '64 Cadillac and '68 Mercury.
I try to do things like tuneups and oil changes myself if I have the time,
and
then I know it's done right and not going to leak, short out, or burn. If I
don't have the time to do the work myself, I have found a good shop for
things like tires, brakes, and suspension; another shop for exhausts; yet
another for transmissions. 90% will try to rip you off if it's a classic or
even
a late-model car...

> Personally if it was my car I'd take the bill back to Precision and
tell
> them to pay for the parts. They were the last people to do the work on the
> car. If they refuse take em to small claims court, just to be a thorn in
> their side, Let them pay an attorney, or loose time to defend their crappy
> work.

Better yet, don't ever take your car there again and tell all your friends
the
whole story, but first get them to fix it right on warranty. Wasn't the work
that they did guaranteed for 30 days/ 90 days/whatever?

-'dreas

Robin Banks wrote:
>
> On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 23:35:48 GMT, Grumpy au Contraire >
> wrote:
>
> > You need to go after them thar' tune up meisters...
>
> When I think about it, I get really riled and agree with you... then I say
> "screw 'em" and figure I'll just warn people off of them.
>
> I'm going to have a friend of mine (who knows them very well) let them know
> about what happened, and see how they react. I told him to tell them I'm
> considering taking them to small claims. Let's see if they offer to pay for
> the parts. I won't let them touch the car again, so if they offer a tune up,
> ferget it. Be nice to rattle 'em a little though.
>
> ~~R.Banks



I can tell you, I don't let anyone touch one of my Studebakers unless I
supervise closely. One particular annoying thing are the twerps that
use impact wrenches to tighten wheels. I always insist on "hand"
tighten only.

("Mechanics" these days are products of a dumbed down America...)



--
JT

Just tooling through cyberspace in my ancient G4

"Robin Banks" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 02:34:55 GMT, "G.R. Patterson III"
>
> wrote:
>
> snip<
>
> For those that already have 'em, be SURE to check them. "Professional"
> extinguishers need to be discharged/recharged every so often, and your
local
> fire equipment store can do that. If you do discharge yours, be SURE to
have
> it recharged ASAP.
>
> Seems every year here, there's a story on some poor guy losing his classic
to
> fire at the Woodward Dream Cruise or the (slightly) smaller Gratiot (say
> "gra****", for those not from Detroit) Cruise. That's what triggered me
into
> getting one for each car.
>
>
> ~~R.Banks

You should also make sure EVERYONE who will drive the car should know
where the extinguisher is and how to use it. Friend of mine had an
absolutely beautiful Hurst Olds 442 that he and his teenaged daughter
restored. The car was as close to a 100 point car as could be and still be
driven on the street. he went out and bought an extinguisher and mounted it
in the trunk but never told anyone.
His daughter takes the car out to show her friends what she and her dad
had restored. FIRST TIME the poor kid used the car. Smells smoke about 4
blocks away from home, stops and gets out of the car. Looks around doesn't
see nothing so turns around to bring the car back home for "Dad" to look at.
Drives 2 blocks and flames jump out from under the dash and defroster vents.
She didn't know about the extinguisher and by the time the fire department
got there the car was totally burnt. Dad was really ****ed, until "MOM"
asked, "Did you tell her there was an extinguisher in the trunk?" DUH!!! He
tucked his tail between his legs and walked away. What could he say?

Robin Banks wrote:

> On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:10:20 -0500, Leon Rowell > wrote:
>
>
>>That's why I NEVER tighten down my battery cables. I tighten them just
>>tight enough that I can twist them on and off. Never had a problem
>>with them that way and it has saved my bacon a time or two over the years.
>
>
> I thought of doing that, but there's so little clearance between the battery
> and the hood on a '58 Edsel, I feared that it (the terminal) could work just
> loose enough to short the hood to the battery. It's really a close fit, for
> some dumb reason.
>
> I'd like to lower the battery tray if I could, but I don't see a way to do
> that safely.
>
>
> ~~R.Banks

leave only the negative terminal loose then.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

Robin Banks > had
writtennews:n2ujm05nu0duc3p7nvk1iecdl85o7kph7c@4ax .com:


>
> I'm going to have a friend of mine (who knows them very well) let
> them know about what happened, and see how they react. I told him
> to tell them I'm considering taking them to small claims. Let's
> see if they offer to pay for the parts. I won't let them touch
> the car again, so if they offer a tune up, ferget it. Be nice to
> rattle 'em a little though.
>
>
> ~~R.Banks
>
If I was them I would ask why you never spoke to them about it. Give
them a chance to make things right. Tell them about the carb because
maybe their supplier is ripping them off. I had brakes done on my
commercial truck. The shoes ended up costing twice what the previous
ones cost. (Commercial trucks off road need new shoes and drums a
couple time a year) I received the bill in the mail and immediatly
phoned the shop. The proprietor explained a new supplier was being
used but not for long because they were too expensive. I got the
shoes at his cost.
As an owner of a shop, they have reason to be ****ed if the customer
didn't inform them of a problem and instead told everyone else.


--
Barney __________________________________________________ ________
"I'm not into name calling. That's best left to the Morons and
Idiots"

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:42:33 GMT, Robin Banks
> puked:

>Goddamn Precision Tune!
>
>I took my '58 Edsel in there earlier this year for a tune. They were
>recommended to me as having experience with other classic cars, two of which I
>know the owners.
>
>Well, they quoted me a price of FIVE HUNDRED for a tune up! Why? Because I
>needed a carb rebuild. I don't know about you guys, but I can get a NEW
>Autolite 4100 for around $200, and a place in town does some of the best
>rebuilds for $133. They look like they just came out of a box. (I found an
>Edsel club member who did mine for $15, I supplied the kit... nice guy!!)
>
>So, with that quote, I told them "no thanks, just go ahead and replace the
>solenoid to starter cable", as it was looking rough. (And I was about to have
>back surgery, so there was no way I could do all the bending/laying to do it
>myself at the time.)
>
>Apparently they ran it too damned close to the exhaust manifold. Yesterday
>the rubber softened enough to short to ground, causing ALL the cables to burn.
>Battery to ground, battery to solenoid, the solenoid itself, and the solenoid
>to starter. Nothing left but bare wired, and a nice hole melted in my NEW
>damned 29N battery. The car stalled at an intersection, and a nice guy
>offered to push me around to a driveway, then we noticed smoke coming from
>under the hood. I grabbed my ABC fire extinguisher, popped the hood, but
>luckily, no flames, but right on the verge of it. (I hope EVERYONE with a
>classic knows to ALWAYS carry a ABC rated fire extinguisher. I've seen cars
>burn too many times, causing a loss of all your work, and your beloved car!)
>
>Lucky for me, the old solenoid burned out and stopped the current flow, as I
>didn't have any way to cut the battery lead. I now have a big set of wire
>cutters in the trunk in case this ever happens again. (Most battery cut-offs
>won't fit the posts on my Interstate 29N battery, otherwise I'd have used
>that)
>
>Also lucky, there was a huge NAPA store about 1 mile away (combo
>store/warehouse too!!) with a good clerk that didn't get a blank look when I
>said "'58 Edsel" like so many do. I bought all the cables & a new solenoid,
>the wife came in my truck with my tools, and I worked on the cold asphalt of a
>party store, but got old "Eddy" running again, making it home successfully. I
>sealed the hole in the battery (top edge) with silicone, we'll see it that
>holds. Hope so!
>
>Always carry a fire extinguisher if you value you classic! This could happen
>to you!
>
>I also learned a lesson to carry wire cutters too, big enough to cut battery
>cables. Perhaps I'll find a battery cut out that'll fit my poles someday,
>then I won't need the cutters, but until then...
>
>All in all, a very scary morning, I'm just glad the Edsel wasn't destroyed, or
>permanently harmed. I wasn't so lucky. I had back surgery a little while
>back, so all that bending and laying left me barely able to walk today.
>...but I'd rather be hobbling around than talking to my insurance agent about
>paying off a claim on the car!
>
>Tomorrow I'm going to get some heat-resistant fabric tube to pull over the
>solenoid/starter cable, even though I know *I* ran it far from the exhaust.
>I'm not taking any chances!
>

Don't ya hate when that happens? I believe I posted a similar story
in this very group about frying the wires under the hood of my 66 El
Camino. Hope you get it together, I did...
--
lab~rat >:-)
Do you want polite or do you want sincere?