Something's going on...

[alan.barker]

Imho
If you contact the bodger and can come to a deal it is the best.
If he refuses to do anything then tell us his name and he will loose more business than giving you your money back.
This is just my personal opinion and it is for you to decide.
For sure you do not need any agro for your own well being
Alan

[Elanconvert]

hi geoffers
glad you got it sorted.....I too think you should let the original bodger know about the 'mistakes' if only to lessen the chances of them being repeated.......also if I come to having any engine work done [being local to you] I can steer clear.....the engine man I used to use was pwe [pete wills] in tavistock whom I can recommend......f he hasn't retired! also happy with srd in launceston ......[no affiliation to either of course]
I don't see anything wrong with either recommending or shaming firms who please or disappoint their customers........if the comments are true, they cannot be defamatory or libellous.....

fred

[Hawksfield]

Geoffers

You should discuss the work carried out with the original engine builder, it does not matter how many miles have been since the work was done as your problems are not use related but bad engineering practice, these bodges do not disappear in use.
You have a clear case for a refund and you have all the evidence. Maybe a county court action?
The cost to you is not small and the loss of use as well
Wish we had a way to identify these guys on the forum so other members can avoid them.

Personally I would name this guy on the forum if he refused to make amends.

[vincereynard]

"The evidence before the court is incontrivertible
there's no need for the jury to retire"

Try the nice approach first, then when that is ignored / has no effect .........
Worked for me (after a fashion.) Make you feel a bit better as well!

[Geoffers71]

Update on the progress so far. Head has been completely refurbished again. New inlet valves and seats. New spring platforms on the spring bases and slightly shorter springs. Two new cam followers( buckets) and all shims now around 100 thou. Still not as clean a throttle response as I'd like and found the engine was running a bit rich. Increased air jet from 155 to 160 and much better. But then we ran into another issue.......!
During the tune up sessions it was clear that the battery was suffering and would not hold its charge even after an overnight charge. So I bought and fitted a new uprated battery Bosch 55Ah and 550 cca. On first attempt to start the engine there was an almighty backfire through the car trumpets which gave me quite a start . Subsequently it became increasingly difficult to get the ignition timing to be consistent....it fact it was all over the place. The only explanation was that the Accuspark module within the distributor had been affected by the new battery ???? Rang the company and the answer was much simpler. Did you know that if the battery is not connected/ disconnected properly - always live terminal first - then the Accuspark sensor will be damaged? No? Well neither did I and nothing about this essential info is mentioned in any literature. I know that it's generally good practice and to be honest I can't remember what I did, but anyway I had to have a new unit. Half price though as it wasn't my fault Big deal
Just awaiting the new module to arrive and then hopefully all will be tickety- boo

Apologies for the long missive, just can't seem to help it

[alan.barker]

I can't see why the order you connect the battery terminals matter. If the Ignition is switched off when changing the battery there is no power to the Ignition system.
Have i missed something
Alan

[jimj]

As most people with a battery cut-off switch wire it through the earth, negative, cable, then some with Accuspark would have encountered this most unlikely scenario.
Jim

[vincereynard]

As above.

Sounds like an example of a supplier attempting to shift the blame for product failure onto the customer.

[alan.barker]

Sorry but i still don't understand. If the ignition is off when you connect battery i can't see a problem UNLESS the supply for the ignition system is not via the ignition switch and is always live with battery connected.
Imho the supplier is grasping at straws (to be polite)
Alan

[Geoffers71]

Mmmm, now I'm confused too. I have a positive earth system still and an isolator switch on the earth side. I wouldn't have disconnected the battery without isolating the battery first. The negative ( live) side may have still been connected, but the ignition key would be off. Think I may have been spun a line here.

[Geoffers71]

Well, after a long delay and all sorts of excuses the original bodger is refusing to recompense me for the costs of work his company did on my TC head. His case is that he can't believe that the "mistakes" could have been done in his workshop Where else could they have been made? He also makes the point that I should have returned the head to him and given him the chance of correcting it. I said that if he was in my shoes and seeing what was originally done, would he have taken it back. He agreed he probably wouldn't, he's a joke. To summaries the issues in case you've forgotten
1. All new inlet valves had their tips ground to give adequate tappet clearance. This caused deformation of the collet grooves which reduced the clearances to the extent that the cam follower on cylinder 4 was resting directly on the top of the spring. Consequently inlet valves 4, 3 and to some extent 2 were no longer closing.
2 New exhaust valve and seats were fitted, but the inner of the valve springs was too long, so first the tops of the valve guides was ground off in an attempt to give clearance and secondly the lower spring platforms were left out completely so that the outer springs were bearing directly on the aluminum head.
When he saw the report his very words were " This has been a complete f*** up" I said I couldn't agree more!
I've asked him to contact the guys who re-did the work, but he refuses saying he's dealt with them before and doesn't trust them !
I'm left with either forgetting the whole thing or pursuing him through the small claims courts.
I really don't need this, but I don't feel he should get away with it.

[alan.barker]

Tell us who he is and we can name and shame the bxxxxxd.
If you prefer not to give his name then give us some clues so we can guess
I feel sorry for you and if it was me i would be crazy about this cxxk up
Alan

[vincereynard]

Do you need the added aggravation of taking him to court? Probably not.

It you do not want to name and shame for some reason, post an image of his original invoice.
(Assuming it has the relevant information.)

A factual document that cannot be denied.

"makes the point that I should have returned the ?????? to him and given him the chance of correcting it." I had that as well! It must be early on in the book of excuses.

[alan.barker]

As i see it we need to find a way that they will need mess up another Twink Head.
The only way is to stop using them and we don't want to guess who they are do we
Alan

[Geoffers71]

I've no problem naming him now, just giving him an opportunity to do the right thing..
Here's the invoice, but it doesn't tell you much about the work actually done:...

The out and out denial that his workshop could have made all these mistakes beggars belief, but it sows the seed of doubt that any claim would be guaranteed to be successful. I'm split as to what to do. Part of me says sue him, but part says "is it worth the aggro?"