If YOUR block is Ford then a guy that has 25 years experience in performance Fords obviously has an edge over a guy with 25 years in Chevys working on a Ford. Brakes are brakes whether they're on a Cobra or a Vette. Actually, most are better made than the originals. doesn't matter on body and general maintenance. Josh: In my opinion Cobra, Mustang, T-Bird, Vette, etc. I'm still planning to use the guy, but he just doesn't get an open cash register or clock with me. Your characterizaton of "quirky" is probably well stated. He can be insulting and he doesn't even know he's doing it, so I know it's not intentional. He's not a bad guy and I didn't mean to give that impression. I inquired about a dollar ceiling, but that doesn't solve anything with a half finished job and then neither of us are happy. It's simple enough to layout the list of the basics and go from there. He just wouldn't elaborate on anything except "the carb has to go". He had a game plan in mind after he looked at the motor and blueprint, and he said as much. A carb, wires, valves, etc are fixed costs at his price and I was just trying to draw out a rough estimate and then leave myself some margin for the over-runs. However hardware is a fixed cost and labor is a part of the equation coupled with the unknowns which become the additional cost. What you are saying is very true, up to a point. Since each of these cars is a custom built item, if your not certain what is wrong with the car, or it's tune in the first place, your most certainly not going to be able to estimate what the cost of repair before actually looking everything over to see what the problem is in the first place. Either way, I'll let you know my results if it's of any interest to anyone. He's kind of like those hot-shot doctors with no bed side manners. Mustang has diplomatically dropped enough hints about his temperament in previous posts that I wasn't caught off guard. He may be good but I'm still the one paying the bill and I like some idea what my total nut is going to be. I'm not talking just a dyno tune on my engine so I may back out of the original appointment, (have the major work done somewhere else with a ball-park price QUOTE) and then go back to him for some dyno tweeking. That or having the only dyno in town makes him think he's the only game in town. The only thing I can figure is business must be REALLY good. He's basically telling me that he wants an "open" checkbook, take it or leave it. Frankly, I'm fairly easy to get along with but it got a little under my skin. I asked him twice before he got annoyed, which appears to be easy to do. His response is "we have no idea", so just leave it and we'll let you know when we're done. I couldn't even get a high-and-low dollar number. What does bother me is he REFUSES to give ANY approximation of cost. I reluctantly agreed but I politely let him know, if he screws up I'll be all over him (not that I think he cares whether I am or not). That doesn't bother me as long as he's competent and I'll give anybody one shot. To quote him: "If you want it set up "right" drop it off and we'll take care of it". His technical reputation is good but his attitude is "my way, or no way" and don't ask too many questions. However, he's a challenging chap who marches to his own tune. I met with on Saturday for the second time, scheduled an appointment with his shop for some motor & dyno work the Monday after next.
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