2021-08-10 05:34: On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, EL requested pictures of the undercarriage showing the items that needed to be repaired. EL needed these for legal reasons.
RC 2021-08-10 07:35: “No problem, we will do that for you.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This turned out to be somewhat of a challenge. I had to make the trip to Cambra Speed Shop multiple times and take most of the pictures you see on the C8DENCE website.
2021-08-17 16:39: On Tuesday, August 17, 2021, we discussed the Holley Sniper EFI and Weiand Intake Manifold. EL had asked why we chose the WEIAND as it was not the most attractive of the options.
RC 2021-08-17 16:59: “We picked it because a dual plain manifold will have the best performance and it’s the only one available at this time. Once we polish it will look awesome.”
2021-08-18: On Wednesday, August 18, 2021, EL sent RC an email with engine specifications. These were acquired after considerable research and contacting the Ford Racing Tech Department. In my email notes, I included this from the FRT technician.
EL 2021-08-18 09:13: “Just an FYI, the Ford Racing Technician doesn’t like the WEIAND. He says they have too much port flow for this engine. They’ve tested multiple intakes and they prefer the Blue Thunder or RPM Dual Plane Intakes over the WEIAND.”
2021-08-19 07:30: On Thursday, August 19, 2021, EL sent RC an email requesting that the existing Holley Carbs and Intake be cleaned up and shipped to Fred Piluso, the original builder of C8DENCE.
RC 2021-08-19 08:28: “I will take care of this for you.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I’ve included this entry as it took 2 months and multiple followups before shipping.
2021-08-23 06:37: On Monday, August 23, 2021, EL sent RC an email with a link to the C8DENCE Tasks area. Since there was no documentation of anything being presented to me, I felt it was best to keep a documented trail of tasks. I again requested images of the damaged components.
EL Note 2023-10-03: This request for images was persistent on my part. I needed these for potential legal recourse against Volo Auto Sales.
2021-08-31 08:55: On Tuesday, August 31, 2021, EL sent RC and AS an email checking the status of progress. I also requested images again.
RC 2021-08-31 09:25: “Bruce was out yesterday sick, but yes the motor is out now. I sent you some pics and will send more. Headers are going out to be recoated today and as soon as Bruce has the motor resealed then we will paint it black for you. Unless you want it a different color to match the car. I will clean up the manifold and carbs for you to send back to the original owner.”
EL 2021-08-31 09:51: “Good day Ron. The pictures came through, but they are too small, I need the hi-res versions. So, based on progress so far, I shouldn’t expect to be driving her until sometime in October? I remember Adam saying he couldn’t touch it for a month, that was on Aug 9, 2021, when I dropped her off. So, work on the rest of the task list begins sometime around Mon, Sep 13, 2021.”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-09 | 14476 | R&R Motor/Fix Leaks, Threads in Heads, R&R Third Member/Fix Leaks, Install Holley Sniper, Install Intake, Remove Pipes and Coat, Replace all Bushings, Fix Electrical Draw, Fix Shifter Handle, Door Lock Solenoids, Make Hood Release, Deposit Provided | 1 | ||||||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | Inspection, Research, Planning | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | Holley Sniper EFI 550-510 (Polished, 650 HP) | 1 | $2,267.00 | $175.69 | $75.00 | $2,517.69 | ||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | Weiand Stealth™ Dual Plane Intake Manifold | 1 | ||||||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | Tank Hanger | 1 | ||||||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | CD Ignition Box | 1 | ||||||
| 2021-08-15 | 14487 | EFI Distributor | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | $2,772.69 |
2021-09-20: On Monday, August 20, 2021, EL sent RC an email regarding engine painting.
EL 2021-09-20 16:42: “I keep thinking about the engine being painted a bright color and I’m not too certain I want to do that. I think there may need to be some balance between the copper and black or silver or black and silver. That mandarin copper is going to be a bit of maintenance. Let’s talk some more about this before painting. I don’t want it to be TOO copper and not have enough contrasting colors.”
RC 2021-09-20 17:02: “Hi Edward, lets paint it black, that would be the best for maintenance.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This was a mistake. The engine including heads were painted black. From my perspective, this was an ugly finished product. The heads were originally a natural silver finish that should not have been painted. AS suggested that we paint the heads black, and I agreed expecting that advice to be the best option. The finished raw product was ugly, no components attached yet. It was just too much black and the heads should not have been painted – it looked ghetto.
2021-09-23: On Thursday, September 23, 2021, EL sent RC an email requesting a phone call.
EL 2021-09-23 08:59: “Good day Ron. Do you have 5-10 minutes this morning to go over a few things? Engine painting, etc.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: We spoke. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the engine and heads being black. The reply from RC was that once all of the other components were on, you would not see much of the black.
2021-09-27: On Monday, September 27, 2021, EL received a voice mail from RC requesting a call back.
EL 2021-09-27 18:03: “Good day Ron. I received your voice mail. I go offline about 15:00 each day. When we spoke last week, you had indicated that the car is back over to Bruce this week. I’m guessing it will be with him another week or two? No need to call unless we have other updates, I know how busy your schedule is.”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-19 | 14557 | Materials, Filler, Sandpaper, Mandarin Copper, Clear | 1 | $398.70 | $398.70 | ||||
| 2021-09-19 | 14557 | Air Cleaners for Carbs to be Shipped | 2 | $62.00 | $9.61 | $133.61 | |||
| 2021-09-19 | 14557 | Prep and Paint Engine Box Inner Panel, Crossmember | 19 | $85.00 | $1,615.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-19 | 14557 | Transmission (Testing, Bearings, Seals) | 1 | $939.00 | $939.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-19 | 14557 | New Clutch Assembly, Pressure Plate, Throwout Bearings | 1 | $281.00 | $281.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-27 | 14573 | Prep and Paint Motor, Transmission, Bell Housing | 22 | $85.00 | $1,870.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-27 | 14573 | Prep and Paint Motor Materials | 1 | $286.80 | $286.80 | ||||
| 2021-09-27 | 14573 | Headers (Recoat) | 1 | $400.00 | $400.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-27 | 14573 | Polish Weiand Stealth™ Dual Plane Intake Manifold | 1 | $370.00 | $370.00 | ||||
| 2021-09-27 | 14573 | New Clutch Assembly Additional Cost | 1 | $75.00 | $5.81 | $80.81 | |||
| Totals for 2021 September: | 41 | $6,374.92 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 44 | $9,147.61 |
2021-10-06: On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, EL sent RC an email.
EL 2021-10-06 07:10: “Good day Ron. Can you please call me and update me on the status of the car?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There was no response. I called and RC asked if he could call me right back. I agreed. Never received a call back. This is a persistent issue with RC, I lost count of how many times I received the response, “can I call you right back?” with no call back. This was very frustrating to say the least – and very disrespectful.
EL 2021-10-06 12:34: “Good day Ron. I was expecting you to call back within a reasonable time period. I will be in conference most of the day and then out of the office after that. No need for a call back at this time. I’m pretty livid right now regarding the car. If you find the time today to respond to this email and let me know the status, I would appreciate it.”
RC 2021-10-06 13:02: “Sorry its been non-stop here, can you talk now. We took your car in front of a lot of others to help you. Bruce was backed up and is trying to help us but there is nothing that we can do. Just picked up all your polishing for you today and the car is getting to Bruce today to install motor, trans, all your polishing parts, coated the headers and the new clutch set up. I understand the frustration and maybe we should just get it running for you and you can have someone else finish any other work that you want done. If we are not fast enough for you, then maybe someone else is faster than us. I have 30 other cars here being worked on its tough to just focus on your car only with the guys. I personally spent a lot of personal time with you discussing your car and all the issues with it. Trying to help you with your case against the company that you bought your car from. I don’t want all this pressure.”
EL 2021-10-06 13:42: I replied with a detailed email. See Exhibits [X through XX]. At this time, I was ready to pull the car and send it to another shop.
RC 2021-10-06 13:02: “We took your car in front of a lot of others to help you.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I was never informed that this was a favor, and I surely wouldn’t want to be treated as if it were. I’m a paying customer. I had a list of requirements and things were agreed upon during the initial meeting and expanded upon during both phone and email communications thereafter.
RC 2021-10-06 14:36: “Edward, Can you come down so we can have a discussion on your car.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There were additional email replies and I asked RC to have the vehicle prepared for transport to another shop.
2021-10-07: After spending many hours attempting to find a shop and plan for transporting the vehicle from Cambra Speed Shop, I discovered it was not going to be as simple as I thought. After receiving this email from RC, that exasperated the challenges even further.
RC: “Edward, I feel for you and yes, we do all this work in house, but I took you in prematurely and as we discussed by using Citywide that might be able to speed it up for you in just R&R the motor and we would finish for you. I know that you are in a bad spot. We want to make it easier for you, but we have all had other issues happening. Maybe it’s best for you to go ahead and have Citywide install the parts back on. We could have Citywide put the carbs back on or install the sniper system.”
2021-10-07: On Thursday, October 7, 2021, I had no other option at the time but to request that Cambra Speed Shop finish what was already in progress.
RC: “Glad to hear your on board. Let’s meet and talk on Monday.”
2021-10-12 11:11: On Tuesday, October 12, 2021, EL received email from RC with images of valve covers and air cleaners that he felt looked best. My email from 2021-08-23 with the requested valve covers and air cleaner was ignored.
EL Note 2023-10-03: Had I not continued to persist in my initial request, I would have ended up with something I would not have been happy with. Unfortunately it ended up that Cambra Speed Shop ordered the wrong air cleaner, performed significant work on it and then “sprung” it on me.
2021-10-13 09:58: On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, EL sent RC an email requesting that we get the carbs, intake, and filters to Fred Piluso. My original request was on 2021-08-19, almost 2 months previous. I had told Fred in August that they were being shipped.
RC: “Hi Edward, I will take care of this and it’s ready to ship.”
2021-10-21 07:21: On Thursday, October 21, 2021, EL sent RC an email asking for updates.
RC 2021-10-21 08:17: “Good morning Edward, Bruce will have your motor and trans finished first part of the week and I will bring over here to finish up.”
2021-10-26: Invoice 14634, $484.80
RC Invoice Note: “Hi Edward, Adam reminded me that we ordered those valve covers for you last week and I forgot to send you the invoice. Right now I have a balance owed for $1,263.75. Please let me know if we can take care of this.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I kept a positive balance on the books with Cambra Speed Shop. As soon as that went negative, I was pressured to pay an outstanding invoice that was just received the same day.
AS 2021-10-26 13:34: “Yes, the valve covers are on order, and we should see them any day. The engine and transmission should be going in tomorrow. We had a delay because they sent us the wrong clutch disk. You have the big shaft T10 trans which is the strongest and most valuable of the T10’s. It has been on back order, it became available this morning and I drove to go get as soon as they called me.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I had to confirm with AS that I had a T10 Transmission and not a Toploader as originally advertised. AS replied with, “You are correct, I misspoke when I said T10, you have the 68 top loader which is the hard-to-find big block transmission, I have always called them T10’s.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Regarding the wrong clutch disk being received, if I had to take an educated guess, after all that I’ve experienced over the past 784 days of C8DENCE being in the shop, it was initially ordered incorrectly.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-07 | 14604 | March Serpentine Belt System Polishing | 1 | $520.00 | $520.00 | ||||
| 2021-10-07 | 14604 | Cleanup Old Intake and Carbs, Ship to Fred Piluso (Ohio) | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2021-10-07 | 14604 | Oil Pan Gasket, Rear Main Seal, Intake/Manifold Gaskets | 1 | $240.00 | $18.60 | $258.60 | |||
| 2021-10-07 | 14604 | Reinstall Hood, Gather All Parts | 2 | $85.00 | $170.00 | ||||
| 2021-10-14 | 14619 | Stainless Header and Intake Bolts | 1 | $216.00 | $16.74 | $232.74 | |||
| 2021-10-14 | 14619 | Shipping Charge with Insurance for Intake and Carbs | 1 | $195.00 | $195.00 | ||||
| 2021-10-20 | 14634 | Blue Thunder Finned Valve Covers | 1 | $374.00 | $110.80 | $484.80 | |||
| Totals for 2021 October: | 5 | $2,116.14 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 49 | $11,263.75 |
2021-11-01: On Monday, November 1, 2021, EL sent email to RC.
EL 2021-11-01 09:44: “Good day Ron. I never did get any images last week of the engine and other components. Not having images is going to make it really tough to deal with this legally. I don’t have enough images of the damaged components, hopefully what I have will suffice.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Getting Cambra Speed Shop to spend a few moments taking photographs of damaged components was an ongoing challenge during this entire process. I had to make multiple trips to the shop to take my own pictures.
EL 2021-11-01 18:33: Received 3 images via email, my response was, “Well, it looks like I need to make a trip up there to take photos. You send me 3 images, one of them is blurry, not going to work for anything. The other 2 don’t really show me much. Where are the headers? Front of engine with repolished components, etc. That’s okay, I need to get out of the house. I will attempt to find a block of time tomorrow to get up there to take photographs.”
2021-11-02: On Tuesday, November 2, 2021, RC replied to the above email.
RC 2021-11-02 05:36: “Good morning Edward, I will get over there personally and take the photos. As for all the polished parts, they are here all wrapped up. I did not unwrap them because I wasn’t ready to assemble them on the motor. Yes, I can take pics of the headers and polished parts wrapped up. Just thought you wanted the motor and trans.”
2021-11-08 09:10: On Monday, November 8, 2021, EL sent email to RC asking for updates.
RC 2021-11-08 09:39: “We are moving your car over today and putting it on the rack. I will have Huei remove the tires and wheels, start going through the undercarriage and replace bushings, paint, and clean it up.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: On Thursday, October 21, 2021, I was informed by RC via email that the engine and trans would be finished week of October 25, 2021, that did not happen. This is a constant issue, being told one thing (dates), and it not happening.
2021-11-11 06:52: On Thursday, November 11, 2021, EL sent email to RC requesting that we purchase a new set of metal wheels. The current wheels were old and potentially damaged.
RC 2021-11-11 07:54: “I agree. I will look at what Wheelsmith on rims for you.”
2021-11-30: On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, EL sent email to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron. I’ll be making a trip up there tomorrow, Wed, Dec 1, 2021, to drop off some cash and take pictures since that seems to be a challenge. By the way, do you remember Wed, Nov 24, 2021, when I called and you said you would call me right back? Waited all day, no call, no email. Ya, I know where I stand. You totally dissed me.”
RC: “Edward, sorry yes, I forgot. We had a party for the guys, and I was leaving for the river. I do love you my friend. My mind was in a different place. I will see you tomorrow.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: It’s unfortunate as this apparent forgetfulness really leaves a bad impression and also caused quite a bit of delay during the process e.g. parts not being ordered, incorrect parts ordered, etc.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-29 | 14685 | Undercarriage Breakdown and Cleanup | 10 | $85.00 | $850.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2021 November: | 10 | $850.00 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 59 | $12,113.75 |
2021-12-05 11:57: On Sunday, December 5, 2021, EL sent email to RC and AS regarding the tires. I included images and specifications of the tires from the Task List that was NOT being reviewed. I SPECIFICALLY requested that we NOT use Coker tires and to order the BF Goodrich Silvertown Radials. I mention this as the wrong tires were later ordered and installed and the Wheelsmith wheels painting was damaged during installation.
RC 2021-12-06 07:23: “No problem. Thanks.”
2021-12-09: On Thursday, December 9, 2021, EL sent email to RC asking for updates.
EL 2021-12-09 10:30: “Good day Ron, can I please get updates? Do we even have an accurate estimated completion date yet? When we last spoke in the beginning of Oct, you had said 3 months. Are we still within that window or are we going to end up towards the end of January 2022?”
RC 2021-12-09 10:51: “We received the 3rd member back yesterday and I have the fuel tank being cleaned out. Just put the Mustang back together today and will get started on removing the front suspension on Monday now that we are able to move the Mustang.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There is an issue with only one (1) 4-post rack being available to perform certain work required at the shop. This has caused major delays for myself and I’m almost certain for other customers. There are too many vehicles in this shop and not enough space, equipment, or man/woman power. I found this out the hard way as we progressed through the repairs.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-06 | 14693 | Strip Rear End, Prep Housing, Sand Fuel Tank, Prep Both for Paint | 14 | $75.00 | $1,050.00 | ||||
| 2021-12-06 | 14693 | Remove Undercarriage and Cleanup Bottom of Car and Chassis | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| 2021-12-06 | 14693 | Materials for Prep and Paint Work | 1 | $579.00 | $579.00 | ||||
| 2021-12-07 | 14697 | Rebuild Third Member | 1 | $676.00 | $676.00 | ||||
| 2021-12-20 | 14719 | Receipt for Gear Oil, Treatment for Rear End | 1 | $79.50 | $79.50 | ||||
| 2021-12-20 | 14719 | Finned Oval Air Cleaner | 1 | $265.00 | $26.70 | $291.70 | |||
| 2021-12-20 | 14719 | Finish Tear Down, Front Suspension, Coil Overs, Rack | 10.5 | $85.00 | $892.50 | ||||
| 2021-12-21 | 14722 | 15x7 OEM Ford Wheels with 5x4.5 Back Space | 4 | $225.00 | $69.75 | $969.75 | |||
| 2021-12-27 | 14729 | Rebuild Flaming River Rack and Pinion | 1 | $357.50 | $357.50 | ||||
| 2021-12-27 | 14729 | Parts Cleaning | 8.5 | $85.00 | $722.50 | ||||
| Totals for 2021 December: | 51 | $7,148.45 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 110 | $19,262.20 |
2022-01-03: On Monday, January 3, 2022, RC sent EL an email.
RC 2022-01-03 12:38: “Good afternoon, I didn’t think about it, but I should have bought 5 rims and tires instead of 4.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I spent time setting everything up online to track and document this process. Cambra Speed Shop failed to review that list to confirm what they needed to order and what needed to be done. They actually ordered the wrong fifth tire and it’s apparently in their storage. The fifth wheel never got ordered with Wheelsmith. Cambra Speed Shop billed me for the fifth wheel and fifth tire but never delivered it. As of Monday, October 2, 2023, I am still awaiting a refund for those items and others.
2022-01-04: On Tuesday, January 4, 2022, EL sent a reply to the above email from RC.
EL 2022-01-04 02:56:“Is it too late? I say make it so if it isn’t.”
RC 2022-01-04 08:22: “We could use one of the best wheels and tires that you have now for the spare. If not, then I will order another rim and tire.”
EL 2022-01-04 08:36: “Let’s order another rim and tire. I’d rather have a matching new one “just in case”. Thanks for catching that.”
RC 2022-01-04 08:50: “No problem.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I wanted the fifth wheel and tire so I had a full size spare to keep in storage for a “just in case” situation.
2022-01-24: On Monday, January 24, 2022, RC sent EL an email.
RC 2022-01-24 07:05: “Good morning, I will have an invoice for last week today to show the hours. We installed the rear-end and front suspension back in. Going to install brakes and make it a roller again this week.”
EL 2022-01-24 07:18: “Pics or it didn’t happen! I’ve gotten no pictures and I’m afraid I will be without an important part of this process. Oh well, I should have made plans to come by every week and take pictures. I may be up this week to do so.”
RC 2022-01-24 07:19: “I will send you pics. Promise.”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-02 | 14740 | Clean Fuel Tank | 1 | $75.00 | $75.00 | ||||
| 2021-01-02 | 14740 | BF Goodrich Silvertown Radial Tires | 4 | $347.53 | $107.73 | $1,497.85 | |||
| 2021-01-02 | 14740 | Pressing Out Old Bushings, Measure for New, Finish Cleaning Parts | 6 | $85.00 | $510.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-09 | 14750 | Rick Fabricating Lower Shield for Crossmember | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-09 | 14750 | Finish Prepping Rear End Housing, Third Member, Fuel Tank, Seal, Base Color, Clear | 11 | $75.00 | $825.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-09 | 14750 | Paint Materials | 1 | $127.00 | $127.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-24 | 14769 | Install Bushings, Hardware, Control Arms, Rack, Coil Overs, Third Member | 37 | $85.00 | $3,145.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-24 | 14769 | All New Hardware for Suspension Installation | 1 | $180.70 | $14.00 | $194.70 | |||
| 2022-01-24 | 14769 | New Axle Seals | 2 | $11.90 | $23.80 | ||||
| 2022-01-24 | 14769 | Rebuilding of Coil Overs | 1 | $425.00 | $425.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-31 | 14780 | Sand and Prep Driveshaft, Fan Shroud, Tranny Mount Cross Member, Prime, Paint, Clear | 12 | $75.00 | $900.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-31 | 14780 | New Wheel Bearings and Seals, New Pads for Wilwood Calipers | 1 | $139.00 | $139.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-31 | 14780 | Receipt to Rebuild Rear Calipers | 1 | $370.50 | $370.50 | ||||
| 2022-01-31 | 14780 | Ryno Install: New Gas and Vent Hoses for Fuel Tank, Prep Tank for Install, Install Fuel Tank, Install Axles and Rear Brakes, Finish Installing Front Suspension | 12 | $85.00 | $1,020.00 | ||||
| 2022-01-31 | 14780 | Vince Install: Front Sway Bar, Hang Rear Suspension, All New Hardware, Install New Brakes, Install Old Wheels (Roller Only) | 12 | $85.00 | $1,020.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 January: | 94 | $10,527.85 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 204 | $29,790.05 |
2022-02-23: On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, I stopped by Cambra Speed Shop to discuss work to date and had questions about my gearing after test driving. It was at this time we decided to order the Gear Vendors unit.
RC: “So glad you’re happy my friend. I am sure you are going to love your car when it’s done.”
2022-02-28 06:37: On Monday, February 28, 2022, RC sent EL an email reply.
RC 2022-02-28 08:41: “Hi Edward, I’m not sure how to do this again. I will have Adam do it. Your rims came in on Friday and should have tires this week.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: The above in response to my emails asking for images. Then, when the images are received, they are too small to use for anything. They had to be resent from another person’s phone as RC is technologically challenged.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-02-03 | 14788 | Vince and Ryno: Assemble/Install Transmission, Motor, Steering Shaft, Cross Member, Finish Brakes | 27.5 | $85.00 | $2,337.50 | ||||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | Catcall Whistle Horn | 1 | $92.50 | $22.71 | $115.21 | |||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | Transmission Mount | 1 | $20.48 | $20.48 | ||||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | Gear Oil and Type ATF | 1 | $133.00 | $133.00 | ||||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | Receipt for Stainless Clamps and Fittings | 1 | $33.00 | $33.00 | ||||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | New Power Steering Pump | 1 | $180.00 | $180.00 | ||||
| 2022-02-14 | 14795 | Vince and Ryno: Install Parts Back On, Installed Transmission Mount and Cross Member, Installed Driveshaft, Clean and Paint Fan, Clean and Polish A/C Compressor, Install Water Pump, Route Engine Wiring, Mounted Alternator, Upper Tension Arm, Lower Accessory Pulley Kit, Installed New Power Steering Pump, Pulleys, Wrap Wiring with New Cover Loom, Replaced Bolts on Manifold with New Ones, Hookup Hydraulic Clutch | 40 | $85.00 | $3,400.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 February: | 67.5 | $6,219.19 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 271.5 | $36,009.24 |
2022-03-24: On Thursday, March 24, 2022, I had a phone discussion with AS and RC regarding the air cleaner. They wanted me to decide what to do with the open area on the air cleaner. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, there was no open area on the air cleaner that I requested (multiple times).
EL Note 2023-10-03: This is when it was discovered that AS ordered a different air cleaner because the one I wanted was out of stock. Yes, it was out of stock by the time AS got around to ordering it. It was in stock when I originally located it on 2021-08-23. Had it been ordered then; I would have NOT had to settle for the finished product which is okay but NOT what I wanted. I couldn’t have them redo everything after all the work they put into it. AS actually ground off a COBRA emblem to make the space that was in question.
EL Note 2022-03-25: EL sent AS and RC a detailed email with my dissatisfaction regarding the air cleaner.
EL 2022-03-25 06:47: “Good day Adam. After looking at this a little bit more, we do need to fill that gap on the air cleaner, it was meant to have something there. So, C8DENCE on the air cleaner it is. Note: The original air cleaner I specified was the “No Name” version which doesn’t have the empty space and the fins are full length. So, we are forced to place C8DENCE in that area. I’m not fond of the cutout but it’s too late in the game and hopefully the C8DENCE filling in will help.”
EL 2022-03-31 09:58: “How did we end up with the wrong air cleaner?”
RC 2022-03-31 10:28: “This was the only one available at the time. I think it will look great in there, perfect.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: On Friday, March 25, 2022 06:47, EL sent email to AS and RC (again) expressing my dissatisfaction with the wrong air cleaner being ordered and Cambra investing the time and money to do something I didn’t want to do. Cambra “sprung” this on me after the fact.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | 15x7 OEM Ford Wheel with 5x4.5 Back Space (Spare) | 1 | $225.00 | $225.00 | ||||
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | BF Goodrich Silvertown Radial Tire (Spare) | 1 | $347.53 | $347.53 | ||||
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | Materials to Paint Wheels, Valve Covers, Air Cleaner | 1 | $285.00 | $285.00 | ||||
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | Prep, Paint Wheels, Valve Covers, Air Cleaner | 15 | $85.00 | $1,275.00 | ||||
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive | 1 | $3,404.00 | 308.18 | $3,712.18 | |||
| 2022-03-14 | 14841 | Receipt for Polishing Valve Covers, Air Cleaner | 1 | $360.00 | $360.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 March: | 15 | $6,204.71 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 286.5 | $42,213.95 |
2022-04-04: On Monday, April 4, 2022, EL sent email to RC asking for confirmation on the Gear Vendors Shift Ball/Switch.
EL 2022-04-04 09:11: “Good day Ron. I just want to confirm that you ordered the white Shift Ball/Switch for the Gear Vendors unit?”
RC 2022-04-04 14:29: “Hi Edward, I am not sure if I ordered the right ball with the switch, but I will check.”
2022-04-05: On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, EL sent a followup email to RC regarding the Gear Vendors Shift Ball/Switch.
EL 2022-04-05 09:01: “Good day Ron, just confirming that we ordered the white shift ball/switch? This was the one discussed while on the phone with Gear Vendors that day in your office. I have that whole setup displayed here at the bottom of the page.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: EL sent another email on 2022-04-07 as I had not received a response to the previous email followups.
RC 2022-04-07 15:22: “Sorry Edward, putting fires out all day. I did not order the ball with the switch. But I will for you in white.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This forgetfulness that was present throughout the entire process cost me time and money. I was somewhat surprised at this because it was also costing Cambra Speed Shop time and money. But, after reviewing all of the invoices I received and paid on demand, I got billed for it somewhere – and then some.
2022-04-24: On Sunday, April 24, 2022, EL sent email to AS and RC.
EL 2022-04-24 07:46: “Good day Adam. I’m checking in to see if you’ve come up with any ideas to fill the cutout space of the air cleaner?”
AS 2022-04-25 20:27: “I’ve been in the doctor’s office having some procedures done. My guy who does the design work and runs the CNC is out of state for the next two weeks.”
2022-04-26: On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, EL sent AS and RC an email expressing my dissatisfaction with the air cleaner (again).
EL 2022-04-26 05:54: “Good day Adam. I really wish you would have consulted with me before ordering this air cleaner. I would not have ordered this one – period. Now it’s up to you to make me like it. I see these in stock at quite a few places so I’m not sure why I ended up with this to begin with.”
EL 2022-04-26 07:11: I also sent an immediate followup with “Good day Adam. Can you give me the specifications on this air cleaner please? I want to see if I can find a replacement. Thank you.”
RC 2022-04-26 13:55: “Edward, let me take care of the air cleaner. I will have my guy paint the name and if you don’t like it then you don’t owe me anything. If you don’t like anything, then I will buy you a new air cleaner.”
EL 2022-04-26 13:57: “No painting please. If anything, I’d prefer to have dimension (3D). We can wait for the CNC guy.”
AS 2022-04-28 13:53: “Edward, we are having a Billet aluminum emblem made to fit your air cleaner. We will keep you posted.”
2022-05-01: Note that there were no email communications in May 2022. I did receive a voice mail from RC on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, which was transcribed to:
RC Voice Mail (Transcribed): “Good morning Edward. Good news, Gear Vendors called me today and they said they’re going to send it out within the next five working days. Tires. I called my guy and he still kind of screwed up on the tires. So Adam researched it, I guess now they’re off of back order list. So they’re ready to ship. So I will have tires probably within the next five or so working days. So as soon as I get those in here, we’ll get the wheels on it and we’ll start finishing up the motor, trans, Gear Vendors, and all that. So give me another week and I think we should be back on, okay? Just want to let you know where we’re at and let you know that I did get a response back from Gear Vendors today. Okay buddy? Hope you’re having a good time and not working too hard. Bye.”
2022-06-13: Invoice 15000, $1,679.30, Note from RC:
RC: “Hi Edward, hope you’re okay. Left you a couple of messages and no response. Maybe vacation? Yes we are back on your car working on it now. I have a question and wanted to ask you first. I need to borrow your old wheels for rollers on my van while my wheels are out being rechromed. Is that okay with you? Thanks.”
2022-06-13: On Monday, June 13, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding tire tread depth.
EL: “Question, can we measure tread depth on the front tires and then find out from Coker what the initial tread depth was and possibly determine actual mileage on the tires?”
RC: “I will have the guys measure the tires and check for you.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I never did receive this information and I wasn’t going to ask again. This persistent forgetfulness has really caused a bit of frustration for me in this process. It’s really not fair to the customer as they may end up feeling guilty having to constantly followup on trivial things, especially with RC as the most likely responses are going to be, “I have 30 cars in here right now and only so much time.” Or RC’s favorite reply when you call, “Can I call you right back?” only to never receive a call back.
2022-06-14: On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding images (again).
EL 2022-06-14 15:33: “Good day Ron. I need to get the images that Ryno has on his phone. When he and I last spoke, when was that, last year? I believe he said that he photographed everything as he was disassembling. If that is the case, he has some very valuable photos that I’m going to need in my lawsuit. He would have closeups of items that I don’t have, or he may have different angles, better perspective, etc. These should be the original hi-res images and he can send them to me via WeTransfer or send in small groups via his phone as long as he chooses the “Send at Original” size option when sending.”
RC 2022-06-15 11:37: “Hi Edward, just talked to Ryno and he said that the camera that was used is our shop camera. I will talk to Adam and see what’s there and have him forward those to you. Just talked to Adam and he said that there are tons of pics so he will put them on a flash drive for you.”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-06-13 | 15000 | Mount New Tires to New Rims and Balance | 1 | $120.00 | $120.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-13 | 15000 | New Valve Cover Gaskets | 1 | $29.30 | $29.30 | ||||
| 2022-06-13 | 15000 | Remove Old Wheels, Install New Wheels, Install Headers, Install New Valve Covers, Prefit Gear Vendor Unit and Cutout Center Crossmember for Clearance, Remove Stock Speedometer Gear on Transmission, Measure for New Driveshaft, Prefit Exhaust for Clearance | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Modified Drive Shaft to fit Gear Vendor | 1 | $465.00 | $465.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Materials to Paint Frame Section and Redo Drive Shaft | 1 | $325.00 | $325.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Bodywork, Frame Section Removed, Prep and Paint | 9 | $85.00 | $765.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Sand and Prep Driveshaft, Prime, Paint, Clear Coat | 6 | $85.00 | $510.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Mockup Gear Vendor, Exhaust, Install and Phase Distributor, Install Holley Sniper, Install Belt System, Reinstall Gear Vendor, Install Crossmember | 24 | $85.00 | $2,040.00 | ||||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | New Set of Spark Plugs | 1 | $21.21 | $4.73 | $25.94 | |||
| 2022-06-20 | 15010 | Overdrive Lens for Column | 1 | $39.80 | $39.80 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 June: | 57 | $5,850.04 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 343.5 | $48,063.99 |
2022-07-01: Note that there were no email communications until Wednesday, July 20, 2022, after a phone discussion regarding the discovery that my glass packs were damaged, nothing but dust inside. Cambra wasn’t sure what to do at this point and I did the research and located the Patriot Smith Mufflers which is what we ordered. We had limited options due to the configuration of the exhaust system and Art Morrison framework.
AS 2022-07-20 08:38: “They will work but not in stock.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There were a few more emails regarding this as the source I found had them in stock. AS responded with “It’s probably a different warehouse has them.”
RC 2022-07-20 12:13: “We will look into these. Thanks.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I should note that as a customer, I was not expecting to be this involved in sourcing parts. I was under the impression that I was in the hands of experienced professionals and that sourcing parts would be the least of my concerns.
2022-08-10 07:10: On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, EL sent email to RC letting him know that my daughter and I would be arriving at the shop around 13:00 to take pictures and check progress on the car. During this visit, I noticed that the exhaust tips were not positioned where they should have been, and one was 1/2” lower than the other. I sent an email on Thursday, August 11, 2022 08:05, showing the original position of those exhaust tips, they were strategically positioned to be centered under the bumperettes.
RC 2022-08-11 10:29: “No problem that’s where we will put it back.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: It was sad to see this type of sloppiness with C8DENCE. I should have never seen those exhaust tips out of whack like that. When they were installed, they should have been positioned correctly to begin with.
2022-08-12: On Friday, August 12, 2022, EL sent email to RC and AS regarding the Coker Tires, they ordered the wrong tires.
EL 2022-08-12 03:48: “Good day Ron, Adam. I’m going through the pictures I took on Wed, Aug 10, 2022, and just noticed that you put the “Coker Tires” on C8DENCE. Why? I specifically requested the BF Goodrich Silvertown Radials due to a number of reasons. I specifically stated I did not want the Coker Tires due to speed rating. I thought I was very “specific” when it came to the tires? You invoiced me for the 4 BF Goodrich Silvertown Radials ($1,497.85). The Coker Tires are much less so I am expecting that invoice to be modified to reflect the change in tires. Not happy about that at all. If I have ANY problems with those tires, I’m going to blame you.”
2022-08-14: On Sunday, August 14, 2022, EL sent RC and AS email regarding the wheels (painting) being damaged.
EL 2022-08-14 09:17: “Good day Ron. Still going through the images I took on Wed, Aug 10, 2022, looking at fine details and such. I believe we already have some paint damage on the left front wheel? I’d like to come up on Mon, Aug 15, 2022, and take some more pictures, this time without the gimbal. I also want to look at some other items that I saw while reviewing the images I took.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I sent pictures to RC and AS with the wheel damage that was clearly visible. How these wheels and tires got put back on the car with no one noticing they were the wrong tires and the wheels were damaged is beyond me. My impression of this faux pas was that there is a lack of quality control in the shop. This was demonstrated to me time and time again.
2022-08-15: On Monday, August 15, 2022, EL received email from RC:
RC 2022-08-15 08:21: “Good morning Edward, I am not sure what went wrong, but I would not intentionally do something like this. We will return these tires and make sure we get the correct BFGs for you. They have 16 each in stock. Your right about the wheel being scratched. We noticed that the right rear one has a scratch in it too. But I will take care of asap. Going to put old wheels back on, dismount tires, correct scratches and reinstall new tires for you.”
EL 2022-08-15 11:05: “Before ordering the tires, I want to see what we are ordering. I hope you understand, I just need confirmation that the correct tires and whitewall widths are being ordered. I’ve kind of lost a little bit of confidence in the process.”
EL2022-08-15 11:07: “Also, just wanted to let you know how HAPPY I am that Ryno is taking care of C8DENCE. I really like that he is detailed oriented and seems to know his schit!”
2022-08-18: On Thursday, August 18, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding the Aldan American Coilovers.
EL 2022-08-18 11:08: “Good day Ron. It appears that these coil overs are reversible? The damper is at the top on the rear along with the adjustment knob. It’s at the bottom up front along with the adjustment knob.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Cambra Speed Shop installed the Aldan American Coilovers upside down. They were like this for many months before “I” noticed while reviewing images that I took during a trip to the shop. The Aldan American logo was upside down, that should have been a sign that something wasn’t right?
2022-08-23: On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, EL sent RC email.
EL: “Good day Ron. Did you send these two invoices again for a reason?”
RC: “I wasn’t sure if I sent them. Sorry for sending twice.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I’ve included this entry because of the many times I received the same invoices. These are done via QuickBooks and I’m not sure how RC can be unsure if he sent them, QuickBooks does have a date and time when the invoice was sent. Each time this happens, I have to go back and review the invoice timeline, compare the invoices to make sure there were no changes, and that they matched what I originally received.
2022-08-25: On Thursday, August 25, 2022, EL sent RC an email with a question from my attorney at the time.
EL 2022-08-25 06:41: “Good day Ron. This is just an FYI. Question from Attorney: Why has your car been in the shop so long?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I sent the attorney a breakdown of items to date. He didn’t understand the why and also questioned the scope of repairs along with the costs to date. The attorney dropped the case and gave me a full refund. He wanted nothing to do with it.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-17 | 15112 | Fabricate Bracket for Coil Pack, Run Wires for EFT, Mounted Coil Pack, Cutoff Old Muffler Flanges, Remove Back Seat to Run Wires for EFT, Sand Blast Flanges and Mockup to be Welded to New Mufflers | 22 | $85.00 | $1,870.00 | ||||
| 2022-08-22 | 15125 | Receipt for 10W-30 Syn Motor Oil, Oil Filter | 1 | $47.30 | $47.30 | ||||
| 2022-08-22 | 15125 | Receipt for Fuel Filter | 1 | $88.56 | $88.56 | ||||
| 2022-08-22 | 15125 | Receipt for Lokar Throttle Cable and Braided Race Hoses | 1 | $257.40 | $30.48 | $287.88 | |||
| 2022-08-22 | 15125 | Remove Vacuum Lines and Replace with Stainless Lines, Remove Fuel Line from Tank to Carb, Modify and Replace, Install Sniper Cable Kit Bracket and Cable, Mount Secondary Fuel Filter Inline on Frame, Modify and Install Throttle Cable | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 August: | 40 | $3,823.74 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 383.5 | $51,887.73 |
2022-09-10: Invoice 15167, $3,742.77
RC Invoice Note: “Hi Edward, I’m just sending these to you so you have them. Not sure if I sent before. Thank you for the $7,000.00 also. Have a great weekend.”
2022-09-22: On Thursday, September 22, 2022, EL sent AS and RC an email requesting tire date codes.
EL 2022-09-22 10:39: “Good day Adam. Can you give me the date codes on all four tires please? I ask for all four to see if they are from the same production run or if I have multiple production runs. If so, hopefully they are paired. If paired, I’d put the newer date codes on the rear.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I never did receive this information. Requests like this are too trivial for Cambra Speed Shop to handle. Remember, they’ve got 30 cars in there and not enough time for you – the customer of one of those cars!
2022-09-26 16:44: On Monday, September 26, 2022, EL sent email to RC reminding him not to forget about ordering the cat call whistle.
RC 2022-09-27 08:40: “I thought we already ordered that?”
EL 2022-09-27 08:43: “You did. Don’t forget to install it. It’s not been mentioned during any of our recent discussions.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This was forgotten and I was billed for it. It’s a trivial cost. Add this to all the other trivial costs due for refund and you have just over $1,100 due in refunds.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Throttle Cable and Flex Hose | 1 | $231.50 | $25.44 | $256.94 | |||
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Fuel | 1 | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Wrap Around Braided Cover | 1 | $82.00 | $82.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Fittings | 1 | $14.80 | $14.80 | ||||
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Installed Throttle Cable, Fuel Line to Tank, Finished Vacuum Line to Canister, Covered Braided Line with Black Cover for AC Lines, Mounted Rear Exhaust on Car, Finish Rear Vacuum Line to Manifold, Run Power to Fuel Pump, Work on Header Flanges for Mufflers, Wire Ignition, Add Synthetic Oil and Filter, Set Motor at TDC. Prime Oil in Motor and Ready to Start, Bleed Brakes | 33 | $85.00 | $2,805.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-01 | 15154 | Rick Welding Exhaust Flanges and 2 Each V-Band Clamps to New Mufflers | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Billet Hose Separators | 1 | $43.50 | $9.37 | $52.87 | |||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Hose Covers | 1 | $12.50 | $12.50 | ||||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Heater Hoses | 1 | $41.40 | $41.40 | ||||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Spark Plug Divider Set | 1 | $23.50 | $23.50 | ||||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Rick Finishing Exhaust System | 6.5 | $85.00 | $552.50 | ||||
| 2022-09-10 | 15167 | Ryno Working on Heater Hoses, Drilled Holes in Side Panels, Bleed Rear Brakes, Finish All Wiring, Detail Wiring on Engine, Start Motor, Troubleshoot Sniper EFI | 36 | $85.00 | $3,060.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-15 | 15178 | Coolant | 1 | $32.50 | $6.39 | $38.89 | |||
| 2022-09-15 | 15178 | Welding New Exhaust Tips | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-15 | 15178 | New Chrome Exhaust Tips | 2 | $25.00 | $50.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-15 | 15178 | Bleed Brakes, Install Spark Plug Separators, Make Templates for Panels, Wiring up the Gear Vendor, Remove Exhaust and Take to Get Coated | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-15 | 15178 | Invoice to Coat Complete Exhaust System | 1 | $850.00 | $850.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-26 | 15187 | Receipt for Redoing Wheel Covers | 1 | $450.00 | $450.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-26 | 15187 | New Shifter Handle with Button | 1 | $105.00 | $8.14 | $113.14 | |||
| 2022-09-26 | 15187 | Ryan Working on Mounting and Running Wiring for Gear Vendors, Run Electrical Display for Sniper, Reroute Vacuum Lines to Brake Booster to Hide on Passenger Side Engine Box, Install Hood | 19 | $85.00 | $1,615.00 | ||||
| 2022-09-26 | 15187 | Making Templates and Start Making Metal Panels for Inner Engine Box | 13 | $85.00 | $1,105.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 September: | 134 | $13,363.54 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 517 | $65,251.27 |
2022-10-05: On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding a shifter handle that AS ordered as a substitute for the Gear Vendors white shifter ball/switch that was forgotten.
EL 2022-10-05 06:12: “Good day Ron. I’ve given this some serious thought and I don’t want the shifter handle, it’s going to cause issues. I want what I originally requested which is this [image]. That handle is going to be in the way and my leg will potentially be up against that switch, nope, don’t want that. I would like to have the shifter ball from Gear Vendors please. Frackin Adam, he should have called me before ordering the handle. Same with the air cleaner but I’m okay with what I ended up with. Gear Vendors put some serious thought into the positioning of that button, and I don’t see it being an issue with the way the ball is held.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: We had to order the black shifter ball with switch from Gear Vendors. It was then painted Mandarin Copper and the inset etching was also painted. Additional cost to me because of the forgetfulness during this entire process. Also, the T-Handle that AS ordered would not have worked with the Gear Vendors unit.
2022-10-07: On Friday, October 7, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding the position of the shifter handle which has been ongoing for quite some time.
EL 2022-10-07 06:23: “Good day Ron. I’ve been thinking about this issue with the position of the shifter and was wondering why can’t we just change the shifter arm? The one I currently have is angled back a bit. I’m looking at various Hurst shifter arms in different angles, etc.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I followed up on this email on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 08:24. I never received a response. Cambra Speed Shop continued to butcher the current handle until it was at the point of ugliness. It is now vertical, no more bend, and Reverse is positioned where First should be. This was a nightmare dealing with this. I lost track of how many times this was modified, moved, reconfigured, you name it. I will be replacing what was done with this.
2022-10-13: On Thursday, October 13, 2022, I was informed by RC and AS that we had a problem. The engine rear seal was leaking, and the engine needed to be removed (again). I spent some time researching the rear main seal leak so I fully understood what was happening and who was at fault here. EL sent a link to RC for the Jon Kaase Rear Main Seal to order.
RC 2022-10-13 07:59: “Good morning Edward, I am not sure yet what we are doing until we remove the trans and see the actual leak and where it is coming from. More than likely it is the seal, but I have high hope for maybe just the pan. If need be, we will use their seal.”
2022-10-18: On Tuesday, October 18, 2022, EL sent a followup email to RC regarding the rear main seal leak.
EL 2022-10-18 14:12: “Good day Ron. Do we have a diagnosis yet? On the edge of me seat… hoping for good news.”
RC 2022-10-24 09:16: “Hi Edward, Just got back in town. I had Adam order the new seal from Kaase and we pulled the trans and motor out. Going to replace and reinstall back in soon as we are done repairing the leak.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This issue became apparent on 2022-10-13. RC did not respond until 2022-10-24. This has been a common occurrence throughout this process. The delays in fixing things once discovered are unacceptable – but I’m stuck.
2022-10-31: On Monday, October 31, 2022, EL sent email to RC following up on past discussions concerning the finned wire looms.
EL 2022-10-31 06:46: “Good day Ron. During past discussions, I had mentioned that I wanted to replace the “ball milled” wire looms with “finned” so they match everything else going on. These would need to be polished and painted or, they appear to be polished already, just painting? Can we still do that please? These are a few items I found that may be candidates for replacement.”
RC 2022-10-31 10:44: “Hi Edward, I ordered the ones you wanted today and will replace the old ones that you had. When I get them, I will check to see if needs polished and I will paint to match the valve covers.”
2022-10-31: On Monday, October 31, 2022, EL sent email to RC following up on the shifter handle.
EL 2022-10-31 11:36: “Just following up on this to see what we’re going to do?”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-03 | 15203 | Installed Exhaust, Removed Stereo Box and Locate Good Spot for Gear Vendor Switches, Install Next to Box, Install all 4 Wheels, Tighten and Torqued, Finish all Wiring for Gear Vendor, Put 5 Gal of Fuel in Car, Run Motor | 16 | $85.00 | $1,360.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-03 | 15203 | Receipt for New Lug Nuts | 1 | $22.50 | $1.74 | $24.24 | |||
| 2022-10-06 | 15211 | Prep Emblem and Paint Emblem to Match Color | 1.5 | $85.00 | $127.50 | ||||
| 2022-10-06 | 15211 | Run Motor, Time, Set Idle, Check All Fluids, Fix Oil Leak on Sender, Pulled Power Steering Pump, Send to Replace O-Ring, Reinstall Power Steering Pump, Test Drive, Bleed Power Steering Lines, Made Bracket for Passenger Seat, Replace Fitting for Vacuum Line on Back of Motor | 17 | $85.00 | $1,445.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-06 | 15211 | Finish Up Engine Compartment Side Panels and Ready for Bodywork and Paint | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-13 | 15226 | Rick Finishing up Side Panels in the Engine Box | 11 | $85.00 | $935.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-24 | 15241 | Electric Door Lock Kit Complete | 1 | $255.00 | $48.13 | $303.13 | |||
| 2022-10-24 | 15241 | Engine Gasket Kit | 1 | $165.00 | $165.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-24 | 15241 | Kasse Rear Main Seal with Next Day Air | 1 | $201.00 | $201.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-24 | 15241 | Removing: Exhaust, Driveshaft, Gear Vendor, Transmission, Motor, Drain all Fluids, Remove Sniper Wiring, Heater Hoses, Test with Smoke Tester, Found Leaks at Rear Main Seal | 25 | $85.00 | $2,125.00 | ||||
| 2022-10-30 | 15254 | Ryno Working on Pulled Motor, Drained all Fluids, Pulled Pan, Replaced Rear Main Seal, Pan Gasket, and Manifold Gasket | 18 | $85.00 | $1,530.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 October: | 107 | $9,745.87 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 623.5 | $74,997.14 |
2022-11-03: On Thursday, November 3, 2022, EL sent email to RC asking if I was going to get any updates for the week including the shifter lever.
EL 2022-11-03 15:21: “Good day Ron. Am I going to get any updates for this week? Also, have we decided what’s going on with the shifter lever?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There was no response from RC regarding this. I ended up with a vertical shifter handle that isn’t positioned properly.
2022-11-07: Invoice 15269, $2,550.00
EL: “So, that frackin leak and a $60.00 part ended up costing me $6,406.00? That’s crazy!”
RC: “Sorry man.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I should have stopped everything at this point. I should NOT have been billed for any of this work, that rear main seal leak was their fault and/or their third party’s fault. It was the primary reason the engine was pulled to begin with. I will be requesting refunds for items billed that were Cambra Speed Shop’s fault.
2022-11-29: On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, EL received email from AS and RC regarding the white shifter ball and switch from Gear Vendors.
AS 2022-11-29 15:29: “Good afternoon Edward. I have been getting the runaround from Gear Vendors on your Shifter Ball that has been on order for the past couple months. After I put some pressure on them it turns out the white ball has been out of stock for over 6 months, and they were expecting them in anytime. It turns out they don’t know if they will be getting them in. Our only option for a round ball at this time will be in black. They have them in stock and can ship one out tomorrow. Let me know if this will work for you and I will get it shipped out.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: At this point I feel I am being lied to. RC or AS forgot to order it when they were supposed to. I was in the office with RC when we called Gear Vendors to discuss the options for C8DENCE. During that discussion, I mentioned the white shifter ball and it was stated they were in stock.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-11-04 | 15269 | Reinstall Motor and Smoke Test for Leaks, Installed all Heater Hoses, Electrical, Bell Housing, Clutch Assembly, Headers, Installed Transmission and Gear Vendor, Exhaust, Driveshaft, and Starter | 30 | $85.00 | $2,550.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | Bodywork Panels and Paint | 14 | $75.00 | $1,050.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | Materials | 1 | $195.00 | $195.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | Bo in Milling Shifter for Wire | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | No Charge in Fixing Manifold Leak, Figure Out Problem and Remove, Replace with New Gaskets, Works Perfectly | 11 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | Fix Side Skirts to Clip Better, Install Hubcaps and Bullets, Remove Shifter, Readjust Steering Column, Mount Fire Extinguisher | 13 | $85.00 | $1,105.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-17 | 15293 | Install and Polish Rear License Plate Mount, Hookup Light, Install Gear Vendor Wires, Modify Shifter Handle to Clear Seats | 8 | $85.00 | $680.00 | ||||
| 2022-11-28 | 15308 | Finish assembling parts back on after leaky manifold, need to modify new side panels that we made, install hood and all fluids, test drive car. | 20 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 November: | 100 | $5,920.00 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 723.5 | $80,917.14 |
2022-12-19: On Monday, December 19, 2022, EL sent RC an email indicating my dissatisfaction with being charged for something that should have been done to begin with.
EL 2022-12-19 00:58: “Good day Ron. I am forwarding this communication that I sent to you on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. I’ve got a bad taste in me mouth regarding a previous invoice. I brought up the fuel cap issue a few times in the beginning. It’s also listed in my Cambra Task List. “Fuel Cap: Replace fuel cap with ventilated type. When fueling for the first time, there was a bit of pressure behind that cap, and I had to loosen it slowly to let the pressure escape. After reading a few articles it appears that this issue may lead to the flooding I experienced after fueling up? Does the fuel tank have a vent?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Had I been paying close attention to invoicing, I would have noticed that I was being billed for items that should have been done at Cambra Speed Shop’s cost e.g. all of the removing and installation of the engine and components to deal with the ongoing challenges we were faced with – an engine that was broken to begin with.
2022-12-29: On Thursday, December 29, 2022, EL sent email to RC regarding header wrap. This was the suggestion from RC and AS to deal with the heat emanating from the headers and causing engine bay paint to peel.
EL: “Good day Ron. Since we have the one header out, we might as well pull the other and wrap them. I’ve been doing some research on various wraps and this one looks like it might fit the bill? I like the bronze, I think it would mesh well with the engine compartment?”
RC: “I will order the wrap for you and do the headers when they come in. Thank you.”
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Going Over Car, Wire New Shifter Ball, Adjust Clutch and Linkage | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Gas Receipt | 1 | $50.00 | $50.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Spare Tire Kit | 1 | $597.50 | $54.33 | $651.83 | |||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Tom the Tuner | 1 | $450.00 | $450.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Mounting Fire Extinguisher | 2 | $85.00 | $170.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Ryno Working with Tuner and Driving the Car | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Glove Box Liner for 1956 Crown Victoria | 1 | $28.50 | $28.50 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Speedometer Adapter | 1 | $75.00 | $75.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Invoice for Full Detail | 1 | $1,250.00 | $1,250.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-07 | 15325 | Gas Receipt | 1 | $40.00 | $40.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Rick Made Gas Tank Filler Tube | 2 | $85.00 | $170.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Ryno removed exhaust pipe for clearance of tank, drained gas, removed tank, installed vent line, reinstall tank back in and added fuel, install new shifter ball and fixed wiring, readjusted shifter for second gear. | 17 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | New Battery | 1 | $288.20 | $288.20 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Alignment Charge | 1 | $175.00 | $175.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Charge Freon 1.8 lbs and Oil in the Compressor | 1 | $350.00 | $350.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Swapping Batteries, Making Vent Line to above Rearend | 2 | $85.00 | $170.00 | ||||
| 2022-12-21 | 15347 | Gas Receipt | 1 | $20.00 | $20.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2022 December: | 30 | $4,483.53 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 753.5 | $85,400.67 |
2023-01-20: Invoice 15405, $2,847.50
EL: “$1,000 to wrap headers? WTF? We should have just replaced them. I had no idea it would take someone frackin 12.5 hours to wrap the headers. But hey, I’m new to all this and this is to be expected.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I was charged $1,062.50 (12.5 Hours) to wrap the headers. That is OBSCENE! It is at this point that I realize I’ve been getting ripped off.
RC: “I hear you loud and clear. It takes a long time to do them right.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I performed a bit of research into this. I watched multiple videos of a header wrap being done. This should not have taken any longer than 4-5 hours at most and that is doing it correctly.
2023-01-21: Invoice 15390, $1,645.07
EL: “Good day Ron. Is there a cost missing for the 11 hours of Ryno uninstalling?”
RC: “Thank you Edward for being honest. Yes I forgot to add that in.”
2023-01-31: On Tuesday, January 31, 2023, EL sent email to RC following up on the transmission after it was discovered that it would not go into second gear during a test drive.
EL 2023-01-31 07:15: “Good day Ron. Checking in to see where things stand regarding the transmission? There was an invoice on 09/09/2021 for “Transmission (Testing, Bearings, Seals)” for $939.00. Should that testing have revealed a sync problem?”
RC 2023-01-31 08:25: “Hi Edward, yes, they would of noticed something. It has to be in the linkage, and we will check that out. Just buried with the GNRS.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There are constant excuses regarding delays, no responses, etc. It’s usually because they are busy with 30 cars, getting ready for shows, etc. The 4 day workweek that they adhere to SUCKS. It doesn’t work in this industry and causes even more delays in communications, getting things done, etc. Yes, the Cambra Speed Shop 4-Day Workweek SUCKS – there, I said it! I’m certain that I can say that on behalf of your customers – and vendors too.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-01-13 | 15390 | Ryno removing skirts and rear wheels, dropped rear end down, pulled axles back and removed third member, clean housing and scrape old gasket, send third member down to install 4:11 gear. | 11 | $85.00 | $935.00 | ||||
| 2023-01-13 | 15390 | Invoice for new gear, seals, retainer nut, and shims. | 1 | $659.00 | $51.07 | $710.07 | |||
| 2023-01-20 | 15405 | Bo wrapping headers. | 12.5 | $85.00 | $1,062.50 | ||||
| 2023-01-20 | 15405 | Ryno R&R battery in trunk, make new hold down. | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2023-01-20 | 15405 | Prep and repaint third member. | 3 | $85.00 | $255.00 | ||||
| 2023-01-20 | 15405 | Ryno reinstall third member, axles, brakes, and exhaust, install headers back on, wrap starter, and install starter back in. | 15 | $85.00 | $1,275.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2023 January: | 44.5 | $4,492.57 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 798 | $89,893.24 |
2023-02-02: On Thursday, February 2, 2023, EL received email from RC regarding the shifter.
RC 2023-02-02 08:59: “So we ordered a new bushing kit for the shifter. Going to rebuild a 50 year old shifter and I am pretty sure that will take care of it. We should have the kit by Monday and will fix it ASAP.”
2023-02-13: Invoice 15442, $1,758.09
RC: “Good news, shifter is working perfect.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: While the shifter may work, the shift lever and position are still not right. This shifter lever was a hack job and it may have cost me 10x what a new shifter lever would have cost!
2023-02-14: On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, EL sent email to RC following up on a reverse light issue and the passenger side door gap.
EL 2023-02-14 07:10: “Good day Ron. Have we looked into this issue yet? Also, have we addressed the passenger door gap?”
RC 2023-02-14 08:20: “Good morning Edward, shifter is working perfect. We will look at the reverse lights and passenger door today.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: The constant followup required is frustrating. During our initial meeting in August 2021, it was stated that I would get regular weekly updates – that never happened. In fact, I think I may have received a handful of updates that were not requested during the time at Cambra Speed Shop. The passenger door gap was never fixed. If it was, it is worse now than it was before. The gap at the bottom of the door is now out of whack. This will be repaired by the new shop.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-13 | 15442 | Gas Receipt | 2 | $30.00 | $60.00 | ||||
| 2023-02-13 | 15442 | Rebuilt Shifter and Install | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 | ||||
| 2023-02-13 | 15442 | Rebuilt Shifter Kit | 1 | $156.00 | $12.09 | $168.09 | |||
| 2023-02-13 | 15442 | Installing wheels back on car, exhaust, add rear end oil, test drive, way better on the gear problem with linkage not working properly. | 14 | $85.00 | $1,190.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2023 February: | 18 | $1,758.09 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 816 | $91,651.33 |
2023-03-11: On Saturday, March 11, 2023, EL sent email to RC regarding the exhaust alignment.
EL 2023-03-11 11:58: “Good day Ron. One thing we didn’t discuss during the last telcon was the exhaust alignment. I believe the left exhaust is sitting about 0.5 lower than the right.”
2023-03-15: Invoice 15501, $301.16
RC Invoice Note: “I was looking at the invoices and I think you are in the neg $3,147.22 plus this invoice for the battery. Please let me know if I am wrong.”
EL Reply: I called RC to discuss this invoice comment. We went through all of the invoices to date. This was the second time that RC had another customer’s invoicing mixed in with mine and was questioning when I was going to pay the balance due. I’ve kept a positive balance with Cambra Speed Shop for most of the time except when invoices came in that caused a negative balance at which time I would perform a wire transfer and make sure there was a positive balance to pull from. I was never late with a payment, never really questioned many of the invoices and I SHOULD have.
2023-03-20: On Monday, March 20, 2023, EL sent “another” followup email to RC regarding the exhaust alignment.
EL 2023-03-20 07:49: “Good day Ron. Did we get this taken care of?”
RC 2023-03-20 07:50: “Hi Edward, yes the guys said they fixed it.”
EL 2023-03-20 07:52: “So, she’s ready for a cruise? Rain forecasted for today, tomorrow, and into Wednesday.”
RC 2023-03-20 08:00: “Yes after the rain.”
2023-03-27: On Monday, March 27, 2023, EL sent email to RC following up on the test drive that was supposed to happen today.
EL 2023-03-27 17:01: “Good day Ron. I sent you a text on Friday, and a few today. I’ve called the office a few times too, no answer. I hope all is okay? I need to do my final test drive and take C8DENCE off your hands. I was hoping to get a call this morning letting me know we’re ready. If I don’t hear from ya, I’ll plan on driving up in the early AM on Tue, Mar 28, 2023, hoping that she is ready for an extended day cruise. I have to make arrangements for her new home, I have two (2) potential candidates.”
RC 2023-03-28 07:56: “Good morning, sorry I am by myself here and was covering everything yesterday. I got home about 9 last night and just got back in. Adam had an emergency in his family and will be out for a few days. We are finished but they want to have Tom come back out and mess with the timing still. You can come and drive it today.”
EL 2023-03-28 08:09: “Good morning. When is Tom scheduled to come out? It’s really not worth it for me to take a day off to come up there only to run into issues while driving. I don’t really want to do that. And if I got stranded while out driving? I don’t want to miss any more sunny weekends not being able to drive her.”
RC 2023-03-28 08:20: “Tom messed with the timing the last time he was here, and we need him to change it back. He’s coming down tomorrow to do it in the shop and then we should be good. He also still thinks that this motor is much higher compression than what they are telling you. You’re going to have to add fuel additive mixed with gas. 11 to 1 compression at least.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: During these tuning sessions, it was never discovered that there was a valve sticking. It was never discovered that there was a flat lobe on the cam. And, had we discovered those items, we would have then discovered that the crank was damaged. Had my original request to have a scope and compression check been done (since RC did not want to remove the heads) we would have discovered issues which would have led to further inspection. Due to that failure, I estimate this has cost me somewhere north of $30,000 in labor and a considerable amount of time lost.
| # | Inv Date | Inv No | Item | Qty | Lab | Unit Price | Tax | Freight | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-15 | 15501 | New Optima Red Top Battery, Jumper Lugs, Battery Cable | 1 | $279.50 | $21.66 | $301.16 | |||
| 2023-03-19 | 15510 | Gas | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 | ||||
| 2023-03-19 | 15510 | Installed second battery, reinstalled fire extinguisher, mount spare tire, test drive around and play with timing. | 7 | $85.00 | $595.00 | ||||
| Totals for 2023 March: | 9 | $921.16 | |||||||
| Running Totals: | 825 | $92,572.49 |
2023-04-03: On Monday, April 3, 2023, EL sent RC an email following up on the test drive that was supposed to take place on Monday, March 27, 2023.
EL 2023-04-03 13:19: “Good day Ron. Just checking to see if you’re ready for me? Weather is supposed to clear up this evening and then sunshine all week. I WILL NOT MISS ANOTHER WEEKEND of cruising. Everything is buttoned up? Everything double, triple checked for leaks? Is she ready to move into her new accommodations?”
RC 2023-04-03 14:02: “We had Tom come back out last Thursday and did a double check on the tune. Seems to be good except you are going to have to run a fuel octane booster. Runs really well and you can drive it tomorrow.”
2023-04-05: On Wednesday, April 5, 2023, EL sent RC an email with a table showing five (5) items I was billed for and never received.
EL 2023-04-05 17:54: “Good afternoon. I had mentioned there were a handful of items that I was invoiced for that I haven’t received. You can see the highlighted list here…”
EL Note 1: Those items totaled $1,030.67. It was forgotten, there has been no refund as of this date (2023-10-02).
EL Note 2: Refund of $1,030.67 received 2023-10-06 via check.
2023-04-13: On Thursday, April 13, 2023, EL received email from RC regarding wheels.
RC 2023-04-13 10:18: “We got the wheels back and painted them. Mounting tires on them now and will get back on car today. After that we will address the oil leak.”
2023-04-22: On Saturday, April 22, 2023, EL sent RC an email indicating my concern regarding the clutch.
EL 2023-04-22 06:58: “Good day Ron. I’m concerned about the clutch. It has been slipping long enough (months) that I would think there is damage there that is only going to cause more problems moving forward. Are you able to visually inspect it to see if there is damage? During my last drive, when I got on the freeway to come back to Cambra, I couldn’t give it much gas. That clutch was slipping terribly BUT there was no burnt clutch smell during any time driving. The on ramp had a slight incline and when I went into second the RPMs just went up and the car was struggling a little to gain momentum.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This was a brand new clutch installed by Cambra Speed Shop (or third party) in September 2021.
2023-05-01: On Monday, May 1, 2023, EL sent RC an email regarding a couple of panels in the trunk and maybe fixing those while I waited.
EL 2023-05-01 07:54: “Good day Ron. While C8DENCE is sitting awaiting repairs, can we take care of the 2 panels in the trunk that are aft? They are loose right now, and the metal clips being used to attach them are somewhat funky, I believe there are four (4) of them on each panel. They could easily be replaced with plastic/Teflon clips. These are the panels that sit to the left and right of the fuel filler. Another issue we have is the Glove Compartment. It’s not shutting all the way and it rattles while driving. Anything we can do to fix that would be much appreciated!”
RC 2023-05-01 16:57: “Okay, I will look at that.” regarding the glove compartment and “No problem.” regarding the trunk panels.
EL Note 2023-10-03: This was never done. It was never even discussed after this. Another item forgotten. The list of forgotten items continues to grow. This was lost monies for Cambra Speed Shop and a continued loss of confidence from the customer.
2023-05-08: On Monday, May 8, 2023, EL sent RC an email about checking the air in my tires.
EL 2023-05-08 09:53: “Question, how do I check the air in my tires? I didn’t see a valve stem that was accessible. I see the holes in the wheel covers but no stem in sight?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There was no response to the above followup. After all of the work performed on the wheels, tires, and Cadillac hubcaps, everything was installed and the standard valve stems were hidden behind the hubcaps. Cambra Speed Shop forgot to install valve stem extenders. How does that happen? How does one sit there and place the hubcaps on realizing that there is no valve stem coming through the hole? My hubcaps have been on and off so many times that the custom paint job is trashed under those hubcaps. Those wheels will need to be repainted at some time in the future.
2023-05-24: On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, EL received email from RC about a test drive.
RC 2023-05-24 09:36: “Hi Edward, your car runs bitchen. Let me know if you want to drive it when the weather is a little better. Come check it out.”
EL 2023-05-24 09:53: “Good day Ron. Won’t be able to make it by today but will plan on coming by on Thursday, May 25, 2023. I’m assuming everything that was pending has been completed. 1. Spare Tire Fitment, 2. Trunk Panel Clips, 3. Glove Box, 4. Valve Stems. Where will/is the Sniper EFI unit going? In the glove compartment?”
RC 2023-05-24 10:04: “We got extenders for the hubcaps. Not sure about glovebox. I can make the tire fit in behind panel.”
EL 2023-05-24 10:33: “We’ve already tried that (tire fitment), it’s about an inch too big, the panel doesn’t shut properly. Glovebox? Rattling and not aligned properly which I’m guessing is the source of the rattle.”
RC 2023-05-24 10:41: “Let’s go over it tomorrow when you’re here.”
2023-06-21: On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, EL took C8DENCE for a test drive. After 20 miles on the freeway at 65-70 MPH, the water temp exceeded 210 degrees. EL exited freeway, parked, arranged for flatbed back to Cambra Speed Shop. Inspect, address potential issue. Prepare for V’s chassis dyno.
2023-06-25: On Saturday, June 25, 2023, I attended the Cambra Speed Shop Block Party car show. The vehicle was not drivable at this time but was showable. There were some embarrassing moments when I could not get the passenger door open. I’ve been bringing this issue up since August 2021, it still isn’t fixed and I’m almost certain I was overcharged for it somewhere in the myriad of invoices with hundreds of hours of labor.
EL Note 2023-10-03: I had an interesting discussion with a show attendee who mentioned to me that they had a friend who pulled a car from Cambra Speed Shop after four (4) years of being at the shop. And, since then, I’ve learned of others that have done the same.
2023-06-27: On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, RC sent me an email with updates.
RC 2023-06-27 13:39: “Hi Edward, going to have Bo look at that (power steering unit crooked) later today and charge the A/C again. I need to talk to Adam and find out if we can get the car back over to the tuner or have my guy come over here, Tom The Tuner. I will let you know.”
EL Note 2024-04-03: On Thursday, June 29, 2023 while attempting to chassis dyno C8DENCE at V’s Performance, it was discovered the engine had potential internal damage e.g. low oil pressure after engine warms up. On Friday, August 18, 2023 while at JGRE, engine debris discovered in oil filter. On Thursday, September 14, 2023, it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to the damage discovered e.g. flattened cam lobe, crankshaft, etc.
2023-07-17: On Monday, July 17, 2023, EL sent email to RC and AS regarding engine.
EL 2023-07-17 07:53: “Good day Ron, Adam. I spoke with Ron last Monday and he asked me to wait on locating someone to inspect/rebuild the engine. I seriously don’t want to wait 8 weeks before someone could start, that’s the rest of the summer. August 9, 2023, will be 2 years since I dropped C8DENCE off at Cambra. Had I known then, what I know now, this car would have gone right back on the transport to Volo.”
2023-07-20: On Thursday, July 20, 2023, EL received email from AS.
AS 2023-07-20 14:14: “I talked to our engine builder, and he is willing to get started on it as soon as possible and will push it in front of a couple other motors to speed things up. Our plan is to get it pulled next week and get it over to him.”
2023-07-27 11:24: On Thursday, July 27, 2023, EL sent email to RC and AS following up on the engine. Their response was…
AS 2023-07-27 12:48: “Well, our work week did not go as planned. We were unable to free up a lift, as a new transmission we installed was defective so that car put us behind I will have the replacement installed Monday and your car goes on that lift next.”
EL 2023-07-27 13:36: “Meh! I knew that was coming. Well, no birthday cruise. When I check in next week, it will be... “We couldn’t get the engine to him in time, and he had to take the others ahead of us. It’s going to be another couple of weeks.” You watch and see... Can I at least start planning for 2024 events?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: This is a common occurrence with Cambra Speed Shop. Their lack of space, lifts, and qualified personnel hinders progress considerably.
2023-08-15 16:48: On Tuesday, August 15, 2023, EL sent email to AS and RC requesting status of C8DENCE. RC replied the next day.
RC 2023-08-16 07:30: “Good morning, engine is out, and we pulled all the front drive off yesterday. Adam is taking the motor over today to start disassembling and see what’s going on.”
2023-08-17: On Thursday, August 17, 2023, EL replied to the above email.
EL 2023-08-17 06:18: “Thank you. I would like to get pictures of the engine teardown and ALL damaged components please?”
RC 2023-08-17 09:25: “Good morning Edward. I will make sure that we send pics of the motor disassembled and any damaged parts.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I’ve included the above entry as I’m sure I won’t be receiving any images, there have been none received to date and it’s probably because the engine has not been fully disassembled.
2023-08-17: On Thursday, August 17, 2023, EL sent email to RC and AS requesting to communicate with the engine builder, I’m glad I did.
EL 2023-08-17 10:31: “Is it possible for me to communicate with the person doing the engine work? I mean, I’m investing another $5,000+ into this and I’d like to know exactly what’s under me hood. I’ll assume you sent him the spec sheet from below. It will be interesting to see what differences there are between his review and the spec sheet.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I received Jeff Ginter’s information via text from Adam. I did contact Jeff Ginter and we had a discussion regarding the engine, it’s condition, and my potential options. I also learned that AS was blowing smoke up my arse regarding the lead times.
2023-08-18: On Friday, August 18, 2023, EL sent email to RC and AS regarding my discussion with Jeff Ginter.
EL 2023-08-18 12:25: “Good day Ron, Adam. I spoke to Jeff today. You didn’t tell me that it would be 4-5 months lead time after the inspection, which is in 2-3 weeks. That puts us into Jan/Feb 2024. I think we need to find a crate 460 and strip the components off the current block and put them onto the new block. It may be less expensive to take this route also. Adam, you never told me there was engine debris in the oil pan? That surely can’t be a good sign and according to Jeff, it’s not. He’s going to be inspecting within 2-3 weeks at which time he’ll be able to determine which route we may want to take. I’d get prepared for a crate 460 that will slip right into what we have done already.”
2023-09-05: On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, EL sent email to AS and RC requesting status of C8DENCE. There was no reply until Thursday, September 7, 2023.
RC 2023-09-07 07:17: “Edward, sorry I have been out most of the week and getting 5 trucks ready for Cruising For A Cure today. I will be out until after 1 then I will follow up for you.”
EL 2023-09-07 07:31: “Probably best to keep these communications to email right now. I am right on the edge of making a major decision in this process. If Ginter hasn’t touched the engine, we have problems.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: At this point in the process, I was leaning heavily towards severing this engagement and taking C8DENCE elsewhere.
2023-09-07: On Thursday, September 7, 2023, EL received the following email from AS:
AS 2023-09-07 11:33: “I spoke with Jeff Ginter this morning, they are extremely busy. They have not inspected the motor as of yet. He assured me that they will get to it the first of next week.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I responded to the above with a six (6) item timeline showing how this has been delayed and the constant excuses for those delays.
2023-09-14: On Thursday, September 14, 2023, EL received a voice mail that the engine was inspected and there are problems. We need to rebuild the engine or order a new crate motor.
EL 2023-09-14 17:32: “Good day Ron. Received your voice mail. After 2 years in the shop, we now find out that the engine is toast‽”
2023-09-17: On Sunday, September 17, 2023, EL received email from RC regarding crate motor option.
RC 2023-09-17 09:43: “Edward, I am sending you the information on the motor now.”
2023-09-18 06:31: On Monday, September 18, 2023, EL sent email to RC with a link to an area I setup on C8DENCE with engine options. I spent quite a few hours doing this research. I was able to locate two (2) potential candidates that were in stock, and shipping would take 5-7 days to California.
RC 2023-09-18 08:51: “Good morning Edward, let me know what you want to do. If you want to purchase it yourself, or us, or build your motor, if you want to keep your Holley EFI max is 650 HP.”
EL 2023-09-18 09:33: “Good day Ron. Can we schedule a time for a phone call?”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Phone call took place. I was informed during that phone call that Cambra Speed Shop would repaint the engine bay where the paint was peeling while the motor was out. We discussed contacting ATK to see if they could sell us a crate meeting our requirements as we already have most of the lipstick. We also discussed working with Jeff Ginter.
2023-09-25: On Monday, September 25, 2023, EL sent AS and RC an email asking if I was going to hear back from them regarding the discussion we had about a long block from ATK.
EL 2023-09-25 13:50: “Good day Adam. I was just wondering if I’m waiting to hear back from you regarding the engine? Last time we spoke, you were going to check with Jeff Ginter on pricing for a build. You had also mentioned contacting ATK to see if we can get a stripped down version of their long block?”
AS 2023-09-25 14:34: “ATK does not sell a short block or long block engine in your application. If time is an issue Jeff recommends finding a turn key crate engine. He can build you an engine depending on parts availability he is looking at 8 weeks after he has all parts in his hands. Jeff told me he will need another week to come up with pricing as it is very time-consuming. Summit has this one in stock in Ohio.”
EL 2023-09-25 14:58: “I think we know that Jeff is going to be 2x if not 3x more than the crate, yes? That is NOT the route I want to take. Why wait? Is it that Cambra just doesn’t have the time for C8DENCE anymore? I mean, if I had to guess, going the Jeff route is going to put us 3-4 months out just like he told me over the phone. I’m just not understanding this entire process. I mean, you folks are pumping out show cars over there by the handful and I’m just stuck.”
AS 2023-09-25 15:24: “I recommend you buy a motor and have it shipped to us and we will install it.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: The above was the final straw. AS has failed me a plethora of times during this entire process. I’m about ready to make the final decision to pull out.
EL 2023-09-25 16:34: “Good day Adam. There appears to be a lack of communication here.”
EL: “When Ron, you, and I spoke on the phone last Monday, September 18, 2023, I had thought we came to the conclusion that the crate would be ordered? You were going to contact ATK to see if we could get one to our specs and I thought that would have been the next day or two?”
AS: “Jeff told me he will need another week to come up with pricing as it is very time-consuming.”
EL: “When did Jeff tell you that Adam? And you couldn’t relay that information to me? I don’t think Jeff’s custom build pricing is going to be in my budget. His ATK engine price is, as he’s the lowest on the list of suppliers for that engine. But he said 10/30/2023 as a ship date?”
EL: “The link you provided as being in stock is for the 572/655 which we can’t do.”
EL: “By the way, I do have $5,191.26 on the books with Cambra. Ginter quoted $9,753 for the ATK. That’s a balance of $4,561.74, Cambra can’t invoice me for that like you have for the past 2 years? My money is good.”
EL: “If we ordered the ATK from Jeff, I would think we’d want him to do the final assembly using the components we’ve already invested in? He can then do all of his bench testing and such (dyno) and that engine will hopefully be “plug and play” for Cambra?”
2023-09-26: On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, EL received a call from RC, I was not able to accept. I did send an email.
EL 2023-09-26 16:52: “Good day Ron. I was in a consultation when you called this morning and didn’t finish until just after noon. I was mentally wiped out afterward. Please reply to this email and let me know where we stand with all of this. Thank you. P.S. I’m almost certain at this point that you want the car out of your shop. I’m okay with that but will need time to make arrangements.”
RC 2023-09-26 08:15: “Morning Edward, I will be out the rest of the week and back on Monday. I am not kicking you out of the shop, but I do want to finalize what you want for an engine. I did not think I was the one making the decisions on your choice of a motor. I thought you were figuring out what direction you wanted to go. This is not our fault and all we are doing is trying to help you. I said no charge on removing and installing what you want. I even said no charge for the space rent for you during the mean time. Not sure what more I can do.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: There have been multiple mentions of Cambra not being at fault here. Cambra Speed Shop is absolutely at fault. Had CSS followed my requests in the very beginning of this project, I would have been out of there within a year – although I doubt that based on what has transpired since 2021-08-09 the day I dropped C8DENCE off at Cambra Speed Shop.
2023-09-27: On Wednesday, September 27, 2023, EL sent RC and AS an email.
EL 2023-09-27 17:30: “Good day Ron. Can I ask that you fix the remaining issues (paint, rear end, extenders) sans the engine and let me know when that will be done? No need for Cambra to worry about painting the engine. Also, can we return that spare tire kit? It doesn’t fit and I don’t want Cambra cutting anything to make it fit. Who took the measurements for that?”
RC 2023-09-28 08:33: “Not quite sure I understand what you’re talking about, paint, extenders, sans the engine, painting the engine?”
RC 2023-09-28 09:19: “Edward, if you want to pull the car then maybe you should make arrangements for Monday morning to remove it. I feel that we have done everything in our power to help you and now this. As for paint, I told you it cracks because of the headers so close to the fender wells and it was cracked before. You wanted me to fix it last time and clean it up. We did and now it cracked again. Extenders we have for the wheels. You found the place to buy the spare tire. I did not know who they were. And you and Ryno specked it out for your trunk. I am not sure if they would return it or not, but I will ask. I am not sure what you mean by sans the engine?”
RC 2023-09-28 09:31: “Edward, by the way you kept asking for us to do more work so you can keep it here for storage. You said it to everyone here. Your 779 days in my shop is like you keep thronging it in my face. I’m not sure how you come up with that. Or even what that means. How many of those days were down time for you and for us trying to figure out what you want to do. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL AND LET ME KNOW WHERE WE STAND.”
2023-09-30: On Saturday, September 30, 2023, EL sent RC an email.
EL 2023-09-30 11:19: “Ron, I will be picking up C8DENCE on Monday, October 2, 2023. I need to know what time is going to be best for pickup. P.S. We can leave the engine at Jeff Ginter. I’ve already spoken to him about it.”
2023-09-30: On Saturday, September 30, 2023, EL replied to RC’s email with the following response:
EL 2023-09-30 13:01: “I did want to reply to this from Ron…”
RC: “As for paint I told you it cracks because of the headers so close to the fender wells and it was cracked before. You wanted me to fix it last time and clean it up. We did and now it cracked again.”
EL: “During our last phone discussion, you had offered to repaint that area while the engine was out. That’s okay, I understand where you’re coming from.”
EL: “Tell me, why did I invest over $1,000 to have the headers wrapped? That was one of “your” solutions to address the heat from the headers – and so was the starter shield. From my perspective there was either something wrong with the paint or we failed to realize that there was an issue there with the headers too close to the fender wells before painting the first time. I surely would not have invested $2,013.70 to have that area painted only to have it peel after the first few instances of the engine heating up. That doesn’t seem logical.”
RC: “Extenders we have for the wheels.”
EL: “Can you be sure to include those in a package of items that need to go with the car please?”
RC: “You found the place to buy the spare tire. I did not know who they were.”
EL: “Ron? No I did not. We were in your office discussing the spare tire that you charged me for but DID NOT deliver and what I was going to do for a spare. You brought up the emergency spare and said YOU would take care of it. YOU billed me for it on Invoice 15325 dated 2022-12-07. It was $651.83. On Invoice 14841 dated 2022-03-14 you billed me $225.00 for the Wheelsmith spare and $347.53 for the fifth BF Goodrich Silvertown Radial spare. Neither of those items were received. Just for this spare tire issue, you billed me $1,224.36 for items either not received or incorrectly measured.”
EL: “Also, if I had taken care of that, I would have ordered it directly like I did with other items, and I surely would not have been held responsible for taking the proper measurements? WTH?”
RC: “And you and Ryno specked it out for your trunk.”
EL: “How would I, the customer, know what to spec out for a spare tire? Ryno and I did not spec that out.”
RC: “I am not sure what you mean by sans the engine?”
EL: “Sans or “without” the engine.”
EL: “I have a LONG list of items to go through with you, I am currently drafting a document that I will send to you after we’ve settled everything. Most of it is probably settled from your perspective and everything that has happened has been my fault, or someone else’s fault.”
EL: “The above detailed reply was specifically in response to your recent email below.”
EL: “P.S. I will also assume that it is my responsibility to take care of the leaking third member? I will expect you to compensate me for that repair with the new shop. This should have been done back in February 2023 when it was first discovered. How did Cambra respond? “Oh, we’ll tighten it down and it should be okay.” A month later I see the drip and mention it again, pretty much the same response. It’s now 6 months later and still dripping. I don’t understand that.”
2023-09-30: On Saturday, September 30, 2023, EL sent TC an email requesting that C8DENCE be removed from the Cambra Speed Shop website.
EL 2023-09-30 13:45: “Good day Tony. I’d like to request that C8DENCE be removed from the Cambra Speed Shop website please? Thank you. P.S. It’s unfortunate but things didn’t work out for us.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL received the following email from RC.
RC 2023-10-02 08:13: “Edward, You can come any time for the car, are you coming down to discuss? As for your car we offered to remove the motor and replace labor at no charge and free rent during your process of figuring out your motor. I offered you that because I felt bad for you and what you were going through. Now you want to move on. That’s okay, but I feel the you played us and I will come up with a invoice for removal of the motor and what time we had in it. Plus the storage fees while you were deciding on the motor. I have your extra tire that you wanted to match your tires here. I did not get the rim because you wanted a space saver tire. I am pretty sure that I gave you credit for the rim and I will check the invoices. The reason I did not credit the tire is because the company won’t give me credit for tires. Now you have a extra tire that matches your tires.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL received the following email from RC regarding removal of C8DENCE from the Cambra Speed Shop website.
RC 2023-10-02 08:17: “Edward, we have the right to keep your car on our website being that the work we did on it was performed by CSS. Thank you.”
2023-10-02 09:34: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
RC 2023-10-02 08:13: “Edward, you can come any time for the car.”
EL: “I will be making arrangements and will hopefully be there before 14:00.”
RC: “Are you coming down to discuss?”
EL: “I will be meeting the flatbed truck, taking pictures, and making sure that everything is with the car. There is no need for us to have a verbal discussion at this point. I would prefer we keep all communications in writing moving forward.”
RC: “As for your car we offered to remove the motor and replace labor at no charge and free rent during your process of figuring out your motor. I offered you that because I felt bad for you and what you were going through…”
EL: “Ron, you haven’t felt bad for me while you’ve billed me over $30,000 in labor charges for engine related issues that should have been discovered in the very beginning of this process? You should be feeling bad because of how all of this went down. The lack of organization, followup, and specifically the engine issues. That has been the major delay in the completion of the project and it has cost me considerably.”
RC: “Now you want to move on.”
EL: “We’ve been through this before during this engagement. Since Friday, September 29, 2023, I’ve spent 50+ hours writing out a timeline of events while traversing the 722 email communications and multiple voice mail transcriptions beginning on 2021-07-27. I will share that with you once we’ve settled whatever you’re going to do to me.”
EL: “I believe that once you’ve read my timeline of events (40+ pages, 153 entries) along with ALL of the QUOTED email and voice mail communications from you and Adam, you’re going to have a different perspective of “exactly” what happened to me during this time and how Cambra failed me when it comes to the engine/transmission portion of this process. The number of labor hours for having to remove, reinstall, remove, reinstall, remove, reinstall, all related to internal engine issues while Cambra guessed their way through solutions that cost me even more labor hours. This was a crazy process! I’ve had to document all of it as I know you’re going to claim otherwise in many instances as evidenced in our recent communications.”
RC: “That’s okay, but I feel that you played us, and I will come up with a invoice for removal of the motor and what time we had in it. Plus, the storage fees while you were deciding on the motor.”
EL: “Wow. That’s rather vengeful Ron and I’m glad I have that in writing. I should have no balance due and approximately $7,823.26 refunded to me for $6,161.07 on the books and another $1,662.19 in refunds for items not received and/or incorrectly ordered. The on the books number was recently adjusted to reflect the correct amount. I went through your 43 invoices at least a dozen times over the weekend, documenting items line by line. I’ve attached an Excel spreadsheet showing the numbers.”
EL: “Storage fees? How could you charge me storage fees when the car was still in progress? Or, do you consider a limping car, and now a roller, a finished product?”
EL: “I’m not understanding how you can renege on all of this – that’s your choice Ron – it’s bad business.”
RC: “I have your extra tire that you wanted to match your tires here.”
EL: “Based on what I’ve been told, and it was confirmed by Ryan when he was employed by Cambra, the one you have is a Coker tire.”
RC: “I did not get the rim because you wanted a space saver tire. I am pretty sure that I gave you credit for the rim, and I will check the invoices.”
EL: “Ron? What you state above is incorrect, I have it in writing from you along with an invoice that was not credited. The emergency spare discussion came later after it was realized that you forgot to order the fifth wheel.”
RC: “The reason I did not credit the tire is because the company won’t give me credit for tires. Now you have an extra tire that matches your tires.”
EL: “If it’s a BF Goodrich Silvertown Radial, I have no issues taking that off your hands and not asking for a refund for it. I will most likely be mounting it to a new spare wheel in the near future. If it’s a Coker tire, now you have an extra tire and I will need a refund for the fifth BF Goodrich billed.”
EL: “I’ve spent $91,602.68 (includes 833 labor hours) with you since we started. That includes the $7,823.26 that I feel is owed so the actual number would be $83,779.42. And I’m forced to pick up a vehicle that was never properly fixed and now has no engine.”
EL: “I’m not sure if the other repairs (transmission, clutch, rearend, brakes, etc.) were done properly based on how everything has progressed over the past 784 days. I know the rearend has to be pulled and I am going to request that you compensate me for that once I know the costs. I’m expecting to have to redo some of the other things you’ve billed me a large of amount of money for. I know we’ll have to fix the wheels since I now have two that have a different offset. I didn’t want that, it forced me into no tire rotation. These tires need to be rotated. I know, that’s seems so trivial to you. My rear whitewalls were ruined in the process.”
EL: “You’re welcome to keep C8DENCE on the Cambra website, I do appreciate the “association.” I just wanted in writing that I did request to have it removed.”
EL: “I’m sad that it has come to this conclusion. I should have really pulled out the first time this went down in October 2021.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-02 10:19: “I believe that once you’ve read my timeline of events (40+ pages, 153 entries) along with ALL of the QUOTED email and voice mail communications from you and Adam, you’re going to have a different perspective of “exactly” what happened to me during this time.”
EL: “I’ve extracted the entries from my timeline of events related to the wheels and tires for you to review. This will give you an idea of how the entries are constructed. They are numbered and in chronological order. As I stated, I’ve invested over 50+ hours constructing this timeline to see where things went wrong. I was literally ill after reviewing all of the communications, invoices, etc. I think you will be too.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-02 11:08: “Edward, if you remember correctly, you chose the tires and was really concerned about a tire that you can drive on that would withhold 150 mph. I even said that are you really going to go that fast. Also you picked the tires that we bought, not me. As for bulges and rubbing it was because you gave us a car that you never drove with bias white wall tires. Crazy. Yes they barely touched, but I also fixed it for you. I guess I can see where this is all going with you.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-02 11:09: “Please don’t show up here before 2:00.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
RC 2023-10-02 11:44: “Edward, if you remember correctly, you chose the tires.”
EL: “How could I forget that? It was part of the published Task List. I was very specific about those tires.”
RC: “…and was really concerned about a tire that you can drive on that would withhold 150 mph. I even said that are you really going to go that fast.”
EL: “That is incorrect. Please, be careful in how you respond regarding the accuracy of your comments. Here is an excerpt from that Task List, it is currently Item #17 in the completed list.”
EL: “Tires/Alignment – P205/75x15 Options”
EL: “Can you show me where I stated 150 MPH? That would be a death wish in C8DENCE! I wanted the highest speed rating I could get just in case C8DENCE ever saw a run down a quarter mile track and exceeded 100 MPH.”
RC: “Also you picked the tires that we bought, not me.”
EL: “Again, I confirm this. I understand you’re trying to place blame, but you missed an important part of the process.”
RC: “As for bulges and rubbing it was because you gave us a car that you never drove with bias white wall tires. Crazy.”
EL: “What does that have to do with ordering new wheels and tires and measuring accurately taking into account the variances of the new tires and the skirts? When those new wheels and tires (BF Goodrich) were installed, it should have been easily noticeable that they were too close to the skirts to begin with, yes? Did someone with professional experience take a look afterward and think to themselves; “Hmmm, those tires are too close, they’re going to rub when those sidewalls flex.” Hold on, let me answer that for you. “It was my responsibility to take that into account and I should have known that when requesting the tires and hoping that Cambra had the correct wheel offset?”, am I correct?”
RC: “Yes they barely touched, but I also fixed it for you.”
EL: “Thank you, I would have expected you to fix it for me. But it was a hack that has left me with the inability to rotate tires. It also doesn’t change the fact that the whitewalls are damaged.”
RC: “I guess I can see where this is all going with you.”
EL: “I was going to say the same thing but, I no longer have to guess. This is going to be one of those nasty divorces. I’ll be the diplomatic one, this is not my first rodeo, and definitely not your first.”
2023-10-02: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
RC 2023-10-02 12:23: “Please don’t show up here before 2:00.”
EL: “Thank you for alerting me to this. I’ve contacted the company that was scheduled and rescheduled to have them there at 14:00 and not before.”
EL: “For reference, twice you informed me to come early on Monday, we were preparing to arrive prior to 14:00 – a minor inconvenience. I’ve also had to alert the receiving shop regarding a delay in arrival – another minor inconvenience. All is well.”
RC: “Edward, you can come any time for the car.”
EL: “and…”
RC: “Edward, If you want to pull the car then maybe you should make arraignments for Monday morning to remove it.”
2023-10-02 12:32: On Monday, October 2, 2023, EL received the following email from RC.
RC: “I DID NOT KNOW THAT THE GUYS WERE DOING SOMETHING FOR ME TODAY ON MY BIRTHDAY.”
2023-10-03: On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, EL received the following email from RC.
RC 2023-10-03 09:36: “I am really bummed that this worked out this way. I thought of you as a friend and part of our car family here. Was really trying to help you on the motor situation and was waiting for you to see what you wanted to do. I get it that you were really frustrated and bummed that you couldn’t drive your car and still cant. Again I was willing to R and R the motor for you at no charge and no-charge for the space here while we are waiting for you to decide on what motor pkg that you wanted to do. I also would help you on painting the motor for free if you buy one. Either direction you want to go. I want you to be driving your car around and doing shows with us as much as you want it. Let me know what I can do to make this right for you. No matter what you are still our friend over here. Thanks.”
2023-10-03 10:45: On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
RC: “I am really bummed that this worked out this way.”
EL: “I was too, and then I arrived at the new shop – OMFG! 45,000 square feet of fairly new industrial building, all open and sectioned off. Frackin beautiful cars everywhere, not stacked on top of one another, able to walk around and breathe. Multiple lifts, paint booth, offices, etc. What a night and day difference in working environments. This is a showroom shop, you can eat off the floor!”
RC: “I thought of you as a friend and part of our car family here.”
EL: “Hmmm, friends really don’t do this to friends, businesses do. This was a business relationship that maintained a friendly relationship for the most part. If you only knew how many times you’ve pissed me off, Adam has pissed me off, yada, yada, yada. If I would have been vocal in those many instances, you would have been telling me to take C8DENCE elsewhere then. No, I bit the bullet and let it simmer inside and it finally came to a head when discovering the internal engine issues that should have been discovered in the very beginning. We spent 2+ years slapping lipstick on a pig as they say.”
EL: “This entire process really tested my patience and diplomacy. I am really surprised at myself for maintaining my composure throughout this process. The owner of the new shop mentioned that I was rather calm about everything that had happened after giving them a rundown of the last 780+ days. I think it’s an age thing.”
RC: “Was really trying to help you on the motor situation and was waiting for you to see what you wanted to do.”
EL: “I just couldn’t bring myself to be subjected to the ongoing issues. I am not confident that this project can be brought to completion in a reasonable time period without you billing me another $20,000 to $40,000 in costs and it taking who knows how long to successfully wrap things up. Yes, you mentioned you would do the installation at no charge but that does nothing to cover the $30,000+ in costs that have been incurred dealing with engine issues since day one. Not only that, but the lost time.”
RC: “I get it that you were really frustrated and bummed that you couldn’t drive your car and still cant.”
EL: “It’s been 2 years and 2 months along with $90,000+ of my life’s savings. Yes, I AM REALLY BUMMED each time I sit here and think about it. It’s eating a hole in me stomach and has literally made me ill. I feel better today knowing that I’ve removed myself from a VERY stressful situation.”
RC: “Again I was willing to R and R the motor for you at no charge and no charge for the space here while we are waiting for you to decide on what motor pkg that you wanted to do.”
EL: “I still don’t understand the no charge for the storage. My car never really made it into storage. It’s still under repair. I removed it as a roller. It is in its current state due to mistakes made in the very beginning of this process – and along the way. It’s been a guessing game that has cost me considerably. Had we peeked under the hood (removed heads, scoped, compression check, etc.) when I first requested it, we would not be having this discussion today.”
RC: “I also would help you on painting the motor for free if you buy one.”
EL: “I do believe Jeff Ginter will be building one for me. I’m waiting to have further discussion with him today.”
RC: “I want you to be driving your car around and doing shows with us as much as you want it.”
EL: “Ron‽ Let’s NOT go there at this time.”
RC: “Let me know what I can do to make this right for you. No matter what, you are still our friend over here.”
EL: “I am taking the day off – again – to go through ALL of the invoices line by line. I think I may have paid an invoice that you later credited due to an adjustment. I will have an updated spreadsheet available documenting all of those costs later today, early tomorrow morning.”
EL: “Once you receive that spreadsheet, I would like to have you wire the monies that are currently on the books plus refunds minus the $651.83 for the emergency spare for now. I was not able to look at what was done to “force” that spare back there. If it requires too much manhandling to remove and reinstall, I would like to return it. I really would have liked it to fit back there with the cover. Someone improperly measured for the spare and it was not Ryno and I as you stated in a previous email.”
EL: “I will send you banking information for the wire transfer when I send the spreadsheet.”
EL: “Thank you.”
2023-10-03: On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-03 16:03: “Ron, I’ve attached the “Restoration Timeline” that I’ve mentioned previously. It is 30 pages (draft copy) and you may want to print it out and highlight things. Anything prefaced with the “EL Note:” is a comment entry from me at the time of this email.”
EL: “Please review carefully. All communications that are surrounded by “quote marks” are not arguable. For my EL Notes I would welcome your comments. This is NOT all of the communications but the bulk of them related to challenges during the process. I think once you’ve absorbed all of this, you may have a different perspective on why I made the decision that I have.”
EL: “Thank you.”
EL: “Note: I am working on invoicing now.”
2023-10-04: On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-04 07:47: “Ron, as promised, here is an updated spreadsheet of invoicing by line item. There is a refund column showing amounts I am requesting to be refunded, they total $1,030.67 for items not received. There are three sheets: CSS Invoices Audit, EFT Timeline, and Wire. The invoices audit is a side-by-side match to each of your invoices, line by line. Careful, you may see some totals that don’t match exactly line by line and this is due to tax and/or freight being added to the actual line item and total it belonged to.”
EL: “Invoice 15390 dated 2023-01-13 is where my numbers were incorrect. I was showing $0.00 for the 11 labor hours for Ryno. Then I realized that I caught this originally and asked if you forgot to add those, you did and thanked me for being honest. That’s me, honest Edward. So, the corrected number on the books is $5,191.26 as of Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 07:30. This excludes the emergency spare as of this date and time, I need to inspect what was done to force fit that “uncovered” spare into the rear compartment. It may be returned.”
EL: “$5,191.26 + $1,030.67 = $6,221.93”
EL: “I’d like to respectfully request that you transfer those funds within 24-48 hours. I’ve included banking information in the “Wire” tab of the spreadsheet.”
EL: “You’ll notice that there are $0.00 entries in the Refund column. These are items I need to review VERY CAREFULLY as this is where there are hundreds of labor hours and other costs dealing with the perpetual engine issues.”
EL: “Thank you.”
2023-10-04: On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-04 15:23: “Edward, I think your numbers are off. Did not receive and automatic deposits for $1000 on 07/31/2023. Checked my bank account.”
RC: “By the way I have not billed you yet for the dyno at Vs or transportation for the motor to Jeffs shop which you requested to send it there.”
2023-10-04: On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-04 17:34: “Ron, you are correct, my numbers are off, thank you for catching that. I had that 07/31/2023 $1,000 payment scheduled and managed to cancel it, my oversight. I’ve updated the spreadsheet. You’ll notice the Labor Hours increased by 1.0. I missed an hour on Invoice 15347. Since I’m not using formulas to calculate the hours X the rate, this is just an update to the total labor hours, the total cost is not affected.”
EL: “I think your numbers are off also. You’re under $500 in billed. Edward being honest again.”
RC: “By the way I have not billed you yet for the dyno at Vs or transportation for the motor to Jeffs shop which you requested to send it there.”
EL: “I’ve been waiting for that topic to come up. If you feel that you need to “stick it to me” further with costs associated to an oversight on Cambra Speed Shop’s part, then so be it. I am in no position to dispute it “at this time” as you have my money to peck away at.”
EL: “Regarding the motor, I believe Adam is the one who made the decision to send it to Jeff Ginter. I really was not that involved with the process after you told me you would take care of it.”
EL: “At the time I was informed of this which was Monday, July 17, 2023, I was already doing the research to find someone to deal with the motor issues. I had sent you a couple of emails regarding that and you had asked me to wait on locating someone to take care of the engine.”
EL: “2023-07-17: On Monday, July 17, 2023, I sent an email to RC and AS.”
EL: “Good day Ron, Adam. I spoke with Ron last Monday and he asked me to wait on locating someone to inspect/rebuild the engine. I seriously don’t want to wait 8 weeks before someone could start, that’s the rest of the summer. August 9, 2023, will be 2 years since I dropped C8DENCE off at Cambra. Had I known then, what I know now, this car would have gone right back on the transport to Volo”
2023-10-05: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-05 07:52: “Edward, I am not sure what your talking about on the under $500 in billed?”
2023-10-05: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-05 08:03: “You show $92,072.49 for billed. The correct number is $92,572.49. Unless there was a $500 credit to an invoice somewhere that I missed?”
2023-10-05: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-05 08:40: “I will send you a check for $5,221.93. I do not send money or wire money through the computer. Please send me a correct address to send to and I will get out today. If there is still a discrepancy in the $500 then I will send that too. I need to spend some time and review it again. Will be out this weekend and I will continue with this on Monday.”
2023-10-05: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-05 08:58: “If you want to come up and pick up a check I can leave it on my desk. Just let me know.”
2023-10-05 09:44: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL 2023-10-05: “Sending a check today via USPS is fine.”
2023-10-05: On Thursday, October 5, 2023, RC sent the following email to EL.
RC 2023-10-05 10:00: “Okay.”
Paid by Check: 7057, 2023-10-06, $5,221.93
2024-02-26: The above email from RC on 2023-10-05 was the final communication between EL and Cambra Speed Shop. No further communications regarding the condition of C8DENCE at time of removal from Cambra Speed Shop on Monday, October 2, 2023. I was hoping that RC would reach out to offer compensation for failed repairs.
EL Note 2024-04-03: Email received from RC on 2023-10-03 09:36: “Let me know what I can do to make this right for you. No matter what you are still our friend over here. Thanks.”
2024-02-27: On Tuesday, February 27, 2024 00:13, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron. It’s been almost 5 months (148 days) since I removed C8DENCE from Cambra Speed Shop. I was hoping you would have reached out to me and offer compensation for CSS repairs that have failed and need to be performed again.”
EL: “I’ve spent untold hours going through all of our communications since July 2021. I’ve assembled all of that online for you to review easily. It is currently behind login.”
EL: “The Communications Timeline has 178 entries and has been extracted from the 600+ email communications and voice mail transcriptions. I needed to do this so I fully understood what went down during the time at Cambra Speed Shop. I’ve also included images showing the current condition of some of the items that need to be repaired.”
EL: “I am respectfully requesting that Cambra Speed Shop reimburse me for repairs that CSS performed during the August 2021 to October 2023 period that have failed.”
EL: “Thank you.”
2024-03-04: On Monday, March 4, 2024 08:33, EL received the following email reply from RC.
RC: “Edward, I am not sure what you are talking about. We went over what I owed you and I returned money back to you.”
2024-03-05: On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 08:33, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron, thank you for your reply.”
RC: “Edward, I am not sure what you are talking about. We went over what I owed you and I returned money back to you.”
EL: “On Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 07:46, we had an email communication regarding monies owed, refunds due. In that email, I included this statement.”
EL: “I’d like to respectfully request that you transfer those funds within 24-48 hours. I’ve included banking information in the “Wire” tab of the spreadsheet. You’ll notice that there are $0.00 entries in the Refund column. These are items I need to review VERY CAREFULLY as this is where there are hundreds of labor hours and other costs dealing with the perpetual engine issues.”
EL: “I’ve calculated that total and it comes out to 349 Labor Hours that I have questions about.”
EL: “Based on your brief response, I can only surmise that I’m at fault here and that all of the repairs, replacement of parts, etc. are my responsibility? You billed me a total of $91,541.82 over a period of 26 months. Can you describe to me in detail what I have to show for that $91,541.82? I’m a little confused as to how I spent that amount of money only to end up with a roller and a multitude of repairs to items that Cambra Speed Shop allegedly repaired.”
EL: “May I ask who is at fault regarding the engine?”
EL: “How about the engine compartment painting? It wasn’t a heat issue, it’s a bonding issue and we’re wondering how that was not discovered initially. The bondo is separating from the metal. The cracking of the paint is happening due to that separation. The images I provided show what happened when we went to inspect and remove the cracked paint, the substrate just cracked right off. There is a gap between it and the metal.”
EL: “What about the wheels and tires? You had the rear wheel offset adjusted. Now the rear wheels are rubbing both inside and outside. The wheels and tires need to be replaced.”
EL: “The list of items I’m left to deal with is pretty much most of what I initially came to Cambra Speed Shop for.”
EL: “Just to confirm, Cambra Speed Shop takes no responsibility for the condition of C8DENCE at time of removal on Monday, October 2, 2023?”
2024-03-05: On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 17:23, EL sent the following email to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron. My fan shroud is missing, and I have to assume it is sitting in your shop somewhere? Please confirm.”
2024-03-06: On Wednesday, March 6, 2024 17:23, RC sent the following email reply to EL.
EL: “Everything was sent back with your driver. I will look at all pictures of what we have.”
2024-03-06: On Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:05, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron.”
RC: “Everything was sent back with your driver.”
EL: “We received C8DENCE (vehicle) and one (1) milk crate with parts. C8DENCE was without the fan shroud.”
EL: “As we continue to unravel this situation I’m in, there may be other items discovered that were not delivered/picked up.”
2024-03-06: On Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:16, EL received the following email reply from RC.
RC: “Edward, sorry I do have the shroud here. It was upstairs in storage.”
2024-03-06: On Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:20, EL received the following email reply from RC.
RC: “I just double checked and that was all by itself on a shelf that was designated for you. We don’t have any other parts.”
2024-03-13: On Wednesday, March 13, 2024 AM, EL picked up the Fan Shroud from Cambra Speed Shop. Pulled up to back door. A quick hello to the CSS technician, pickup and placement of shroud (not too big) in my trunk. During that time, I immediately noticed the fresh 3.0 inch scratch on the shroud, it is noticeable. RC states below that he didn’t see it and any number of things could have happened while in their possession.
2024-03-13: On Wednesday, March 13, 2024 16:08, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron. I’ve not received any feedback from you regarding these items. I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say, and I’d like to have that in writing.”
EL: “Just to confirm, Cambra Speed Shop takes no responsibility for the condition of C8DENCE at time of removal on Monday, October 2, 2023?”
EL: “A simple yes or no answer would be fine. Thank you.”
EL: “P.S. Did you see that 3.0 scratch on my fan shroud? Another item I need to redo.”
2024-03-13: On Wednesday, March 13, 2024 16:34, EL received the following email reply from RC.
RC: “Edward, first of all I did not see a 3 inch scratch in your shroud. Second of all don’t you think after the shroud was mounted and removed to remove your motor that there could be a possibility that it could have a scratch on it from where it was mounted. Materials on top of materials from touching each other could of scratched it. We did not make that shroud or [engineer] it for your car.”
2024-03-25: On Monday, March 25, 2024 05:44, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron. I’ve been advised to make one more attempt at resolving these issues between us.”
EL: “Just to confirm, Cambra Speed Shop takes no responsibility for the condition of C8DENCE at time of removal on Monday, October 2, 2023?”
EL: “Please advise, thank you.”
2024-03-27: On Wednesday, March 27, 2024 10:54, RC sent the following email reply to EL.
EL Note 2023-10-03: I’ve formatted the below reply from RC for readability.
RC: “I feel we did everything that you wanted and more. You were very happy with all the work until the motor problems. Before you had any motor problems – myself, our professional tuner and many of my techs told you that this motor was a high compression motor and needed to run on race fuel. You showed us an octane booster fuel additive that we said you could use, but isn’t as ideal as using race fuel. We told you where you could buy 5 gallons of race fuel, so you could mix real fuel to bring up your octane and you never did. Things like this is what makes motors unhappy and cause catastrophic issues. Yes, we all were very disappointed in the car and all the issues that you had. You said it perfect, that it was a pig with lipstick on it.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: RC states that I was “very happy” with all of the work. It’s obvious that RC has conveniently forgotten all of my “written and verbal communications” over the past 26 months of C8DENCE being at Cambra Speed Shop. There is a long list of items I’ve documented in the above timeline where I expressed my dissatisfaction with something, which was many times. I learned to just deal with it in hopes of completing the project. It seemed that we may have been close to completion at one point but then the internal engine damage was discovered. This occurs after 22 months of slapping lipstick on a pig as they say. If you’ve followed the above timeline and read RC’s latest reply above, the engine failure is my fault. I initially brought it to Cambra Speed Shop to repair any and all issues related to the engine.
RC: “Yes, I took responsibility for the rear end dripping. I also told you that we would fix it. I also felt bad about the motor and agreed to remove and replace with the new motor that you bought at no charge. I think our miscommunication was where, when, and who was buying the motor. Adam was looking for motors and during the mean time I was in contact with L and R Engines regarding your motor. The problem here was that you were not getting answers quick enough.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: The third member (rear end) dripping was brought up multiple times over a 6 month period. Each time I was told that it would be addressed. Each time I checked, it was still dripping – from multiple points.
RC: “I also mentioned to you numerous times to please drive it easy because we don’t know the motor.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Do we see where this is going? I babied C8DENCE from day one and RC knows that. We had new components being broken in e.g. the Holley Sniper, a new manifold, and a few other items. I know how to drive a vehicle during a break-in period, this is not something new to me. Also, according to RC’s initial assessment of the engine upon arrival in August 2021, he stated everything was okay, it only had 3,500 miles on it and there was no need to remove the heads for inspection.
RC: “We all heard you driving it down the street revving the motor pretty hard and I’m pretty sure when you took it out for the drives that you did, you did not baby the car.
EL Note 2023-10-03: RC uses the term “we” so I’m assuming the guys/gals in the shop are on board with supporting whatever RC is saying. Fortunately, if we were to ask them one on one, we may get the true story. “EL did not abuse this car, he never had the opportunity to. The engine was in no condition to undergo any stress such as that which RC is implying.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: I’ll agree, everyone could hear C8DENCE under normal acceleration, that was to be expected with the custom Dougs Headers feeding into a pair of Patriot Mufflers. I think we can all agree that C8DENCE is vocal under normal circumstances.
RC: “You bragged that you were into street racing and everything we talked about this car was “I hope it can do some good burn outs.” I could not understand why you were so interested in building a car to go fast when it was a custom – not a race car.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: RC forgets that I prefaced the bragging rights with “in another life” as that is part of my past. I spent most of the time during that period of my life doing 1/4 mile import drag racing at Palmdale, Terminal Island, and a few other notable tracks. I set various records in my 1991 MR2 Turbo with a few bolt-on modifications and a MoTec Engine Management System, it was the first of its kind. She was bottle fed too.
EL Note 2023-10-03: I don’t ever recall stating that “I hope it can do some good burn outs.” That was NOT the intent when I purchased this vehicle. Yes, I did mention that I was expecting to be able to step on the gas and leave me mark if I needed to. I’ve got a 460 BBF with a claimed 500+ HP, yes, I’m expecting to be able to showoff on occasion while being safe, e.g. at a sponsored event/show. I can’t afford any tickets for show of speed or whatever they call it these days. Also, C8DENCE runs on 15.0 inch radial tires with wide whitewalls. These tires were made for crusin’, not brusin’.
RC: “I gave you a key to my shop and said you can get your car anytime you want. I asked for $500 a month for a storage fee, which you said was great. I know you had grabbed the car a few times on Saturday’s and went to Cars and Coffee shows and I was told by numerous people that you were seen revving the hell out of the car there. When your engine showed no oil pressure I also said that I would not charge you any storage fee during this time until you decide what you wanted to do. I am also a bit confused over you trying to discredit us of our work when you were coming in all the time raving about what we were doing and giving out tips to employees here for their great work.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Emphasis mine. This is NOT true. I NEVER attended any shows other than the Cambra Speed Shop Block Party in June 2023 and C8DENCE was not drivable at that time. “I was told by numerous people that you were seen revving the hell out of the car there.” I think we need the names of those folks along with the dates and times of the shows. I can easily prove that C8DENCE never attended any shows. She couldn’t, she was damaged internally and Cambra Speed Shop failed to diagnose those issues from the very beginning. All of the delays related to engine issues were due to symptoms related to the flattened cam lobe and other issues discovered after the fact e.g. a stuck valve, damaged crank, etc.
EL Note 2023-10-03: I follow South OC Cars and Coffee at The Outlets in San Clemente on Social Media. “South OC Cars and Coffee is now the biggest weekly car show in the world!” Had I shown up at Cars and Coffee with C8DENCE, Simon (Husband), Sarah (Wife), and James (Son), along with all of the volunteers would have quickly noticed. C8DENCE is a true one of a kind and there would have been many questions from quite a few attendees.
EL Note 2023-10-03: My question to RC is who are these people that told him I was seen revving the hell out of the car there. This statement from RC is a blatant lie. Also, South OC Cars and Coffee are a very respectful group of folks and there is “strictly no revving, burnouts, speeding” allowed. If you break these rules, you will promptly get banned from attending the show, photos of your vehicle and license plate will be taken, and you will end up being named and shamed on social media.
RC: “You even had placed a Cambra Speed Shop sticker on your window and that’s how I knew about you being at the shows.”
RC: “I have returned $5,221.93.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: The amount returned includes $4,191.26 which EL had on the books. The total refund from Cambra Speed Shop was $1,030.67 for items billed but not delivered.
2024-03-27: On Wednesday, March 27, 2024 14:05, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Wow. I’ll assume this is how you will be responding to the online reviews I’ll be posting. That’s fine Ron, I wouldn’t expect anything less based on how things have transpired.”
RC: “I know you had grabbed the car a few times on Saturdays and went to Cars and Coffee shows and I was told by numerous people that you were seen revving the hell out of the car there.”
EL: “You’re lying Ron. You are flat out lying now. I’m glad I have that in writing from you too. I NEVER went to a Cars and Coffee. I NEVER went to a show. The car NEVER ran properly. Have a little bit of integrity. I also babied that car any time I drove it, I had to, it wasn’t running properly. All of the issues we encountered were due to the flat cam and a damaged crankshaft. I have two engine builders who have explained to me the type of damage present and how it may have happened.”
EL: “Regarding the engine, had you performed the initial requested services, we would not be having this discussion. I’m certain we will be having further discussions in the future.”
RC: “You even had placed a Cambra Speed Shop sticker on your window and that’s how I knew about you being at the shows.”
EL: “Ron, you are a liar. I never attended any shows. In fact, I ate registration fees for 2 shows that I could not go to because the car wasn’t running.”
EL: “Thank you for your response.”
EL: “Note: I have a timeline “IN WRITING” of everything that took place along with my interactions with the car during that time. Show me where I was able to attend a show other than the Cambra Speed Shop Block Party (not running). Show me Ron.”
2024-03-28: On Thursday, March 28, 2024, While reviewing the Cambra Speed Shop Timeline, EL found the following email reply from RC on Monday, September 20, 2021 regarding an email EL sent about Volo Auto Sales.
RC: “Wow. What a bummer when people lie.”
EL Note 2023-10-03: Yes RC, it is a bummer when people lie, see yours above.
2024-03-28: Thursday, March 28, 2024 07:18, EL received the following email reply from RC.
RC: “Edward, I was advised to tell you that all emails from you now on will be forwarded to my lawyers. Thank you.”
EL Note 2024-04-03: Email received from RC on 2023-10-03 09:36: “Let me know what I can do to make this right for you. No matter what you are still our friend over here. Thanks.”
2024-03-28: Thursday, March 28, 2024 08:43, EL sent the following email reply to RC.
EL: “Good day Ron.”
RC: “I was advised to tell you that all emails from you now on will be forwarded to my lawyers.”
EL: “May I please have their name(s) so that I can forward a package to them?”