Finger pointing and race engines

[TMSJoe]

Reading the Hemi failure thread got me thinking of something that happened to me some years back. I did a job for a guy where I only did the lower end machining. I flow tested and CC’d his heads only. I sold him pistons and bored and decked the block. Checked piston to valve, degreed the cam, set ring gaps, balancing, and sold him gaskets and push rods. This was 15 to 1 compression, as requested. The customer put it all together. This is a 355 SBC with Pontiac heads

When it was getting picked up I expressed my concerns with the tune up as it was going to have a 200 HP shot of NO2 on the track. I was assured by him it would not be a problem. Off he went. I had a customer in the shop during this conversation and his comment was “bring a body bag!” LOL

OK first trip out the engine blew the gasket out the front of the head. Turns out the heads cracked front to rear above the short head bolts. The heads were extensively modified. Angle milled, head bolt holes welded and relocated. When I flowed the heads I had to remove the valves. I had noticed the heads had epoxy in the water jackets but I never investigated since I was not getting paid to inspect the heads, just flow them. Now, after the fact, the crack clearly was always there hence the epoxy.

Customer calls every shop in town and the consensus is I sold him the wrong gaskets. He wanted to sue me for the damage. I told him I would fix the heads but he had to pay the welder. He said no way and I better get my lawyer. The issue ended with me telling him “good luck with that” and that was the last I heard from him.

I tried to “help” the best I could but I wasn’t spending my money on his problem.

Lawyer or not, what can you do with a blown up race engine?

[pdq67]

This is why there are more 392" Hemi heads than there are blocks!

pdq67

[Brian S]

If you're in business long enough you will eventually run into a customer like that. I really doubt many shops would make a judgement call without seeing the actual parts. About all you can do is tell the customer you'll be filing a counter suit to recover your legal expenses after he fails to prove his case in court.

[David Redszus]

Call your lawyer and have him draft a "hold harmless" waiver for your customer to sign when you begin the rebuild process.

It may not prevent a hot cylinder head from blowing but it might keep a hothead customer from blowing up and badmouthing you all over town.

[mike walsh]

My last employer had a customer install his own motor that he built, upon initial start up the N2o system activated and blew the crank out of the pan!
His buddy stopped by first thing in the morning and told my boss his "friend" was going to try saying the machine work was wrong, causing the crank to sieze so violently it broke. Sure enough right at closing the guy shows up, my ex-employer was so cool he looked at it (in the trunk of a car)and said, "oh I have seen that before, pre-mature n2o injection, that's a bummer." Then picking up a head he told him it'd only be a couple hundred to "fix it up." He naver gave the customer the opertunity to "lie" get angry or anything, he grasp the bull so to speak.

[Ron E]

Reading the Hemi failure thread got me thinking of something that happened to me some years back.

What hemi failure thread?

[MadBill]

This one: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26089&start=75

[Ron E]

This one: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26089&start=75

How'd I miss that? I've never seen an aluminum pin before. And I've never seen pins without some kind of retention.