Another sad day in the history of our Cobras...

[Mustangmom2k]

My .02 cents: how refreshing to deal with a guy who seems to value integrity, honesty, and plain old-fashioned good customer relations. From what Tony tells me, the guy understood perfectly the concerns Tony has about restoring his high-performance car to the performance and life expectancy it had before the damage.

Personally, I think he should buy the long block for the best price he can get; and our shop should do the install (which he seemed open to...just needs the cost). That way, Tony gets the new engine from Ford, and also can rest easy knowing that a competent mechanic puts it in correctly. The body shop owner is out less money than if Ford did the whole job AND he saves his good reputation. Finally, our mechanic gets a bonus project/income he wouldn't have had otherwise (which he certainly deserves since he hasn't charged Tony one penny for his time and advice on this ordeal). Everybody wins.

But it's Tony's call, not mine.

 

[flyn high again]

That sounds like a good way of handling it. Plus the body shop owner doesn't have to worry about Tony being happy since you are using your mechanic. It's good payment for your mechanic's taking the time to go over there which was really nice of him. And you guys can talk to your mechanic about any improvements you may want to add yourself during the rebuild. Good plan!

 

[Cobra10thaniv]

well then I vote to change the name of the thread to pretty dang good day in repair history

 

[SALEENGTROUSH]

sounds good man glad to hear its workin out a little better. glad to hear u might get the car on the road sooner then u thought :thumbsup:

 

[stevieb]

Originally posted by Z20WHAT
Okay guys, here’s an update and it looks to be good:

I’ve finally spoken with the owner of the shop and to be honest he is quite a guy. He’s very nice, personable, and willing to work with me.

The bottom line was he’s willing to do what I feel is necessary as far as replacing the motor or rebuilding it and having whoever I want do the work. It’s just a matter of letting him know so he can choose to pay out of pocket or use his insurance company. He tried to assuage the situation by letting me know he’s never had to use his insurance and has not had 1 dissatisfied customer in his 35 years of working, and isn’t about to let that rep go over 1 car, no matter what the cost. So that made me feel better.

Now there is a respectable businessman. Other business' should take note!

 

[ramdge]

Tony,

I'm glad to hear that you are getting the situation with your car worked out. After reading about your discussion with the owner
of the shop about replacing the longblock, I have a suggestion.

Please make sure that the longblock that he has priced is the
2003 cobra longblock with the manley rods and the forged pistons. The $4000 price seems very low even with his discount.

I tried to price a 2003 shortblock and it listed for over $4000 before any discounts. After talking to them to make sure it was the 2003 with the Manley rods/ etc they realized it was the replacement shortblock for the 1999-2001 cobras and they had no
listing for the 2003 forged shortblock. The part number that I priced for the shortblock was XR3Z-6009-BA . If you enter that on www.fordpartsnetwork.com it comes up with a price of $4321.68 list and $3586.99 discounted. This is for the shortblock not a longblock and I'm pretty sure that is NOT the forged block.

As far as I know, I have never seen or heard of a part number for the 2003 forged shortblock or longblock. If the owner of the shop talked to a ford parts person that was not knowledgeable about the 2003 block with the forged pistons and rods then he might have received prices for the wrong one.

Please double check it, if you can, by calling a SVT dealer and getting the part # and list price for a 2003 cobra longblock and make sure that it is for the shortblock/longblock with the Manley rods and forged pistons. I would hate for the shop owner to accidently get the wrong shortblock thru no fault of his own.

Good luck,

Donnie

 

[Z20WHAT]

Good advice and thank you all for your support. I am still ironing out details but hopefully done soon. =}

 

[SVTCobra2001]

Originally posted by Mustangmom2k
My .02 cents: how refreshing to deal with a guy who seems to value integrity, honesty, and plain old-fashioned good customer relations. From what Tony tells me, the guy understood perfectly the concerns Tony has about restoring his high-performance car to the performance and life expectancy it had before the damage.

Personally, I think he should buy the long block for the best price he can get; and our shop should do the install (which he seemed open to...just needs the cost). That way, Tony gets the new engine from Ford, and also can rest easy knowing that a competent mechanic puts it in correctly. The body shop owner is out less money than if Ford did the whole job AND he saves his good reputation. Finally, our mechanic gets a bonus project/income he wouldn't have had otherwise (which he certainly deserves since he hasn't charged Tony one penny for his time and advice on this ordeal). Everybody wins.

But it's Tony's call, not mine.

I second that..

On a second note, have your shop stay in contact with the body shop and have the body shop order all the parts. I mean every last one of them. The body shop should be getting its parts from Ford at near cost and the shop can keep track of all the parts and cost.

I am glad to see that everything is coming into place. I hope all works out from here..

Mustangmom2k, if you are adopting, I think my wife wouldn't mind adding another Mom to the list. It is great to see you offering your children such great support.

Eric

 

[stevieb]

Originally posted by SVTCobra2001


Mustangmom2k, if you are adopting, I think my wife wouldn't mind adding another Mom to the list. It is great to see you offering your children such great support.

Eric

Better then that, if you adopt me, I will lie about my age that way I will still be tax deductable. Your son is lucky to have such a caring mom!

 

[SVTCobra2001]

Is the car on teh road again?

Eric

 

[BuffDigits]

wow im glad that got worked out for you. Hows it going, have they started working on it?

 

[Z20WHAT]

Hello guys, just letting you know that the shop decided to let their insurance company get in on it because of my "strict" demands. So they're paying to have MY chosen shop fully inspect the motor, and so far they think I should just have it replaced.

They've got me in a POS Hyundai Sonata for now, but at least I have transportation.

It should be up within a couple of weeks, hopefully. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Andorion]

What a soap, this was an interesting read - glad to see things worked out for you Tony =)

~Berj

 

[geepaw]

he does not deserve a beer...his shop
made the mistake. A sincere thank you
when all is done and spreading good
words about his shop is good enough.

 

[92LX5.0]

Why the F would some1 drive a cobra like it was a 4x4? Damn you are one dumbass!! I'm happy for ya

 

[Painter]

I remember about 5 yrs ago I had a raised 4x4toyota truck that I took in to get the tires rotated . I left with no problems. I went to the city later and on my way home at 65mph!!!the right rear tire fell off, I am not lying, It actually passed me up on the tollway as I pulled off. Some minor drum damage and a bent rim. I was pissed but took it back to them and told them what happened without getting all crazy. They fixed it and that was it. I think they knew what could happen if I wanted to sue or something.So try a civilized approach first, then if that doesn't work spend 5g's on a lawyer and sue for 20.

 

[Wicked]

Glad things are going well with the arrangements. I'll talk to ya later, bro.

 

[Z20WHAT]

Well here is another update.

The insurance shop verified with my shop what was wrong with the motor. Basically everything was shot. The heads AND block were cracked, a couple pistons blown, and the bearings were shot.

So they’re basically replacing everything. It’ll be almost $6,000. They’re doing something to the block to fix the minor crack along with honing it. Also, the good news is that they let me upgrade the pistons to the awesome J&E replacement ones and also using stronger gaskets. So not only am I getting a new, hand built motor by a reputable machinist, but it’ll have more displacement and stronger pistons. =D

Can we say more boost?!?!

Anyway, I’m not sure how long it will take, but hopefully no longer than a couple of weeks. I’ve now been without my car for 3 months. ={

 

[Sailing2Smth]

Originally posted by Z20WHAT
Well here is another update.

The insurance shop verified with my shop what was wrong with the motor. Basically everything was shot. The heads AND block were cracked, a couple pistons blown, and the bearings were shot.

So they’re basically replacing everything. It’ll be almost $6,000. They’re doing something to the block to fix the minor crack along with honing it. Also, the good news is that they let me upgrade the pistons to the awesome J&E replacement ones and also using stronger gaskets. So not only am I getting a new, hand built motor by a reputable machinist, but it’ll have more displacement and stronger pistons. =D

Can we say more boost?!?!

Anyway, I’m not sure how long it will take, but hopefully no longer than a couple of weeks. I’ve now been without my car for 3 months. ={

Just out of curiosity, what shop screwed up your engine in the first place? Only reason I ask is because we live about 20 miles apart and I'd like to avoid that place, lol.

But its great that they are fixing everything and all is working out for you. Perhaps later this spring/summer when I pick up my Cobra we can hit up Cecil. Good Luck!

 

[Z20WHAT]

Originally posted by Sailing2Smth
Just out of curiosity, what shop screwed up your engine in the first place? Only reason I ask is because we live about 20 miles apart and I'd like to avoid that place, lol.

But its great that they are fixing everything and all is working out for you. Perhaps later this spring/summer when I pick up my Cobra we can hit up Cecil. Good Luck!

It was a shop called Classic Automotive in Manassas. They're a great body shop, they just made an honest mistake and did everything to correct it.