[Cliff R]

When you send an email or call and leave a voice mail, indicate that you have credit card in hand and ready to place an order.

That will probably get you to the top of the pile for a return call.

I get upwards of 50 emails per day, and some days that many or more phone calls to the shop. Of course I can't take all the calls, as at least 80 percent of them will be from someone wanting "free technical assistance", so they are referred to the website.

IF you are placing an order, in most cases I'll spend a few minutes on the phone to make sure we get all the correct parts sent out.

If we missed your call, and you leave a message on the voicemail that you are placing an order, your name goes to the TOP of the return call list.

As much as we would like to help everyone out with there projects, it is NOT possible to spend 15-20 hours per day on the phone helping folks sort out all their issues. We would have a great time and long/lengthy conversations with some really nice folks, but be bankrupt and out of business in less than a month!

For these reasons we've had to prioritize how we handle these things, and paying customers get top priority, then if/when we have time, we'll call back as many folks as possible to try to help them out some.

I'm sure Dave is in a similar situation.....FWIW......Cliff

[wilcar]

I was a big fan of H-O Racing back in 1976 when I needed to get more performance out of my brand new 400 Trans Am. I ordered several Crane 068 cams from them along with a carb kit, dist recurve kit and other goodies from them. Great service and products from them for sure. I used one of the 068 cams in the TA with some #16 heads and the other one in the 455 that was in the 65 GTO (still have it) I bought from Jim Butler back in 1988. Great memories!

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by 67GTO4SPEED

I can't speak for Nitebird, but I have tried to email Dave at SD numerous times with no response. I was interested in a camshaft as well, and I emailed him every pertinent spec and detail of my engine, but I never got any response. I tried to call once, but I never got to talk to anyone.

Anytime I've sent Dave an e-mail, I've gotten a prompt response.

[Old Goat Racer]

When I made up my mind to order a set of heads, I emailed Dave & asked him to call me at his convenience. He called the next day. Heads ordered. Hope I'm ahead of leeklm.

[Skip Fix]

I have found personally ordering direct from Comp is MORE expensive than any Pontiac supplier. Never figured that out from a business standpoint from Comp-they want X dollars profit for a cam and I can buy it with their X plus the suppliers profit on top flor less than their direct??

[Craig Hendrickson]

Originally Posted by 67GTO4SPEED

If a fella wanted to buy a H-O HC-02 today, is that possible?

PM Ken Crocie on this board. He would know if any are available.

[tom s]

Skip,protecting their dealers,the right thing to do.Tom

[Craig Hendrickson]

Originally Posted by Cliff R

I get upwards of 50 emails per day, and some days that many or more phone calls to the shop. Of course I can't take all the calls, as at least 80 percent of them will be from someone wanting "free technical assistance" (snipped)

Same deal in the 1970s with H-O Racing. For a couple of years, I had 3 techs answering phone calls with two order girls taking the handoff from us. The 3 were myself, Ken Crocie and at least 1 dedicated, knowledgeable Pontiac owner such as Scott Shepard or Dean Dodge. That still wasn't a big enough staff.

So, I can sympathize with Cliff and Dave. It's a tough balance between talking on the phone and running the business which includes overseeing customer's projects. This doesn't even count working on the race car! How'd I find enough time? Burning the candle at 3 ends is all I can say.

[Tim Corcoran]

I remember back in the 70's HO had a program for a fee and I don't remember what the fee was as it was small, you could send a letter via the post office (remember those days) with info about your car and what you are looking to do and HO would make a recommendation as to what parts you needed. I did that for my 67 GTO and I still have the response from Craig. The information was very valuable for me at the time as back then I didn't know s**t about Pontiacs.

[mchell]

Originally Posted by Nitebird

I too would like to support the hobby and Pontiac vendor guys. I was trying to order from SDperf but after a couple days of not being able to reach him to place a order I think that I have given up. Dave at SD did a very good job of answering a lot of my questions by email so I was at least trying to give him my business since he did that....but I don't want to keep waiting just to place a order. He did say he was very busy in his emails and I get that.... but I want to order parts so I can move forward with my build.

Thanks everyone for the good information.

Keep trying......VERY good people to deal with in every way.....my experience is that he will answer your email in time....every time

Went through the same thing when I was in the middle of my build.....looked hard at off the shelf cams and such mostly because of the speed in getting the parts when I wanted them.....Glad that I went through Dave after all.....I'm sure you will too....he prices were better as well...

[ponsteen]

I have been dealing with SD Perf since 1999. Dave has built me two motors and I have purchased several other items from him. SD is extremely busy and as has been said earlier he cannot spend six hours on the phone each day.

[67GTO4SPEED]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

Anytime I've sent Dave an e-mail, I've gotten a prompt response.

Like I said, I may have caught him at a bad time, but I'm not making it up. I am in no way trying to bash Dave or SD, I'm just saying I dealt with the same thing Nitebird did. I understand being busy - I work a full time job and I have a pool business on the side in the spring/summer/fall. I can't take all calls when I get them, but I do return calls when I can.

As I said, I didn't mean to discredit Dave or anything like that. However, when you cannot reach someone by email or phone, what more you can do?

Below are 2 of the emails I sent to Dave just to show that I am being honest about what I am saying. I sent one on 4/23/13, and I followed up on 5/5/13 with no response. I sent another email and tried to call once afterwards, and I never got a response, so I gave up.

At the time these were sent, I was ready to buy a camshaft.

[tooski]

Of the several times I've called and emailed SD only had a problem once. Took about a week for a response. It was at the beginning of summer when I though things would be slower as by then all the racers/cruisers would be racing/cruising. Might have been racing, might have been on a family trip. They have lives too!
I really don't envy business owners - automotive or otherwise as they don't get any vacation or time off for good behaviour.
Patience.

[Craig Hendrickson]

Originally Posted by Tim Corcoran

I remember back in the 70's HO had a program for a fee and I don't remember what the fee was as it was small, you could send a letter via the post office (remember those days) with info about your car and what you are looking to do and HO would make a recommendation as to what parts you needed. I did that for my 67 GTO and I still have the response from Craig. The information was very valuable for me at the time as back then I didn't know s**t about Pontiacs.

IIRC, it was called a "Technical Consultation" and it was $5.00! What a deal. Sure, H-O recommended some of our parts, but also included all kinds of other recommendations like chassis setup, converter stall, fuel system upgrade, etc which H-O did NOT sell.

The "tech consult" tended to filter out the serious guys from the tire kickers, but it still took a lot of time to do it correctly. This included typing out the analysis and recommendations on letterhead and mailing it back.

Today with emails it would be easier, but a serious "tech consult" would be more like $50 or $100. Most guys would just read the recommendations in the catalog instead.

[leeklm]

Originally Posted by Old Goat Racer

When I made up my mind to order a set of heads, I emailed Dave & asked him to call me at his convenience. He called the next day. Heads ordered. Hope I'm ahead of leeklm.

Hey now! Sounds like there are a few delays with the KRE's so we may have to battle it out!

[Cliff R]

"So, I can sympathize with Cliff and Dave. It's a tough balance between talking on the phone and running the business which includes overseeing customer's projects. This doesn't even count working on the race car! How'd I find enough time? Burning the candle at 3 ends is all I can say."

Thanks Craig.

There is NEVER enough time to cover all the things that need to get done. I go from 5am here to at least this late (it's now 11:23 pm) 7 days a week this time of year. I still have to prioritize all the calls that come in here, and try to separate the "tire kickers" from the paying customers.

I still try to help out as much as possible, even when folks aren't spending any money. It's a difficult balance as we still have to pay the bills to keep the doors open, but at the same time want folks to have positive results with their projects.

The absolute BEST way to get my 02 cents worth on something is to either post the question on my Forum, or email the shop. My secretary has strict instructions to steer folks with "tech" stuff to the website, or to my email, so I can stay productive in the shop during work hours. It answer ALL emails and keep close tabs on the Forum stuff, where much like this Forum, there are pretty knowledgeable folks there to help out......Cliff

[fastgto]

Yes , he is a busy man .... but DEFINITLEY worth dealing with ... I would deal with no one else ...

[Skip Fix]

Tom I would always just figure buying direct would be a little cheaper if you know what you need. Now for a specific part like the OF Dave(or anyone else for their consult) should get a little extra for his expertise. But often it is way cheaper to get from someone else

[Old Goat Racer]

Originally Posted by leeklm

Hey now! Sounds like there are a few delays with the KRE's so we may have to battle it out!

No fight here. I ordered Eheads. Was told by the end of March. We're half way.

[1971WARBIRD]

Originally Posted by Skip Fix

Tom I would always just figure buying direct would be a little cheaper if you know what you need. Now for a specific part like the OF Dave(or anyone else for their consult) should get a little extra for his expertise. But often it is way cheaper to get from someone else

I work for Hobart Brothers when I am home, builder of welders, cutters and such. anyway, tried to buy a welder from them using my employee discount, and found out I could go to the nearest welding store and buy it about 200.00 cheaper and with more parts included. never could make sense of that.