911 - Brake Upgrade
Potted History
1. Mar 05: My original intention was to undertake a 930 brake upgrade however I was suitably impressed by a write up on the Prodigious 993 upgrade and contacted Dave Walsh for a quotation.
2. Apr 05: Having been persuaded by Dave that his 993 front and rear upgrade would definitely work with my stock 911' 16 Fuchs and SC narrow body and that he could provide a bolt on' conversion (calipers/rotors/mc/paint & shipping to the UK) I sent Dave a deposit of $750.
3. Jul 05: Some 3 months later Dave invoices me for another $1748 (total - $2498) and ships the goods which were received on the 20th July 05. Unfortunately the calipers had not been properly packaged and the paintwork was badly chipped in transit whilst the tissue paper wrap had bonded to the fresh paint. Photos sent to Dave but we agree to save the cost/delay in returning the calipers to the US as I would touch them up by hand.
4. Aug 05: Book SC into Camtune my local P-mechanic to install the supposedly bolt on' 993 brake upgrade kit whilst on holiday in France. Despite Dave's re-assurances, the front 993 calipers will definitely not fit behind my standard 911 7 Fuchs and the rear calipers have apparently been incorrectly drilled to suit a 930 rotor and not the 993 rotor provided with the kit.
5. Aug 05 (cont): Numerous exchanges between Camtune, Dave and myself (in France) concludes with eventual admission from Dave that the 993 front calipers will only work with 951 Fuchs and that the rear 993 calipers have been incorrectly machined and will need to be replaced.
6. Aug 05 (cont): My SC has been on the Camtune ramps for some weeks and I now have to get my car back on the road so I must pay up approx 500 for the removal, the new install and then subsequent replacement of the original SC brakes.By now I am fast approaching divorce territory.
7. Sep 05: Dave asks me if I can source some 7 x 951 Fuchs in the UK but this proves impossible and Dave (kindly) agrees to procure the 951's from the States.
8. Oct 05: Dave eventually ships the 7 x 951 which would appear to resolve the clearance problem (not yet installed) and despite my concerns (and my offer to open up the throats on the supplied 993 calipers to suit 930 rotors) Dave informs me that newly machined 993 calipers will definitely work with the 993 rotors and my 911 8 rear Fuchs.
9. Nov 05: Despite numerous emails/calls no further contact from Dave until 10th November when he states that he has fitted the correctly drilled calipers under a 15x8 wheel and will be dropping the calipers off at the coaters in two days etc. The ball is rolling and the answer is solved.
10. Dec 05: Despite further requests for updates I receive no further communication from Dave until I eventually raise my concerns about his whereabouts on Pelican and track him down via his EBay Account.
Dave's response: Please E-mail me at [email protected] I have not been using the other e-mails, and I am sorry I missed passing that to you. Last we talked about the rears I told you I would need them shipped back and you said you were on a trip and could not ship them back until you returned home. Please do not treat me like I have not done anything for you, I have already lost money on this, but I am still in it. I regret not requesting all the products back for a refund as I would have saved a lot of money, so please don't act like I am not aware, or being honourable about your problem. I will need the rear calipers returned to send out the replacements. I will drop the replacements off to be coated this week.
My response: I immediately FedEx the incorrectly machined' rear calipers that Dave claims he was waiting for these were duly received by Dave on 28th Dec. 05.
11. Jan. 06: Despite numerous emails/unanswered telephone calls etc, Dave Walsh has again gone completely dead on me?
12. Feb. 06: On Friday I sent Dave an email giving him 24 hours to respond to me before I procure the rear calipers elsewhere and then take measures to recover the costs? Surprise-surprise - no response has been received.
Conclusion
I take no pleasure in slating a guy like this but this disastrous (not to mention expensive) '911 brake upgrade' has been going on for almost a year now and I have finally run out of patience.
With regard to Dave Walsh and his various companies to include Prodigious / Pro-braking etc all I can say to others is 'Caveat Emptor'?
Martin
Surrey
United Kingdom
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