cowboy mechanic ripped off my mate, advice?

[Landynut]

go have another beer

I'm going to bed because I have to go to work in the morning...

[wopass]

is it a sunday paper round you have to deliver?

[gimmemud]

is it a sunday paper round you have to deliver?

[Fakey]

theres a slight difference between spots of surface rust and structural rust.... I've crawled around underneath it myself, and its one of the mintest pre1980 landrover chassis' i've ever laid eyes on.Well you are the expert

yes you are entitled to your opinion - but this thread was not put here for eggs to come and bag on landrovers,This maybe true but almost every post Ive seen from you contains some ammount of dribble about how awesome your pos rover is an you bagging some other brand of vehicle.
I remember one of your posts going something like "the only thing I've ever had to do with jeeps is towing them out of mud holes they stupidly tried to follow me through, or when i've spotted them stuck on the beach with an incoming tide "
And
"hahah, yeah maybe it was you in that green jeep waving out to me stuck fast in a sink hole on the beach with water lapping around the wheels when I came driving along the high tide mark in me landy?"
Suck it up Landycnut are you really that surprised your getting some shit back so your negative "opinions" arent really helpful, or relative to the topic, it wouldnt matter if it was a landrover or a prius - tradesmen should be held accountable for their workmanship.

is negativity and pessimism your emotional default or something?

[Sadam_Husain]

can you stick up some photos of the actual conversion so we can see what this joker has done and why the sump has ended up so close to the diff? Is the engine sitting way down on the piss or is it relatively level, does the crank pully line back up at the origional height when you look through thr hole in the front crossmember. is the engine offset (east/west) where it probably should be to miss the diff travel or has he centred it, can you stick up a profile view of the landy so we can see the suspension hight? Have you worked out what the front springs are out of and have they been reset or have they been swapped by the mechanic?

All that information is constructive to give you advice not the pages of crap about bagging people and what you reckon your going to do to them

[Landynut]

theres a slight difference between spots of surface rust and structural rust.... I've crawled around underneath it myself, and its one of the mintest pre1980 landrover chassis' i've ever laid eyes on.Well you are the expert

yes you are entitled to your opinion - but this thread was not put here for eggs to come and bag on landrovers,This maybe true but almost every post Ive seen from you contains some ammount of dribble about how awesome your pos rover is an you bagging some other brand of vehicle.
I remember one of your posts going something like "the only thing I've ever had to do with jeeps is towing them out of mud holes they stupidly tried to follow me through, or when i've spotted them stuck on the beach with an incoming tide "
And
"hahah, yeah maybe it was you in that green jeep waving out to me stuck fast in a sink hole on the beach with water lapping around the wheels when I came driving along the high tide mark in me landy?"
Suck it up Landycnut are you really that surprised your getting some shit back so your negative "opinions" arent really helpful, or relative to the topic, it wouldnt matter if it was a landrover or a prius - tradesmen should be held accountable for their workmanship.

is negativity and pessimism your emotional default or something?

ahhh yeah - thats about all the experience I've had with jeeps, that was fact not opinion
also your taking it out of context eh...

forwarding past experiences is one thing, just calling someones truck a "pile of shit" is something else .... I always have, and always will keep an open mind when it comes to 4x4 - I have never directly insulted anyones particular set of wheels, and I implore you to find a post where I have....

this thread actually has very little to do with me, so keep it neutral please......

if you want to start a "bag on landy" thread, go for it....

in the meantime lets keep this thread clean please...

[Landynut]

can you stick up some photos of the actual conversion so we can see what this joker has done and why the sump has ended up so close to the diff? Is the engine sitting way down on the piss or is it relatively level, does the crank pully line back up at the origional height when you look through thr hole in the front crossmember. is the engine offset (east/west) where it probably should be to miss the diff travel or has he centred it, can you stick up a profile view of the landy so we can see the suspension hight? Have you worked out what the front springs are out of and have they been reset or have they been swapped by the mechanic?

All that information is constructive to give you advice not the pages of crap about bagging people and what you reckon your going to do to them

yep will do in the next few days, I dont have access to the vehicle here, and I'm working 7 days a week at present except when it rains... I think there is some crap weather on the way so I should get a couple days off this week....

from what I saw, the gearbox x member is about 8 inches further forward than the original one, and there is not a lot that could be done with the sump really, its quite a flat bottomed sump, doesnt have the usual hump at one end to hold oil...

I think the engine is about as high as it can go, and is sitting fairly level, if i remember right tho the landy engines were always off-set to one side, which is what gave them their good approach angles etc (shorter nose) perhaps that hasn't been done with this engine, it looks as though if the engine were moved an inch back and maybe an inch or two to the left it would be clear of the diff altogether....

just a matter of whether or not there was room for this I suppose - will have a good look and measure up engine bay room etc, and get some photos next time I see it..

[Jungle]

I've only just stumbled across this one. Love it.
I sold a mint 3B and gearbox for $200 the other day. I might have sold that a little cheap. ha.

This guy obviously hadn't worked out the final ratio's for the vehicle for road driving. I wouldn't put a 3B into a truck unless it was turboed. Your poor mate.

Oh well. Looks like it may have increased the overall scrap value of the vehicle. Those 3B's are heavy little tractor engines. Will go nicely with the agricultural feel of the landrover.

Anyway, enough niggle. Your mate has truly had the wool pulled over both eyes. Would also love to know how it got certified.

Tell your mate for 5K I'll turbo it. Just kidding.

Cheers
Jungle

[petefj40]

Would also love to know how it got certified.

X2


I just read all 5 pages.

I feel for this guy getting his truck back in that condition. I'm glad the repower I had done on my truck wasn't as bad as that one. I still can't believe how cowboys like that get away with it.
When I first had issues with mine in the state they gave it back to me? I didn't want them to touch it again. Because I had first hand experience on the standard of work they were happy to let the customer drive away with. (fark that! Everytime I turned a corner the motor would die. ECU floating around in the glovebox, fuse holders in glovebox not anchored downeither, wiring harness in engine bay 3cm from header melting wiring, the list went on)

Don't name names here mate. Here isn't the right place, honestly.
NZ is a very small place. Word will get round, just not fast enough. Do what others suggest, seek legal aid. If you name names publicly you could have a law suit against yourself. For you, it's not worth it.

Keep us all posted on the progress.

[Landynut]

Would also love to know how it got certified.

X2


I just read all 5 pages.

I feel for this guy getting his truck back in that condition. I'm glad the repower I had done on my truck wasn't as bad as that one. I still can't believe how cowboys like that get away with it.
When I first had issues with mine in the state they gave it back to me? I didn't want them to touch it again. Because I had first hand experience on the standard of work they were happy to let the customer drive away with. (fark that! Everytime I turned a corner the motor would die. ECU floating around in the glovebox, fuse holders in glovebox not anchored downeither, wiring harness in engine bay 3cm from header melting wiring, the list went on)

Don't name names here mate. Here isn't the right place, honestly.
NZ is a very small place. Word will get round, just not fast enough. Do what others suggest, seek legal aid. If you name names publicly you could have a law suit against yourself. For you, it's not worth it.

Keep us all posted on the progress.

cheers pete, yeah I'm not going to name them on here at least for the time being - if you live in the lower NI and are considering a repower pm me and i'll let you know who NOT to use . . .

the list is endless, much like your scenario - handbrake has never worked, its at full adjustment and wont hold the truck on a 1 degree slope, and has been relocated to the right hand side of the driver seat so when you pull the handbrake up, you have to do the funky chicken dance to get out without tearing your pants open which is just plain silly . . .
alternator is poked - charge light was on ever since the repower and now it wont even start (im guessing the battery has been killed by discharging to dead-flat too)
starter motor has been slipping and sticking and not doing too well ever since repower . .

its just a nightmare situation....

sought legal advice and was told you MUST give them the oppurunity to rectify problems - which makes you want to cry after what they did in the first place, and his attempt at "fixing" the front clearance issue . . . .

not only that but he took the truck back a hundred times for minor problems as above and was told "I'm too busy at the moment" time and time again..

I think if it went back to him again there would be a hostile situation and he would basically throw his toys - in which case the vehicle gets repaired elsewhere and the bill sent to him...

heres hoping for a positive outcome . . .

as to jungle's comment: got any more 3b's for sale ?? haha

As I said earlier I'm fairly certain he had a rusted out old cruiser behind a hay shed somewhere and saw an oppurtunity to make some cash out of it.. a completely reconditioned engine can be picked up for about 2 grand if you shop around..

it was a really poor conversion really - im pretty sure the 3b gearbox 5th gear is almost identical in ratio to the landrovers 4th gear . . a diff-head swap to 4.1:1 or 3.5:1 ratio would have been a better (and cheaper) move...

I think the owner of the truck has learned some valuable lessons from this (not all mechanics & "experts" are trustworthy..)

Big THANKS to everyone who gave advice and input here - greatly appreciated and helpful...

[Fakey]

$2000 for a rebuilt 3b? good luck.. $2000 will cover parts to rebuild the block only.
But yeah your probably right he probably had a rusty old 3b cruiser sitting round he wanted rid of

[Landynut]

$2000 for a rebuilt 3b? good luck.. $2000 will cover parts to rebuild the block only.
But yeah your probably right he probably had a rusty old 3b cruiser sitting round he wanted rid of

I didnt say rebuilt 3b I said "reconditioned engine" ..
theres quite a selection of recon'd diesels around the 2k mark, I dont see why it _had_ to be a 3b (unless it was one he had sitting around and wanted rid of...)

[em_knaps]

Phew, that was a long read......

In the LVVTA manual it says that the engine should not come in to contact with the axle.

of course this is obvious to most ppl.
The certifier has not one his job properly in allowing this vehicle to be made road legal, nor has the VTNZ.

this knob end has done a bad job, but the LVVTA and the LTSA exist to ensure that the vehicle is up to a standard fit for NZ roads and should be held accountable as well as the guy who did the job in the 1st place as they exist to ensure he does the job properly.

With a cert plate comes a
"LVV STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE"

I have one sitting in front of me as i recent had my cruiser cert for a 1UZ conversion i did.

this piece of paper has the cert plate number on it along with the cert guys name and details of the modification carried out.

When a cert is done, Photo's are required to be taken of the modification that is being certified, which are then sent to the LVVTA along with the certificate of compliance where they are filed and a plate is fabricated and sent back to the certifier with the original copy of the cert of compliance.

the cert plate has number at the top, above the date of certification.

you have givin this chap ample opportunity to rectify the errors,
but these errors should not have been cerified.

Take him and the certifier to the small claims court,
I would not settle for anything short of a full refund.

If i paid 10k for a transplant i would expect nothing but top quality work,
this friend of yours is supposed to be protected but the LVVTA and VTNZ from dodgy work.

ok, i hope this info is of some use.

good luck.

[em_knaps]

sheesh, a bit behind the 8 ball arent I,

I think its time i went to bed.

[Landynut]

Phew, that was a long read......

In the LVVTA manual it says that the engine should not come in to contact with the axle.

of course this is obvious to most ppl.
The certifier has not one his job properly in allowing this vehicle to be made road legal, nor has the VTNZ.

this knob end has done a bad job, but the LVVTA and the LTSA exist to ensure that the vehicle is up to a standard fit for NZ roads and should be held accountable as well as the guy who did the job in the 1st place as they exist to ensure he does the job properly.

With a cert plate comes a
"LVV STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE"

I have one sitting in front of me as i recent had my cruiser cert for a 1UZ conversion i did.

this piece of paper has the cert plate number on it along with the cert guys name and details of the modification carried out.

When a cert is done, Photo's are required to be taken of the modification that is being certified, which are then sent to the LVVTA along with the certificate of compliance where they are filed and a plate is fabricated and sent back to the certifier with the original copy of the cert of compliance.

the cert plate has number at the top, above the date of certification.

you have givin this chap ample opportunity to rectify the errors,
but these errors should not have been cerified.

Take him and the certifier to the small claims court,
I would not settle for anything short of a full refund.

If i paid 10k for a transplant i would expect nothing but top quality work,
this friend of yours is supposed to be protected but the LVVTA and VTNZ from dodgy work.

ok, i hope this info is of some use.

good luck.

mate thats exactly spot on

certifier was a lazy bastard who no doubt only looked at it / took photos while it was up on a hoist, where the sag of the suspension would not have been taken into account....

once placed back on terra firma he cant have looked under it at all.....

I have left it up to the owner to decide the next move....

[mylux]

Is this sh!t still dragging on
If you have left it this long to get the issue resolved then best of luck.

[Landynut]

Is this sh!t still dragging on
If you have left it this long to get the issue resolved then best of luck.

hasn't been that long actually.... disputes tribunal arent quick off the mark when it comes to shit like this, theres a 6-8 week waiting list lol.....

I don't even know whats happening with it atm, I've done all I can do to help - the rest is in the hands of the justice system and the parties involved.....

[mtnranges]

What a read!!

What was the final outcome with this?

[BogBoy]

Yea?