RE: OS Camshaft plating peeling
Every once in a while I get lucky with a less expensive engine too. It is my theory that stumbling across one or two of these engines is addictive. How else can you explain my passion for finding black sheep engines that run great and then feeling more pride flying them than the high priced engines that I own?
Growing up using Fox engines, I acquired the habit early on of sending the engines back when I knew a fit wasn't right, or something was out of kilter. Dealing with Duke on the phone was really giving me a super education that I learned to enjoy. I actually looked forward to talking with the folks at Fox. I must say, before I forget it, that Duke and his crew always saved the day. He never left me holding an engine that wouldn't run properly. Most times there was no charge at all. Even when out of the warranty period.
I carried forth that habit with other engine brands. At the first sign of a problem that I am sure is due to less than perfection during manufacture, I box up the engine and shoot it back to the distributor, regardless of the country of manufacture. With some of them, it is good to have already spoken to them on the phone about the problem, then include a note saying that you talked to so and so about the problem on a given date.
While it can be tempting to be nasty when you really needed that engine for a given date, realize that conveying your emotions to the folks on the phone or the ones reading the note will only sour their stomach at the most. After they have been on that job for a while, I suspect that they automatically brand folks that try to load them down with guilt as being less than knowledgable modelers. This has the effect of making them not look as hard for problems since they have become convinced that the modeler doesn't know how to run an engine properly, or what to expect during break-in.
If you want the best service in such a situation, keep your communications short and to the point. Emotional outbursts work against you. Not for you.
I still grin from ear to ear when I remember flying my Utter Chaos with "that garbage Chinese engine", the ASP.61 ABC. That rascal ripped and snorted like a Rossi.
Ed Cregger