As I am sure some of you remember, about 6-8 weeks ago I came to the board with a “not so nice” post about CMRE, due to some issues that we had encountered in a machining contract. I am coming back to the board again today because I feel that I owe CMRE, and the board, the updated version of what has happened since the original problems were encountered.
For those who dont know, I will post a quick overview of what had happened, as I had deleted the original post quite some time back when I started to see movement toward a resolution on the issue. Also, quite frankly, after re-reading the original post, it was written in an excessively-harsh manner. I posted not too long after I had initially found the mistakes… and anyone who knows the whole story behind this cough immense cough project, knows that I have had a huge number of not-at-fault setbacks, which have caused my patience to wear extremely thin… even that is the understatement of the year.
Basically, there were 4 main issues;
-Overall Project Time
-Crankshaft Keyways too long requiring a huge amount of repair time
-Crankshaft Balance out of spec when re-checked somewhere else
-Crankshaft Centerline Changed an unacceptable amount during machining and honing
The first two issues all coincide with one another, and all stem from a simple mistake on CMRE’s part. In hindsight, I can understand the mistake, and also understand how the crankshaft was out of their possession and control multiple times during the repair process, adding to the repair time.
The third issue in hindsight also is understandable, as I did not take into account that the crankshaft was balanced at two different facilities, on two different machines. To say I was “blinded by anger” at this point would be fitting… as it didnt even cross my mind until some time after.
The last issue, the crank centerline, was the straw that broke the camels back as it were, and that was the unforgiveable issue. The project had already gone extremely overbudget, and I absolutely could not swallow an $8500 monkey wrench thrown into an already stressed “machine.” This was the point at which I snapped and came to the board, even before I had contacted CMRE to discuss the problem. Because the money was a huge issue & amount at this point, I had contacted my lawyer and instructed him to contact CMRE. While I do regret (at this junction) not contacting CMRE first to see what the result would be, I could not risk coming off as someone not willing to go “all the way” if need be on the issue, especially being a new customer.
Now, onto the newer stuff.
After my lawyer contacted CMRE, Carl amicably instructed my lawyer to have me contact him directly, rather than involving his own lawyer and starting a battle, which he could have done easily at that point. At first, I could tell I was being “felt out” slightly, not that I blame him, as the dollar amount involved was large. At the time, I was having the block double-checked by a 3rd party to confirm my findings. Carl offered to come out and check the block himself, but declined and opted to make a trip out to CMRE personally.
Once I arrived at CMRE, I found that I was greeted rather well, considering the circumstances. Carl was extremely professional about the whole thing, moreso than most people could ever hope to be. Once we brought the block-in-question into the shop, he removed 2 of the main caps, and compaired them to the original untouched main caps on a CNC using a probe. It was determined by Carl himself that there was indeed a mistake in the machining. However, rather than balking like I would have expected damn near anyone to do, I believe his exact words were “So, this wont work for you?” “No.” “Then we will figure out what we can do about it.” I was quite shocked at this point, no contesting, nothing from him of the sort. He realized he made a mistake, and from that point on, did what he had to do in order to make it right. He even knew at this point that quite literally, the only option was replacement. No repair was even possible that would be acceptable for the intended use, and he also knew the type of $ numbers he was looking at at that point. I think it is quite commendable for someone to handle a situation of that sort in that way, as it is not something you see much of these days.
When we went back to Carl’s desk, we had a breif discussion about the possible solutions. We came to an agreement that Carl would replace my engine block & Billet Main Caps, but wanted the old block and the new OEM internals out of the new block. This was acceptable to me, with the only hiccup being that I had already ordered a block through my own dealer which was on the way. We worked out the details, and it was done. I would purchase the block, remove the internals, and then drop off the old block/internals to CMRE in exchange for payment. Over the next week or so, the exchange was made, I was given a check on the spot, and the main caps were in the mail to me, all handled very well.
I was in fact so impressed with his handling of the situation, that I offered to remain his customer, despite the previous issues. I feel that a relationship with CMRE is more beneficial than not, as their machine shop is quite literally, awesome. As it stands, I am contracting again with CMRE for the machining of 2 more crankshafts and another block.
At this juncture, I would like to change my original position of Avoid, to RECOMMEND when it comes to this shop. Coming from me, that says a lot- anyone who knows me knows that I am a stubborn prick, and you have a better chance of changing the weather than changing my mind… CMRE however, was able to pull it off.
