[DeTomaso] UPDATE: Re: Fluidyne Pantera Radiators, and interesting update

Asa Jay Laughton asajay at asajay.com
Wed Aug 15 00:51:24 EDT 2012


Hi gang,

Well, against all Mike Drew's recommendations... I did -not- buy a brass 
radiator from Hall, or from ebay (PI is selling them way cheap on ebay 
by the way).

Instead, I continued to work with Fluidyne directly.  They kept their 
word and engaged their quality process in both assembly and shipping.   
Gary himself kept in contact with me, sending me photo updates along the 
way of multiple radiators in process and the changes that were made.

Based on the work they had done, I asked if they would send me a 
replacement and I'd review it for them.  I received my new Fluidyne 
Pantera radiator -today-.

WOW!  Talk about much better, it is beautiful.  It's exponentially 
better than the two previous.  No bent pins, no bent tabs, no bent fins, 
no bent hose fittings.  No restrictions in the hose fittings.  The 
threaded fittings for the temp senders are beautifully cut, no galling 
or roughness at all.  And the finish is polished, with no funky 
discoloration from questionable welding.  Oh, and the nameplate is on 
top where it's supposed to be.

They've improved the packaging using expanding foam to surround the 
corners and keep the radiator centered in the box.  The box received 
today was in worse shape than the two I got from Summit, but the 
radiator inside was -perfect-.  I'd say the new foam method worked well.

These newest revision radiators are also five-row, not three.

Fluidyne has restored my faith in American business and responsiveness, 
even to a group like ours which is more or less a niche market.  They 
did a great job of listening to the customer, looking at their 
processes, finding the problems, fixing them and reporting it back to 
the customer.  I couldn't be happier with them right now.

I end up with a nice light new aluminum Fluidyne radiator, instead of 
the heavy brass one.  I forget just how heavy that old one is, until I 
go to pick it up again.

Just thought you all should know.  I think Fluidyne is once again making 
a quality radiator for the Pantera.

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism


On 7/13/2012 8:39 PM, Asa Jay Laughton wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Being short on time and on cash, I decided to purchase a Fluidyne
> Pantera radiator from Summit Racing.  It arrived damaged.  However
> Summit was very easy to work with and they sent a new one right out and
> picked up the damaged one.
>
> Oh... but it got worse from there.  The replacement was damaged in a
> similar fashion.  This was due to the new way they package radiators for
> shipment.  It just doesn't work with the Pantera Radiator.  You can see
> the gory details here:
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&Itemid=57&g2_itemId=5351&g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT
>
> I contacted Summit again and expect to get a full refund.  In addition,
> I contacted Fluidyne, the person who I spoke with earlier to find out if
> my present radiator was repairable.  I never found out since I never
> pulled it from the car, I simply assumed it was -not- repairable and
> ordered a replacement.  I did my best to illustrate the packaging
> problem through photos of both the first and second radiator I
> received.  I also pointed out what I thought were some build quality issues.
>
> Little did I -know- the person I was emailing was the -owner- and
> -founder- of Fluidyne, Gary Johnson.  Holy Crap!
>
> He graciously wrote me back and told me how he was disappointed in the
> product quality I received and pledged to investigate, and included a
> few others at Fluidyne in his response.
>
> Whether they really do anything or not is yet to be seen.  However, Gary
> sounded sincere in his response so I am hopeful this turns out well.
>
> Meanwhile.... I'm once again looking for a new radiator.  I may just
> take my brass one down to see how much to make it like new.  Though I
> -know- it needs all new fittings (present ones are rusted shut or have
> been removed and soldered over with a plate).  Of course, if they think
> it came from a Ferrari, they may charge me even more.
>
> We'll have to see.
> Asa Jay
>
> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
> &   Shelley Marie
> Spokane, WA
> ******************************
> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
> http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism
>
>
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