BAD SELLER : LS1 Trans am

[rustynuts]

ROBERT SAWYER OF WATONGA OKLAHOMA, sold me a 99 ls1 without disclosing the fact that it had a broken starter mount. a piece of alum round stock was welded on, drilled and tapped. robert tells me it works just fine this way. the weld on the side of the tranny mating surface wasn't even ground down flush, leaving a bulge. still with grinder marks might i add. one would think if it had been run (mounted to a tranny), there would be some sort of flat spot on the bulging weld. as a result, the tranny doesn't mate up square. yes i can grind it down, that's besides the point. i didn't bargain for nor was this disclosed.

also, because i got a deal on shipping, i decided to split the savings with robert, as a sign of good faith. after all, i'm in california and he's in oklahoma. after recieving the motor and seeing this shoty block repair, i got ahold of robert to discuss. he tells me he won't be able to give me back any money for awhile as money's tight. anyone with a brain knows to check his posts and what do you know, he's spent all kinds of money on motor parts. heads, cam, etc. http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37170

There's no way I can do that anytime soon. I'll get you $100, but I'm not even sure when I can.

robert, the fact is, it's not right. i didn't bargain for a damaged block. you didn't disclose that information weather you thought it ok or not. as stated before, the tranny doesn't bolt up square. i don't care if you ran it that way or not, which i doubt, it's not right. it may be permissimble on a 1982 4 cylinder toyota pickup truck but not on a high performance ls1. i have several options on how i can approach this situation with you. i'm first going to try the civilized manor.
i've shown this to some reputable folks and what's going to need to be done to restore full function/strength/reliability is to cut off what was welded on, weld on a new piece of aluminum because i have no idea what type of aluminum was welded on and don't trust it's strength given the poor way it was done. and carefully machine down the block to tranny mounting surface. this is going to set me back. i was trying to be a nice guy by sharing the shipping savings. look what that got me. at this point, after talking with folks as to what will need to be done to use this engine with confidence, i think a credit is in order for the undisclosed work ahead of me. i'm thinking $100 for credit to squash this broken mount ordeal plus the $100 i gave you from the shipping savings as a nice gesture. totaling $200.

i like to think all things considered, asking for $200 back is MORE than fair. he will no longer reply to my pm's. any suggestions? i don't take to kindly to being screwed, especially by some 20 year old kid.

the for sale thread http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35896

you can see the light coming through the tranny mounting surface due to the weld bulge.

[rustynuts]

[Raoul-Duke]

thats messed up...i say go to his house and gggget hhheeemmmmeee

[WS.SICK]

i would be more than pleased with the deal you got on all that stuff- a complete motor w/tranny/wiring/pcm and manifolds etc.. and your upset about a weld you can grind down and fix- dude 2500 for all of that sounds excellent to me- you should just fix it and build the motor for a drag car or something- be happy with the blessings you receive and dont worry about a measly 200 dollars-

yes thats money to me too- but you got a good deal be happy with it-

you are right however that he should have told you about the weld.. but look what you got out of the deal...

[Danger731]

bs THE DUDE SOLD HIM A MOTOR WITH AN UNDISCLOSED FLAW. Beware this seller.

[rustynuts]

i would be more than pleased with the deal you got on all that stuff- a complete motor w/tranny/wiring/pcm and manifolds etc.. and your upset about a weld you can grind down and fix- dude 2500 for all of that sounds excellent to me- you should just fix it and build the motor for a drag car or something- be happy with the blessings you receive and dont worry about a measly 200 dollars-

yes thats money to me too- but you got a good deal be happy with it-

you are right however that he should have told you about the weld.. but look what you got out of the deal...

no tranny. motor only. and because of mix matched injectors and pcm, the motor didn't run. he did disclose that the pcm would need to be flashed. so it was a motor only but not a running motor.

[mrr23]

seliing a motor, no matter how good the deal, without disclosing repairs such as this, is not right.

[jbb6811]

seliing a motor, no matter how good the deal, without disclosing repairs such as this, is not right.

i totally agree!
to the seller!

[BadBlueBird*]

I will link him to this thread, hopefully he will come through. If not, we can remove him off the site and warn other sites (that he may be apart of) of his wrong doings.

[rustynuts]

I will link him to this thread, hopefully he will come through. If not, we can remove him off the site and warn other sites (that he may be apart of) of his wrong doings.

can't hurt.

[Y2KPewterSS]

I know he is a member of OKGMP.com, its an Oklahoma city based site. You might register there and try to make contact with him.

[rustynuts]

I know he is a member of OKGMP.com, its an Oklahoma city based site. You might register there and try to make contact with him.

thanks for the heads up. i sent him another pm earlier today. his last activity was tonight around 7:50 pm so i know he's seen it. i almost hope he doesn't make contact by my next road trip east. i have his home and work address.


here's another example of the young thief. check the last couple posts.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42667



.....

[Ed Blown Vert]

I don't understand why it took you 5 months to complain.

[TheChad1371]

damn, i didnt realize it was that long of a time period...this is what i suggest...track him down, and

[sharptransam]

damn, i didnt realize it was that long of a time period...this is what i suggest...track him down, and

yeah, beating someone until they piss blood usually makes them see your side.

[TheChad1371]

it really does. but you gotta do one of two methods. 1) beat him till he dies...2) beat him, but not too bad so he dont have a concussion and forget what happened and why. there is no median.

[rustynuts]

I don't understand why it took you 5 months to complain.

it's a combination of : once i had the motor, i didn't have time to work on it or the vehicle. i'm sure you know how busy things can get from time to time. i went through the parts that were supposed to be included, which were there. i didn't notice the starter mount until about a month of having it. this was around the time i was getting ready to bolt it to the tranny for mock up and went to crank it over and verify compression in the cylinders. that's when the emails started. i then began researching possible solutions for fixing it. LS1 Trans am is not always on this site. i can see his last activity date/time. it took weeks before he'd respond. the last respose i got from him was that he didn't know when he'd be able to afford sending me any money. so i'm trying to be patient with the kid because i know how tight things can get. i didn't want to get nasty right out of the gates. he will no longer respond to my pm's. i started to write a thread a couple months back then deleted it and tried to establish communication once more. you know, calm and collective. so here i am. haven't even started the motor yet. for all i know the things got a nasty rod knock or a blown head gasket (compression is ok). i really hope not. if i have to tear it down, i'm buying a plane ticket to watonga, OK. count on it. still have his address. he promissed me it was in good running order. i know he checks this site regularly especially now that he dumped a bunch of $ into his ride. now he's got more to brag about. no pm's replied to. so much for being patient.