I picked up the parts years ago as an insurance policy against being unhappy with F1 having come from a manual F430. As it turned out, for my usage pattern - which is predominantly road-based - I was 80% happy with Superfast 2. When on a good stretch of road it's phenomenal, and for the rest of the time its extremely accomplished whilst never feeling really detached, but ultimately I still miss the interaction of a manual more than I appreciate the marvel of SF2. I had planned to convert this winter but, as is the case for many of us, the year hasn't worked out as planned! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Apparently the new gates are a few days away so supposedly my car will be done next week.. time shall tell.
It’s funny you say that because my car is in there getting converted right now and is sitting right next to your car. I stopped in yesterday and we were discussing the next step forward, Phil told me new gates will be in at around two weeks. When I was there he received a text message from you about the gates and you were told two weeks, just like me, just like everyone else. Stop trying to undermined EAG and Art, especially after all they’ve put up with from you. We’re all in the same position you are, waiting for gates accept, we’re patiently waiting to speed up the process for them and don’t distract them from work. Stop lying man, Art has been more than accommodating with your distractions. Honestly, if you were my customer, your car would be on a truck already back to you, in pieces, and incomplete. But, Art is too nice to do that and even though you’re being an [*** offensive label deleted ***], he’s still giving you the same experience he’s giving all of his customers.
Conversion is a bit of a tricky business; there are no longer enough original parts you can buy. EAG are doing the best job they can. Art is a human and has taken on this F430 manual conversion movement single handedly; there is a lot of demand and he's doing as good of a job as possible. He converted my F430 and did a superb job; yes it took longer than either of us thought but the pandemic messed schedules and priorities up, and i went for one of the last oem conversions so parts were hard to source. Still, every weekend i get an amazingly unique driving experience in a flat plane crank v8 with gated shifter and an incredible fun drive. It's not possible to get that unless you want to pay double the price of an F1 for a factory 6-spd. If you're not willing to be patient then just don't ask EAG to do the work. But please stop beating them on the head in a public forum. It's a process and many parts especially now have to be made from scratch. Get a new hobby for a couple of months until the job is done and stop badgering them.
My sole issue is that my car has apparently been delayed for a month waiting for a shift plate and the transparency surrounding it (several illogical reasons). The fact of the matter is that I paid for the parts in full on June 15th, why wasn’t the plate ordered then? It’s a hunk of aluminum and machine run time, actual cost to machine is about $125 per. I offered another machine shop that could have completed the plates in a single day! Art refused, claiming he had IP on the scan and wouldn’t send it (yes, IP on a scan of a Ferrari part) The shop offered to sign an NDA , trying to do what they could to get it done and help. Art again refused refused, so my and several other cars could have been back a month ago. I think that is a very reasonable concern and one that made me wonder if the shift plate is the actual issue. Also, the text I got was that the test plate was in, that it fit, and that the rest would arrive in 2 days, which then they changed to two weeks.
Perhaps Art isn't comfortable installing or providing any sort of warranty on a part the manufacture of which he has little to no control over. Maybe they were originally told 2 days, and then their supplier changed the info to 2 weeks. But thank you for clarifying that you were in fact told 2 weeks. There could be dozens of reasons why he chose the route he did. Getting one's blood pressure into a spike over it won't make it happen any sooner. I have no stake in it, but I certainly am sorry you're not happy with how it's going. Maybe if you've got some time on your hands, head on over to the Bob Ross channel on YouTube. I find it helps me throw worries and anxieties out the window and just relax and smile for a bit.
The part we are talking about is a hunk of aluminum with zero working parts, made by a machine that doesn’t make mistakes, off of a scan they already have. Also worth noting that the friend who would be making it made this transport device. If they can make complex systems that are good enough for NASA, then I think they are qualified to machine a one part piece of metal... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sound advice above. Often in these situations it pays to step away and just stop thinking about it, because it can take over and affect your perspective. There are obvious issues with some elements of the company but it seems that in time people receive the goods.
I’m sorry but when someone has a five figure sum of my money, a Ferrari, and tells me there is a month plus delay with no end date in sight on a project where they could have ordered a $125 hunk of metal 4 months ago, that I then offer to furnish, which they decline, yes I am worried and not going to “take a step back”. If there were a legitimate reason then there is no sense beating a dead horse but in this scenario, there is an immediate solution that they declined. Why else would that happen unless there was something else going on that I’m not being told? That’s my issue.
my friend who has a full kit for a manual conversion has been out of town and thus hasn’t dug it out of storage. However, I think I’ll be buying the full kit from him to see what all the components are like.
I agree with all of your points; it's all completely fair enough. I am merely speaking from experience of a near identical situation with an engineering company who took on too much work and had terrible communication and customer management skills. It was a case of stepping back and accepting the wait, and taking my future projects elsewhere.
There’s many things wrong with this. One, if you have enough money to pay for another kit for no apparent reason, why do you keep bringing up your “five figure” you have caught up in the conversion. Two, why not just buy that kit and convert it yourself? Or have your NASA “buddy” do it? Instead of harassing the whole EAG team every single day about a gate, your excuses and aren’t lining up. Best thing to do is to stop distracting them from their work flow before they push your car to the back of the line or add money to your invoice for all of the time you’ve wasted of theirs. You’re not the only car in the shop, so stop acting like it. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Valid points on both sides. The EAG team do seem to be working hard and delivering products people are happy with. Some of the business practices are, at best, hard to explain. At worst, there is some shady business at hand. I honestly don’t know. Remember that there are always three sides to every story- your side, my side, and what actually happened. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
In response to the hard work part, on behalf of Art and EAG I can say that building 30 cars with only 4 guys in one year during a pandemic is pretty significant. So yeah, hard work is an understatement. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Well then I suppose your other option if you're that hard up and are super worried about it all, is buy a plane ticket and go get your stuff, take it home, and install it in your free time. /shrug
Again, they are apparently having issues with their supplier and it is causing month plus long delays. I sent them another supplier that is beyond qualified, who would sign an NDA, and they refused. Please, I would love to hear how you think that makes sense.
Your NDA said decorative trim piece, not gate! Lol. Which means it could’ve easily been stolen and there would’ve been nothing EAG could’ve done to save it or stop it. Art obviously knows what he’s doing and he has guys who he trusts, not some random guy that you know and could easily benefit for you with stealing the scans. Again, if you have a buddy who “Has the whole kit” why not get the gate and use it or send it to “your buddy” with the machine shop? I smell theft of confidential information, not a gate for your car. Once again, if you were my customer, your car would be on a truck in pieces headed back to you; nobody wants to deal with Big Shorts like you who think that they know everything and just mess with people who are trying to help you. If Art treated you the way you treated him, he wouldn’t be in business anymore. But, he’s too nice and professional, unlike you! Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
That’s because he didn’t want any liability of being sued by Ferrari for you replicating parts that they have IP on. Further, let’s just be clear, you have ZERO ownership of the design or scan of any of these parts, not one iota. Also, if I were going to make Ferrari shift gates and sell them, I would go to one of the several local people and just scan theirs but again, I don’t have any interest in this. I’m just calling out what is another excuse that doesn’t make sense as to why my and others cars aren’t done. As far as the “Once again, if you were my customer, your car would be on a truck in pieces headed back to you”, it’s nice to know the stance of an EAG employee. I’d be happy to post all communication as well as the frequency of it, which is not out of line for a project that has run well over time (or even a 3 month project that was on time), with excuses that don’t follow, rejecting solutions that would have gotten it done right away for myself, others, and you. as for how I have treated Art, I have never used a single foul word or done anything than point out why the excuses I’ve been given are illogical and propose solutions that would have moved all of this along. I can’t say the same about him as the call where he is cursing at me is still ringing in my ears when he argued with me about the gates and how they needed to be made on a 5 axis cnc machine (which by the way, my buddy has and seeing the part says it can absolutely be made on a 3 axis). Anywho, sounds like there isn’t any point of going further, unless you wish to keep saying things that are not true, in which case I will continue to correct them. Last thing, let’s not loose track that the issue here is the month plus long delay because of a piece of metal and that they have had my money for since June 15th. Still haven’t had a response as to why it wasn’t ordered over 4 months ago...
Alright let’s start off with clarifying that all of your points here have been stretched to make them look bad (which seems to be your goal with this whole situation). First, if you had “no interest” in getting the gates from your “buddies” then WHY DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO DO IT? There’s no denying that you’ve bothered these guys to do send you the scan, probably hours worth of their time. So that’s lie number one of well, everything else you said there. Second, I am not an employee. I don’t know where you came up with that but, it seems you love to make stuff up. I am simply a customer, nothing more. Except I’m not a parasite to these guys, I’m a happy customer or soon to be (definitely way before your car...) because I don’t bother these guys and the fact you do all the freaking time has held up my car, which I am not happy about at all... I say that on behalf of the other 23 cars that are there. Your ‘really good condition’ (lol) car is not the only one in there (by a long shot lol) Third, please do! That way everyone here can see what a pain you’ve been for them, and how out of line you are... Fourth, do I need to even say anything here? I mean that’s probably one of the biggest lies I’ve ever heard. You have been very foul and unprofessional (as we can all tell). Saying that that you’ve treated Art with a small amount of respect would even be blown out of proportion, I mean you come on this website every day it seems and try to devalue their business, that’s not fair but, once again, you LIED. Art claims he never cursed at you which based off all of your lies already I believe him WAY over you, and even if he did, I would be totally understanding with all of the stress you put these poor guys under. Fifth, this is probably the most hypocritical thing I’ve ever read considering you’ve done each of the following; Beating a dead horse with this gate thing, being impatient, and most importantly LIED. “ sounds like there isn’t any point of going further, unless you wish to keep saying things that are not true, in which case I will continue to correct them.” Just to clarify for all the folks reading. Finally, there’s supply issues with everything right now because you know pandemic, and the whole world doesn’t revolve around you (believe it or not) and once again, if one of your “buddies” has any or all of these parts just take them from him, please! That would be great for the 22 of us who’s else’s cars are in here. But, once again you’re lying. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
