Does anyone know how to get in touch with Brian Earick? I have been trying by phone and email for two weeks without any response. Can anyone help me please? Tom
Earick Racing Engines, Inc. Brian Earick 65H Dayton Rd. Newark, OH 43055 740-366-6672 740-366-6672 http://wsx.net/ere mrbuick@cgate.net Weblink doesn't work.... o No:
Earick is still in business. My brother is working with him getting ready to build his race motor. Not sure what is going on with his website. Maybe they are rehashing the site but it's been down for awhile now.
I went to find his shop since I live like 15 minutes away and I couldn't find it so I asked another performance shop located one building up from his and they said he closed up,I even sent him a pm the same day just to verify things but I still haven't heard from him,so until I do I'll assume he's not in the business anymore
Yep, talk to him quite often.... Brian is still in business....he just relocated to another location. He has a lot of irons in the fire right now, so he is restructuring. John
Im confused Could someone that has contact with him have him call me because he hasn't responded to my calls or emails. Tom (319-594-5392)
I spoke with Brian a few weeks back and hesaid they were relocating. He has always respnded to my E mails.
Well, I, for one, am not at all surprised that he is "restructuring," "relocating," or whatever. I went to his shop for the first time last March to pick up my Buick block, crank, piston, rods, etc. I had paid him to do the machine work on the stuff, plus balance the assembly, etc. Bought a few (though not many) parts from him: Wiesco pistons, Victor gasket set, SFI flexplate ("The Wheel"). Might just be me, but I never got a "good vibe" from his operation. He, himself, is quite knowledgeable and personable, but I remember when I first asked him for a quote on my work, he wanted two-thirds of the money up front. And that was just "to get in line," with no definite time frame for completion. That was my first "bad vibe." He does not take Visa/Mastercard, or any other major credit cards. While I know that there are some legitimate business that still do not take them, it seems that most of them do. Again, I was feeling a bit uneasy. His prices seemed a bit on the high side. Now, I know that first-class work commands a premium price, and if a person pays top dollar, yet receives top-quality work, all is indeed fair. I'm not so sure this happened in my own particular case. We finally worked out a plan where I sent him less money than the two-thirds up front that he had originally requested. We also agreed that he would finish the work the week before Christmas, 2004, as my wife and I had planned a trip to Ohio--to inspect his operation and pick up my parts. We wife became ill and we were unable to make the trip that week. Brian demanded immediate payment, in full, anyway. He seemed, at least to me, quite desperate for the money. I had been sending him money every month or so up until that time, and the final balance owed was only about $800.00. Still, he seemed furious that he would not be getting the balance immediately. I told Brian that my wife and I would make the trip in the next month or so, and that I really wanted to inspect the machine work he had done, prior to my paying in full. This seemed to me to be a reasonable request. However, this was completly unaccepatable to him. I really couldn't understand his point of view, which again, bordered on desperation-- in my mind. The total bill for the machine work, Wieso pistons, and gasket set, was over $3000.00. I explained to him that I had, in my opinion, paid for all the parts, and any labor he had to pay to his employees, and that all I was asking him for was: 1. To personally give my job a final, visual inspection before paying in full, and 2. to wait a month or so for his remaining "profit" on the job. He informed me that: "there was no longer any profit on the job," and that he indeed was "losing money on my job." I found these comments quite risible. I didn't realize it at the time, but Brian does not have a machine shop, nor does he perform any machine work "in-house." When I made the trip to pick up my parts, and noticed the lack of any machine shop, he informed me that he farms out this work to a third party. I don't really care for that, though it seems more and more shops are doing just that. If a place tells me that they bore the cylinders with a torque plate, and finish honing them using a Sunnen machine, I want to see them, and also speak with the guy who did the job. Obviously, this was not possible in this case. On his quote sheet, in addition to charging me for a "complete" gasket set, he charged me an additional $24.00 for "header gaskets." I didn't think this was unreasonable, thinking that they probably were a pair of the high-quality ones sold by T/A. Not so! When I got home, I realized that he had removed the regular exhaust-manifold gaskets from the box the gasket set came in, and put them in a separate bag--with a separate name and price of $24.00! Dishonest?? Why not just say: "you can use these stock exhaust-manifold gaskets on your headers, if you like, or use more traditonal header gaskets."? Again, another red flag went up. When I brought him the block, it had just been line honed by a local machinest with over 40 years experience in being an automotive machinest. Brian didn't know that, and promptly informed me that the block needed to be line honed. While this is a remote possibility--as the origninal machinest with 40 years experience may have done the job incorrectly-- I personally doubted that the block needed to be lined honed yet again. It had actually been lined honed by a shop that builds professional racing engines just a couple of years before, so this would be the 3rd line-hone job in as many years. Finally, I picked up my block and all the related parts. Brian had charged me a "pretty penny" for checking and "double checking" any and all related clearances--piston, bearing, etc. I specifically remember his telling me that, after installing my T/A cam bearings, they would not just do a "spin test" of the camshaft, but would actually check the actual clearance between the cam journals and the cam bearings. He promised that they were that thorough. When I got home, a trip of about 800 miles, I noticed that the new T/A camshaft that I had given him HAD NEVER BEEN REMOVED FROM ITS ORIGINAL PACKING! He had not even bothered to insert my camshaft and see if it spun, after installing the cam bearings! This was either insouciance, imcompetence, or both. I was livid! I called Brian, and he informed that they they had indeed performed both a "spin test" and checked the cam-journal-to-bearing clearances USING A DIFFERENT CAMSHAFT at the place where he farms out his work. Geez, I didn't know that all camshafts are exactly the same and have identical clearances, did you? Needless to say, I lost both trust and confidence at that point. Was a torque plate used to bore and hone my block? Maybe, or maybe not. I'll never know. But if a shop can't even take 5 minutes to install the customer's cam to see if it spins--after installing new bearings--something is amiss. Though I am no automotive machinest, I have been assembling engines for 35 years. At any rate, I'm not trying to start a war. I know that many folks have had great results with Brian, and even the "best" shops, stores, etc., can sometimes make mistakes. Still, the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. As with anything, "your" results may vary. Cheers, Craig Stangohr Aiken, SC
Sent him a timing cover for reconditioning back in Oct.Has not responded to several e-mails.Guess I can kiss that cover good-bye.Thing that really sucks is this was not even my cover.Doing this for a friend after I reccomended Earick's service. :af:
Nick thanks for adding that.. i was considering sending a timing cover for the oil pump cavity coating that has been advertised.
I have one on the bench that is ready to be ported and coated. Now I'm at a loss as to what to do next. uzzled:
Reynold you should contact Jim W at tri Shield.. i know he does the porting and maybe he has a source for the coating. Bob
Craig, Our company policy has always been to receive approximately two thirds down before we initiate a project; it is nothing new or out of the ordinary. Simply a common business practice adopted from other professional in the industry that have been successful in their endeavors longer than I have been alive. Choosing not to utilize a credit card service passes along the savings to our customers instead of charging slightly more for the convenience. We have been able to accommodate our customers accordingly without the service thus far. I can count on one hand how many times I have been furious. I am confident that if my tone was somewhat urgent it was because I know it is possible for customer to get in over their head financially when their emotions run stronger than their budget. I dont recall having a lack of compassion toward your family situation, if somehow you got that impression I apologize and ask your forgiveness. The requirement to pay for all services including part in full before they leave the shop is once again a common, quality business practice. The machine shop was not under the same roof as the dyno and assembly location. This is not a secret but instead an asset. Why? The machinist who worked for us is one of the best in the country. He has been doing the machine work for various NHRA and IHRA Pro-Stock engine builders in the area for years. He worked directly for me and one other very prominent Pontiac engine builder. He is first class all the way with intimate knowledge of Buick engines. It costs us a lot more to travel to his location. Utilizing his talents ensures our customers receive the absolute best work is worth the extra expense to us. Anyone who would like to meet the machinist in person is welcome. Repackaging stock style exhaust manifold gaskets as high quality header gaskets is neither something that I would condone or tolerate. This is the first I have known about this. Whether correct or simply a mistake I would personally see to it that you receive a high quality set of header gaskets at no charge. Align honing a Buick block is slightly more tumultuous than even other professionals may lead on. We find that it is common that our tolerances that we allow are far less than most other professionals. We continue to uphold the highest standards both literal and ethical. Every install of cam bearing is scrutinized with great detail. Each is physically measured. We have never had a negative situation with our cam manufacture. If I recall correctly I apologized for not checking your cam myself. Subsequently the person who installed and checked your cam bearings with our spec cam no longer works with us. He is pursing a much less demanding opportunity for personal reasons. Craig, from the tone of your post I am under the assumption that you were not totally satisfied with your overall experience. I try to instill in all of our employees the same mentality that I have myself. We need to treat each and every customer as we would like to be treated ourselves. With that in mind we will take your criticisms and utilize them to excel to an even higher level of customer satisfaction in the future. My offer to send you a set of header gaskets at no charge stands. All you need to do is let me know by e-mailing me personally with the location you want them delivered and I will get them to you. As John mentioned I am personally involved with many projects. One of the advantages to these projects is that many are automotive related. This affords me the ability to be involved with technology very few engine builders have the opportunity to be exposed to. We continue to be honored for each and every one of you who have chosen us to assist you with your projects. Brian
Brian are you currently able to get timing covers done and shipped back to the customers in a timely manner? i have heard good things about your recoating process and have a local friend who had his done by your shop. Bob
