sepulchral

Are there any good friends of Cody Lovelace on here that can smack him for me?...

For those of you that don't know, i got his lovefab manifold for my RB25, it looked beautiful, but it hit the block on one runner very bad, sent it back to get repaired. He told me that "maybe his jig was off".

So I get it back, then it hits the oil feed fitting, so i had to shave the banjo down. He also notched some of the bolt holes to help me get it on easier, but he notched all the wrong ones (where there are no bolts)

Then i blew my manifold gasket because his flange is warped.

So now he claimed the flange warped when he repaired the thing, because he couldnt fit it in his already ****ed up manifold-jig because i opted to go with another wastegate flange.

And to top it off, i can barely bolt the thing onto my head because he has the runners 90-ing down right off the flange rather than coming straight out some first.


So i sent it back a 2nd time, and he "supposedly" resurfaced the flange, claimed he shipped the manifold back, but it hasn't arrived. He won't answer my calls, won't answer texts, won't provide tracking info. So he's basically trying to get rid of me/ignore me saying hes been "Busy".

Even when i do get the manifold back, it will now hit the already shaved banjo bolt because the head flange will now be trimmed some. He claimed he would provide me with a oil feed kit to tee into my pressure sending unit, but of course doesn't have a damn thing in stock though he said to me "i build turbo kits for a living!." No ****? When he sent it back he **Texted me ** to say "i think it will fit!, just double up on manifold gaskets!!" It was my choice to have him resurface the manifold, it was a bad decision, i had a hunch he wouldnt stand up to his end of the bargain (he had offered to make me a new manifold).


So the manifold is supposed to arrive tomorrow, a day later than it should have arrived, while I'm having to borrow cars from people, and i won't be happy with this piece of **** regardless. I mean who wants to pay $1500+ for a non fitting manifold? The thing is he keeps saying he'll refund me shipping costs ($30 to ship the manifold back every time) and he doesn't even send me any money..



I can admit it may be annoying having the same guy call you about something over and over again, but just answering ONCE and letting them know whats going on ONCE like a responsible SHOP OWNER may be pretty courteous. I found it funny how when I needed the manifold he was so apt to answer my calls and call me back, now hes too too busy.


He really needs to refund me or build me a new one to make this right, this is ****ing bull ****. Everyone who I've talked to about this is really surprised. Its sad I had to make a post about such a "stand-up" individual. I wonder what if he'll go in full defense mode, or respect me and treat me like a paying customer who trusted him.


**I have not exaggerated the truth in any way **

EARLdaSQUIRREL

wow, doesn't sound like cody, he has a standup reputation on this forum...

i dont see why you did not have him just make you another manifold when he offered, instead of complaining that the manifold (that you opted to keep) still won't fit..

sepulchral

i really should of. i was pressed for time, however he made it seem he could fix it, and have it back to me right away but it somehow took him near two weeks to get the manifold resurfaced and to ship it back to me, hell he built the manifold in less than 2 days. i honestly just want what i paid for a fitting, working manifold, i'd rather not have my money back but I doubt i will get either.

redzcstandardhatch

i'd firmly believe him that hes really busy.

hes always really busy. hes a good dude, and sometimes, like most business owners, he gets in over his head on a little project, people get mad, etc. hes been doing this longer than most people and he'll probably do whatever it takes to make you happy. i'd wait for it to get there, and if it isnt fitting well, see what he'll do for you. good luck man

sepulchral

uhm i believe he may be busy, but i know he is ignoring/avoiding me. theres no excuse for that

RC000E

Well, I'd get the manifold back in hand and see what the situation is first. Your issue may be resolved and there very well may be no issue.

sepulchral

well i expect the flange to be "true" but i dont know about the oil feed fitting. IF it hits i'm going to be pretty ballistic.

a friend of mine was going to buy his rb manifold pretty soon too.

NIGHTRIDER27

ahh codys kind of bad at getting back too everyone, that deals with him once or twice. or at least that's what i've experienced. you got to track him down to find him. and even then talk to him 2 3 or 4 times about somethings. i think hes been really busy too especially these past years with all the nsx stuff, and unfortunely when people arnt throwing tons of money down like some of his kits cost. he kind of puts you on a lower proirity scale. hes an awasome dude that dose great work but he kind of lacks in the customer survice department sometime. well hope things turn around for ya. i think he will make things right in the end, good luck

redzcstandardhatch

and as far as the oil feed fitting hitting something, i dont understand how that could happen..theres a million options for oil feed fittings...just because one doesnt work, doesnt mean 10 others wont. you might just need another fitting. thats a simple thing that comes along with modifying a car....any pics of what the problem is/was with that?

sepulchral

the good thing about the rb (as you know) it comes factory with an oil feed port right under the manifold. i dont want to draw oil from the otherside of the block or have to pay any extra because of his shoddy craftsmenship. (i've already invested money in earls fittings/oiling line that is only but so long)


the main thing that pisses me the **** off is that i had to remove 9 of the 12 manifold studs to get the flange on. Its like the ****ing flange is not even machined correctly. And even with some of the boltholes DRILLED out, the threads dont want to line up on my allen bolts... if i drill the holes out more the allen bolts will fall into the flange. What the **** do i do there? start omitting bolts/studs?

nearly all the lower bolt holes take like 30 minutes each to get to as well.


what is it with you guys saying "oh hes probably really busy, blah blah blah" you guys have to understand something, when i wanted this manifold he had already started making the collector before I paid. He was answering the phone, calling me back, and giving me updates, etc.. So now that these issues have come up, he doesn't answer the phone, doesnt call me back, doesnt give me the time of ****ing day.... Possibly because he already has the money, and felt hes "spent his time on me and is done with me".

You can say all the nice things you want about cody right now, but it doesnt change the fact that hes being a shady piece of **** to at least me in particular... Even though he has had ample opportunity to treat me like a valued customer, and also get his Jig straight for other RB owners, he has just kinda pushed me away.


And if i do get the manifold today "as he says i should" - if the runner doesnt hit the oil feed fitting, it doesn't change the fact that I have to do some shitty as bolt modification/stud chopping to get it to fit on the head. **** i even had to use reducing studs (M12x1.25 to M8x1.25) in some spots because his retarded runners came right over the mounting holes on the flange.

RC000E

Well, there certainly is no excuse for the heavily warped flange. I weld all manifolds bolted to a thick plate, and there's nothing difficult about that. I just feel that some people allow them to warp knowing that once they are bolted down they'll flatten. The issue becomes what you said though...slipping it on those first times are nearly impossible. Especially with more than four cylinders in a row.

I know where your coming from on the answered calls all the time, now that your in a bind suddenly there's no answer. Maybe he's just allowing you time to get the mani and see if it'll be good enough for you to accept it and go away.

The oil feed issue is something that I'd think would be addressed after you had everything for mockup, including the manifold. From there you can use whatever fittings allow clearance. You may have gotten ahead of yourself on that one.

Did the mani arrive today though?

sepulchral

cody called mefor the first time in over a week and told me it should arrive today, its already 3:40 and the ups guy usually gets here at 2:00... he told me to email him so he'd email me a tracking no. but he has not given me the tracking number yet and he called around 12:00.

ahhhhhhhhh..

HiProfile

If it doesn't fit this time, I'd suggest you do one of two things. A) Ask for a COMPLETE refund, B) have a local business look at it ON YOUR CAR/ENGINE and get a quote to fix it properly. Then let both Cody and your CC know that you'll be doing a partial charge-back to cover the fixes.

IMO you don't build a manifold with a screwed up jig. Thats like making an A/C compatable manifold for a honda with a 4" DP, but not having a compressor or A/C lines on the jig. I know RB25's aren't easy to get, despite how I hear so many **** the bed with oil issues, but for $1500 I think someone could afford a ruined longblock.

redzcstandardhatch

as dumb as the situation is for you (OP), you've got to understand why we are partially defending him , and not too shocked.

these things are tough to make, and extremely labor intensive. hes probably not giving you much feedback right now because hes intensly frustrated about the fitment, probably slightly embarrased, etc.

trust me, hes not going anywhere, and it might be a frustrating situation, but i'm sure it'll get sorted out, one way or another

Teglove2

Yeah but thats no excuse for not answering someones calls after u spend your hard earned money on a manifold. I build manifolds every single day and yes I get frustrated from time to time but you can bet your bottom dollar im answering my phone cuz I dont want to see posts like this. There have been many times when ive turned down work because I dont have the time. Some of these guys need to learn to do that or else this happens. Just my $0.02

wade

iTrader: (1)

good luck mate. Been in the same situation, but with a different business. Cody will get ya taken care of. Waiting sucks, I feel your pain. I hate making manifolds, hence why I gave up the idea of doing it as a side-job. I just make them when i need one for a car of my own or a very close friend.

sepulchral

I got the manifold in, and the flange was surfaced, it hit the banjo pretty bad as expected but i ground it down and the manifold down a tad and now its fine. fitment to the head was a bitch as usual, i had to trim a few manifold studs too. I'm happy my car is running now. Still waiting on cody to refund shipping costs as he promised like 4 times

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Shipping is a service, not a guarantee. If he did, kudos to him, as this is a part of getting the parts to people.

ef9civicgen4

oh, youre one of THOSE guys. i wouldnt answer the phone either. what would i say, "yeah, im still trying to get it finished up." ? an answer you already knew was coming... and while i sit on the phone dealing with your crying, it takes time out of my day, putting me even further behind.

be more understanding. he got your stuff done ASAP, and im sure as soon as your original manifold was done, there were 20 others waiting to be made. so, while he's struggling to finish those, he has to find time to squeeze yet another project in.

Rooftop voter

iTrader: (1)

When I pay for something, I expect to get what I paid for and have it be done right. If I pay 1,500.00 for a mani, you better believe I expect it to be done correctly, not half assed. I don't care how backed up you are as that's not my problem. It's not like I am asking for a favor, I'm paying YOU money for your service, if you take my money then I expect my product the way it's supposed to be. If you can't take on more of a work load, then don't except the orders. It doesn't matter that he got this dudes stuff done ASAP, it wasn't done correctly, so who gives a **** that he got it quickly? The reason he has to squeeze in another project is because he didn't do it right the first time. I'd rather wait for quality, than get crap quickly. It's not like he paid for a cheap product. I most deffinatly think he should refund the shipping costs. It's not the customers fault it wasn't done right and had to go back. Anyhow, it sounds like he's going to make things right and he gets respect for that.

redzcstandardhatch

he'll refund the shipping costs, i wouldnt worry about that.

i'm sure he wouldnt have made the manifold the first time if he knew the flange wasnt perfect, and his jig wasnt perfect (he doesnt make flanges). the warped flange=yeah, thats preventable, to an extent.

glad he got it back to you and you could get it on there.

AJxr

pics of said **** up

sepulchral

He still hasnt... hes told me like nine times lol, i just sent a money request to him to "help him out" I've probably sent him my paypal email about 4-5 times.

Flange wasnt warped when i first received the manifold (i checked it).

sepulchral

So when does ASAP=two weeks with a bunch of ignored calls and broken promises? If people knew you were like that they'd give you no business whatsoever, i promise.

Peeonu25

i had a really clingy girlfriend once that reminds me of you.