I really like John Hervey as a fellow DeLorean owner, but I do not like him or trust him as a vendor. I needed a better alternator to replace my original Ducy, so I talked to John. He sold me his only model at the time which was his 140 amp "alternater" (as he tends to misspell it). While we were talking on the phone he was bragging about how wonderful his FanFix is. I told him that I had already bought a FanZilla and was waiting for it to arrive so that I could install it. He swore that his fix was better and wanted me to buy one. I really didn't want one, and kept countering with all his design problems (even though I had never seen either a FanFix or a FanZilla in person at the time). I told him that it was totally unacceptable to have his device connect directly to the battery as he insisted. Since I like to tinker and figured that I would be buying a 2nd DeLorean at a future date, I let him talk me into buying his $50 fix provided that he custom make it to connect to the jumper post in the engine compartment rather than to the car battery where it would corrode and get all nasty. Well the FanFix and the "alternater" arrived, and so did the FanZilla. I looked at the FanZilla and saw how simple and elegant the installation is. You simply unplug it in and go! Then I looked at the FanFix and it was a wiring disaster. I put it back in the package and cursed myself for allowing John to talk me into buying something that I didn't need and something that was a piece of shit at that. Then I had problems with the "alternater". The front case of it was a GM style that had part of it cut away to fit the cast iron DeLorean bracket. I had read on the DML about many people doing this, so I wasn't surprised. But what did surprise me is that it was cut so sloppily that it looked like he did it with his eyes closed. I put the "alternater" on the car and realize that the belts don't line up straight. I compare it with the Ducy and find out that the space between the pulley and front of the alternator a re different by about 4mm (if I remember correctly). This kind of misalignment is totally unacceptable to me since it may cause premature belt wear, so I called John and explained the problem. He suggested that my measurements were wrong, so I found a way to fix the problem myself. I made a new bracket that allowed me to mount the "alternater" 4mm closer toward the rear of the car. This "alternater" didn't work very well. It seemed to work at first but then wouldn't put out any current unless the engine was running at around 1500 rpm. If I were sitting at a light with the a/c on, I would have a dead battery in short order. So I meet him at the Memphis 2002 show and buy a second "alternater" from him -- this time his "improved" 150 amp version. I also bought many other things from him at different times and paid cash. I get home and receive an e-mail from John billing me a few hundred dollars. He claimed that some of the stuff he sold me I didn't pay for. What the fuck? I knew how much cash I had with me and what I spent it on. (If I could have afforded any more, I would have bought a set of Don Steger's stainless braided fuel hoses.) And I'm not that damn stupid or dishonest to buy anything and walk off without paying for it. So I asked him why he thought I didn't pay. He said that he had made out an incomplete cash receipt and didn't mark "paid" on it, so this was proof that I didn't pay. Okay fine. Apparently we are both Christians, so I played the "swear by God card" and he took that as evidence that maybe he was mistaken. Okay fine. So I try to fit this new 150 amp "alternater" on my car and found that it has the same damn pulley misalignment problem as the defective 140 amp one I just took off my car. This really pissed me off since I just spent a long time explaining to John that the pulley was wrong! He couldn't see it. But, hey, it worked great with my custom bracket to make it fit correctly. I then took all my alternators to a local rebuild shop to have them tested. To give the devil his dues, John's 150 amp did very well at low RPMs (which is what really matters on a DeLorean). But his 140 amp wouldn't put out at low RPMs. The guy testing it suggested it probably had a bad regulator or winding. John said that if I sent it back to him then he would have it repaired if needed and send it back. Since I wouldn't install his FanFix, he asked me to send it back to him so that he could update it and send it back. This was a really large relay that had bare open contacts and wasn't safe to have in the relay compartment anyway. So I send back both the "alternater" and the FanFix. Then I ordered a few hundred dollars worth of new parts from him. It all came except for the "alternater" and the FanFix. I called and ask where they are, and he said that he had already shipped them out. I asked if he was sure, and he said that he would check his inventory and records. I reminded him that these were really unique items. This was an early 140 amp "alternater" with a badly hacked at case. And the FanFix was a custom job that had an extra long wire to reach the jumper post in the engine compartment. These are things that I think he wouldn't mistakenly send out to someone else. And I never have problems with things like this getting lost in the mail. John Hervey has been stalling on this issue long enough that I have drawn the following theories: 1) he is a dumb fuck. 2) he is dishonest (or just really stupid) -- see above theory. 3) he just doesn't give a shit. 4) maybe he thinks I really did shoplift from his table at the Memphis show and he is pretending that he already shipped the "alternater" and FanFix in order to get back what he thinks I stole? Whatever this man's problem is, I forgive him. He obviously lacks basic communication skills, but I don't hold that against him because I get a kick out of deciphering what he tries to post on the internet. And I don't mind freely admitting my own problems either. If you all care to point them out for me, then please do so. I need all the help I can get. I'm sometimes a drunk, always a nuisance and loud mouth. I enjoy smoking some really good ...err tires on my DeLorean occasionally, but I keep it within reason and make sure it doesn't hurt anyone. I'm lazy, inefficient, write posts that are too damn long, but enough of you read this shit that it inspires me to keep writing it. So there you go. Walt Yahoo! Groups Sponsor <http://rd.yahoo.com/M=247865.3355058.4641699.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=170512 6215:HM/A=1482387/R=0/SIG=16n10tmn4/*http://ads.x10.com/?bHlhaG9vaG0xLmRhd =1055229216%3eM=247865.3355058.4641699.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705126215:HM /A=1482387/R=1=1055229216%3eM=247865.3355058.4641699.1261774/D=egroupweb/S =1705126215:HM/A=1482387/R=2> <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=247865.3355058.4641699.1261774/D=egroupm ail/S=:HM/A=1482387/rand=401831261> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DMCForum-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> .
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