After reading that tranny post....I just had to post. (Keith you can lock/delete if you don't think this is value added). (heck, even post it to the list if you can).
I am an original owner of Sy #2530....10 +years now...Been on the email list since early 1994 -> August 1999. (quit because of too much email). Got to know many listers that are now considered old veterns, when they were just getting their toes wet in Sy/Ty. I am a self proclaimed *Cheap Bastard* and won't buy anything unless I know it is the best bang for the buck I can buy. But, herein lays the reasons why, in SYTY cases, I don't. I will get specific about 3 venders in particular, but there are other venders equally deserving for very similar reasons.
Rockford Racecraft:
Guy: He was there as THE best sponser on our first ever Sy/Ty Nats. and he did not just send a few magazines or sparkplug wires...he was there in person, with full support +$$ when no one else was (Kenne Bell, ATR).
Opie:
I am not sure what he calls his business, but he took the time to put the SY/TY service manuals on CD-rom with great linked references in Adobe Acrobat. This task had to be a freaking nightmare! I have been approached many times by people wanting a "copy" of my CD-Rom....Every time I send them packing empty handed.....There is no way I would cheapen the effort he put into this marvelous asset to SY/TY land. Buy your own copy, it is worth it, and I hope Opie can get a Bahama vacation and more from the proceeds! How can you ever cheat a guy you know and have met?
Brian Hartman Transmissions:
I know alot of this was covered in the prior thread so I will add only this to consider - Back in the days, the Tranny was all Sy/Ty's Achilles heel. People getting more power out of their engines were blowing the trannies left and right. Horror story after horror story poured into the E-Mail list as (Insert your local tranny speed shop name here)'s shop would claim to have the ultimate tranny combo...heck it even stood up to a 9 second Corvette!...only to have it fail, sometimes only days after installation, on even stock Sy/Ty's. Many of the shops, if they even thought of standing behind thier tranny builds, would soon quit after the 2nd one failed, leaving the hapless owner holding the (broken) stick...yes it WAS that BAD. WE (Sy/TY) WERE STUCK. A virtual performance bottleneck...many of us (myself included) too scared to go for higher performance, fearing the neverending tranny ills (AND BILLS) that would , most likley, follow. Others threw caution to the wind, and got bit HARD in the ass...anyone remember Josh Branch?
Into this disaster steps Brian Hartman, from what I remember (correct me Brian if I am inaccurate), a fellow Sy/Ty owner who had little Sy/Ty tranny experience (at the begining). Brian jumped in with both feet, casting aside many a naysayer, and believing he could make a difference and help Sy/Ty land....virtually self taught(in Sy/TY trannies) by manuals, theory books, and most importantly running the hell out of them until they broke, and then finding out why...then finding/making/Testing & consulting on getting improved parts. This is a guy that never was able to bring one of his trucks to the nationals (he was always there) until last year because he always had his trucks apart - working on improvments for the trannies. I think his trucks never really got many mods because he was so wholly focused on the tranny. He was so into the trannies that he probably missed a few Thanksgiving dinners! Are his kits expensive? Yes, but so are many other Sy/Ty performance parts. Can they be duplicated for less money? Maybey, though you must steal from him his years of research, parts list, and be 100% sure the local tranny shop is not just slipping you a "helpful" substitution or "interpretation" of your directions. When my tranny went, I wanted to make sure it did not go again......and most importantly I wanted to trust someone with my Tranny $$'s and know I was not getting BS parts and advice from someone with little or no Sy/Ty specific tranny experience. I did not want to take the time to become a tranny expert....Brian had already done that for me (all of us). With that in mind I pulled out my moth-eaten & dusty wallet and spent the money...worth every penny....especially peace of mind.
Bottom line people, is that GM only made less than 10,000 Sy/Ty's and will never make any more. There is nothing like a Sy/TY (Weight/torque/power and materials used...instant torque combined with instant traction....). Anyone that seriously goes into Sy/Ty parts/vedership is never going to get rich because of it. The market is simply not there. These are not 5.0 Mustangs, or even LS1 F-bodies we are talking about...all of which sold 10x's the amount that Sy/Ty's ever did. We should be grateful that we have as much aftermarket help and support as we do. The larger companies couldn't care less about our "niche" - and getting smaller everyday- market.
Guy Reffet, Brian Hartman, Al Dunstan, PTE, Dequick, Brian Green (very similar story to Brian Hartmans...except on 3-bar chips), Rick Waller (Opie), Even Keith (o-rings?), and many unnamed others, I salute you and thank you all on behalf of the entire Sy/TY community. With out your individual efforts, the Sy/Ty community would be alot poorer...and likley regulated to car shows only....
Thanks,
Jeff Stabell
91 Sy #2530 43k
Walled Lake, Mi
Jeff.Stabell@trw.com
I am an original owner of Sy #2530....10 +years now...Been on the email list since early 1994 -> August 1999. (quit because of too much email). Got to know many listers that are now considered old veterns, when they were just getting their toes wet in Sy/Ty. I am a self proclaimed *Cheap Bastard* and won't buy anything unless I know it is the best bang for the buck I can buy. But, herein lays the reasons why, in SYTY cases, I don't. I will get specific about 3 venders in particular, but there are other venders equally deserving for very similar reasons.
Rockford Racecraft:
Guy: He was there as THE best sponser on our first ever Sy/Ty Nats. and he did not just send a few magazines or sparkplug wires...he was there in person, with full support +$$ when no one else was (Kenne Bell, ATR).
Opie:
I am not sure what he calls his business, but he took the time to put the SY/TY service manuals on CD-rom with great linked references in Adobe Acrobat. This task had to be a freaking nightmare! I have been approached many times by people wanting a "copy" of my CD-Rom....Every time I send them packing empty handed.....There is no way I would cheapen the effort he put into this marvelous asset to SY/TY land. Buy your own copy, it is worth it, and I hope Opie can get a Bahama vacation and more from the proceeds! How can you ever cheat a guy you know and have met?
Brian Hartman Transmissions:
I know alot of this was covered in the prior thread so I will add only this to consider - Back in the days, the Tranny was all Sy/Ty's Achilles heel. People getting more power out of their engines were blowing the trannies left and right. Horror story after horror story poured into the E-Mail list as (Insert your local tranny speed shop name here)'s shop would claim to have the ultimate tranny combo...heck it even stood up to a 9 second Corvette!...only to have it fail, sometimes only days after installation, on even stock Sy/Ty's. Many of the shops, if they even thought of standing behind thier tranny builds, would soon quit after the 2nd one failed, leaving the hapless owner holding the (broken) stick...yes it WAS that BAD. WE (Sy/TY) WERE STUCK. A virtual performance bottleneck...many of us (myself included) too scared to go for higher performance, fearing the neverending tranny ills (AND BILLS) that would , most likley, follow. Others threw caution to the wind, and got bit HARD in the ass...anyone remember Josh Branch?
Into this disaster steps Brian Hartman, from what I remember (correct me Brian if I am inaccurate), a fellow Sy/Ty owner who had little Sy/Ty tranny experience (at the begining). Brian jumped in with both feet, casting aside many a naysayer, and believing he could make a difference and help Sy/Ty land....virtually self taught(in Sy/TY trannies) by manuals, theory books, and most importantly running the hell out of them until they broke, and then finding out why...then finding/making/Testing & consulting on getting improved parts. This is a guy that never was able to bring one of his trucks to the nationals (he was always there) until last year because he always had his trucks apart - working on improvments for the trannies. I think his trucks never really got many mods because he was so wholly focused on the tranny. He was so into the trannies that he probably missed a few Thanksgiving dinners! Are his kits expensive? Yes, but so are many other Sy/Ty performance parts. Can they be duplicated for less money? Maybey, though you must steal from him his years of research, parts list, and be 100% sure the local tranny shop is not just slipping you a "helpful" substitution or "interpretation" of your directions. When my tranny went, I wanted to make sure it did not go again......and most importantly I wanted to trust someone with my Tranny $$'s and know I was not getting BS parts and advice from someone with little or no Sy/Ty specific tranny experience. I did not want to take the time to become a tranny expert....Brian had already done that for me (all of us). With that in mind I pulled out my moth-eaten & dusty wallet and spent the money...worth every penny....especially peace of mind.
Bottom line people, is that GM only made less than 10,000 Sy/Ty's and will never make any more. There is nothing like a Sy/TY (Weight/torque/power and materials used...instant torque combined with instant traction....). Anyone that seriously goes into Sy/Ty parts/vedership is never going to get rich because of it. The market is simply not there. These are not 5.0 Mustangs, or even LS1 F-bodies we are talking about...all of which sold 10x's the amount that Sy/Ty's ever did. We should be grateful that we have as much aftermarket help and support as we do. The larger companies couldn't care less about our "niche" - and getting smaller everyday- market.
Guy Reffet, Brian Hartman, Al Dunstan, PTE, Dequick, Brian Green (very similar story to Brian Hartmans...except on 3-bar chips), Rick Waller (Opie), Even Keith (o-rings?), and many unnamed others, I salute you and thank you all on behalf of the entire Sy/TY community. With out your individual efforts, the Sy/Ty community would be alot poorer...and likley regulated to car shows only....
Thanks,
Jeff Stabell
91 Sy #2530 43k
Walled Lake, Mi
Jeff.Stabell@trw.com
