Wow, lots of drama and I'm shocked like everyone else at the finishing details of this build. Hopefully the core/expensive parts were not so half assed and thrown together, but with a missing PCV system, crank angle sensor, and rust on the turbo intake, I'd think Mark and Jamie would/should be worried. Reusing the AC drier... there's plenty of evidence of shortcuts on this "build". As someone who is on the fence on keeping my '96 and throwing serious money towards it the way Shawn has done... this thread really really undermines my confidence. I've owned it since new, and when I was younger, I didn't have the time or money to do some of the amazing builds I've read about over the years. Everyone tells me to dump the car and buy something (anything) that's not a 20 year old economy box... But I love the car. Basically, everything I've read Shawn say over the years. I'd be heart broken if I were Shawn and doubly so since these were "friends." I only mention this because builds like this by respected leaders of the community shrink our entire community. I already wasted good money a few years ago with some of the products by OEM, would I have wasted even more if I had sent my car to Marsh Tuning? Sure looks like it. It really makes me want to move on - and if I do, it will be because of this.
I don't presume to know all the facts here, and I think Jamie and Mark have represented their side well, but am still disturbed with the direction this is going. They had an opportunity to have this car represent them! For whatever reason, they sub-contracted the bulk of the physical build, apparently didn't provide adequate oversight, and then let a "finished" product out the door (twice) which was obviously not acceptable. I think the tune could be accepted if something broke, but no PCV valve?? Perhaps this is being handled behind closed doors, but the correct action should have been for Jamie and Mark to sever ties with Justin as he has seriously damaged their business reputation both for his quality of work and his customer service skills. This really should be done professionally but most importantly... publicly. I'd then do whatever it took to make things right with Shawn. Take out a personal loan if you have to, buy back those parts/engine if you have to, but simply from a business standpoint (let alone the morality of it) do it - your reputation is worth more than the financial hit. Not doing so makes me wonder if you'd take my money and not stand behind your product as well. Yes, it's great that Jamie is flying down to tune the car, but he can't fix this build down there and we all know that. This should have been a car that was car mag porn material and instead Shawn got an engine build that all of us would be embarrassed to take to our local car meet.
As a representation of the larger issue and all the other problems, I think Jamie and and Mark should really focus on the PCV valve. It's right there in plain sight... why didn't you guys see it? I don't mean this as a negative criticism, but rather it should highlight to yourselves that you failed in your internal process of finishing the car. I think a public explanation of that could help restore a little of your credibility if you included an acknowledgement that it's not ok, what you've learned from a QC standpoint, and how it will never happen again.
At this point, it looks like Mark is unwilling/unable to re-accomplish the build and Shawn doesn't want to let him try a third time. All of the posts in here trying to apply social pressure to the problem look to be pointless since what has been offered (Jamie flying down) is clearly inadequate to replace a proper build. So, so sad.
Originally Posted by Rob 
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