It appears to me that letting the mechanic have his way and replacing the carb/part is what Argento wanted....In a previous thread, he asked for advice on the price the mechanic was proposing. Several member provided advice, even suggesting to get ahold of the "ole guys w/12A's" crew down his way. (that was an excellent suggestion by the way)

We generally learn the hard way and this seems to be another example of just inexperience. I at least applaud you for loving the car enough to spend the money!

 

Thanks Banzai for your kind words.

I do feel taken though and he quoted me the price after the car had been in the shop for two days. Because I did have one other thing done.

Dare I mention it? lol

The dash had several cracks so, he got me this cloth cover that is velcroed to the dash. It looks ok I guess. It was $119 for the cover and labor on it.

Please don't rip on me guys..I think I learned my lesson now.

I will try and take some pics tonight of the new carb and dash so, everyone
can see what it looks like.

 

Here's a few pics I snapped.

This is the carburetor they installed. It looks like it is brand new?


Here's the dash cover





I don't like how it flaps up on the corner on the bottom pic.


He put the fuel filter on too

 

Dash cover is horrid, damn shame about the carb, could've bought a full racing beat holley set up instead.

 

I still wanna know what that "broken beyond repair" carb looked like. This is just what I was talking about the other day with a friend about how mechanics these days dont know jack **** the difference between a fix, a rebuild, and a replacement... this is disgusting. I'm not trying to rag on ya for it man and I'm glad you learned from the experience and enjoy the car enough to spend the money, but please Please PLEASE tell me you kept the old carb and can get us pics. If he tries to charge you for that "readjustment" at 300 miles when you come back in then I suggest you take him to court. As for the back fire, at stock that seems very normal. Pull all the emissions components including the anti-backfire parts and it will stop. That's how mine worked at least.

 

Yeah I'm not happy about it either.

 

I hope he didn't give me a rebuilt one and just told me it was a new one. I never got to see the one he had taken out either.

 

So call him and get it. Ask him fr receipts for the new carb.

 

i don't think you can even get a new Nikki anywhere any longer, it was probably a reman which sell for about $325-350.

yep, you got taken.

 

This is extremely sad that you got effed so bad by this mechanic but man. When u post on the forum and over 20 ppl say dont do something u can get it WAYYYYY cheaper you should seriously consider there advice. Alot of ppl on this forum have been a enthusiast for YEARS and know whats up.
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX7-1975-1...take-Kits.html
885$ 1st option 100% brand new put it on yourself with minimal mechanical knowledge =/. (or 3 hrs for ur mechanic)

 

You go driving into a shop in an expensive classic car like an FB and you're bound to get prices inflated.

Seriously though, it's already been said, and hope you do better on the next one. That price you could have gotten an entire car, grabbed the carb and had a parts car to pull from for any future repairs. Most of us have overpaid for something at one time or another. Mistakes like that give the motivation to just learn it yourself. LOTS I still need to learn... LOTS.

 

argento we are all glad you have your 79 running right. Now next time look up one of the OGTA guys some us are not that far from Athens [me]. Some of us have enough spare parts stashed to build several cars. Some of us could rebuild a nikki standing on our head in our sleep and unless your old carb had a crack in the body or was run over by a truck it can be rebuilt .Sounds like your mechanic was a little on the crooked side.

OGTA November meet is this Tuesday at Twisted in Suwanee come on out in that 79 we need more old school.

Oh and ditch the dash carpet and get the dash cap from black dragon it will make your dash look new again

 

Being curious i checked some of the chain auto parts store web sites and most list a reman nikki around $550 plus core

 

well i was basing that price on most 80's carbs i have replaced but i'm not too suprised that it is close to $500 considering how long it takes to do the job well rebuilding a nikki, BUT the early model ones like the '79 were simplified a bit so weren't too bad so i didn't think it would be that expensive. then again, supply and demand.

 

Sorry to hear about you getting raped and all... but I have some bad news. You also got screwed on $45 the dash cover (Autozone part #MA003). I bought one for the cracked dash in my 83, and didn't even make it out of the parking lot before I returned it. Hell of a labor charge for attatching some velcro strips to the dash. I guess they have to feed their kids too but damn that's shady business.

 

take them to court

 

best of luck, unless they didn't provide him with a written estimate to which he signed. if you're given a quote of $1 million to change your plugs and you sign for it you just signed a written legal binding contract. if you don't pay they can put a lien on your car and sell it to recoup losses.

at this point all i can suggest is to use common sense next time, spend a few minutes checking prices yourself could have saved $1k.

 

That dash cover is crap. I bought an ABS plastic dash cover for a '73 Z that I used to have and you couldn't even tell it was a cover. Think I paid like 70 bucks for it. I'd look into that if you are unhappy with the carpet covering.

Hang in there, and please don't mind our good natured ribbing. We just really love it when somebody shows up and makes us look really smart. lol

 

That really sucks. I have a spare Nikki sitting in my cabinet that I had on my engine last year. Runs just fine and I would have parted with that for a fraction of what you paid.

Here's the lesson for you. NEVER take your car to a mechanic unless it is something you absolutely cannot do. Grab a service manual and some basic hand tools and you'll be able to do damn near anything. If I had a decent work space I would have rebuilt my engine myself, but I don't so I farmed that one out. However I pulled and installed it myself. Aside from that and swapping an axle I have done everything with my own hands and probably saved thousands in labor. I've heard too many sad stories like this to trust a mechanic with my baby. At least if I get it wrong its on me and I still have money left over to get it right.

 

[QUOTE=orion84gsl;10844272]That really sucks. I have a spare Nikki sitting in my cabinet that I had on my engine last year.QUOTE]

i have two! i would of given him one to spare all this!

 

No worries guys

 

i suppose we're just trying to look out for you. money could be better spent on the inevitable new paint job or replacement misc parts that fail over time.

 

I appreciate it I do. I should have listened before going ahead and letting this guy take me on parts and labor.

Everyone at my school had the same reaction when I told them how much the carb cost.

 

Just make sure you try to get that carb back. I'd love to see how the cast base broke when it's bolted solidly to the intake and the rest of the carb is aluminum and was fine.