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From now on, I will not buy a part from The Filling Station if I can get it anywhere else, and here is why:

1. I bought a 1931 radiator core when they first became available. It was 1/4" too long and wouldn't fit in the shell. It was replaced with one the correct size. What they could not replace was the time lost finding out what was wrong.

2. Oil pan gaskets (Best) with incorrect width of the end pieces.

3. A cabriolet windshield frame top piece had incorrect holes for the rear mirror and was replaced.

4. A 1931 transmission bearing was incorrect. All we got from that was some insulting remarks implying I didn't know what the h*** I was doing. I got the correct bearing from Old Car Bearings in North Carolina at a much better price. I have repaired more than a dozen of these transmission in the last 50 years and I know when I have received the wrong part.

5. A gasket set (Best) for the U joint housing contained only one of the correct gaskets (shims) so I had to make them from material purchased from NAPA.

6. A 1932 front bumper brace had to be bent into the correct shape and excess material removed from between the end loops before the bumper face could be inserted.

7. 1931 brake shoes were relined with the wrong material. We sent them to FS because we wanted to support their business. That was a mistake. More than a week's time was required by two experienced mechanics to find out what was wrong. We trusted FS and didn't want to believe they could make a mistake like that. The shoes were relined by a local shop and now work perfectly. What we got from FS was a lame excuse and a lot of lost time and shipping costs.

Steve from The Filling Station here. First of all, let me say that I respect Dave Dawn for all that he has done over the years for the VCCA. He has authored tech tips in the early days of the G&D and also did a huge project tracking engine and body data for 1929-1933 cars & trucks. I have always admired his knowledge of early Chevys and willingness to help others in the club. In fact, if I had to pick someone to restore a 1931 Chevy for me, Dave would be the guy. With that said, I will try to explain our side of this 7-point bashing that Dave has written.

Dave has a commercial shop that restores old cars. He has purchased parts from us for many years. We only track sales history back to 2003 (10 years) and in that time we have sent him 84 separate orders. All of these problems, except #5 (Aug 2013), happened in 2010 or earlier (the radiator issue must have been around 1995 because that was when we first offered honeycomb cores). Each time there was a problem (#1, #3, #4, #5 & #7) we either replaced the problem item or refunded the merchandise and freight. I believe that #2 just required trimming a ¼” off of a gasket at each end of the oil pan. #6 is a problem I do not remember … not sure if he contacted us or not, but this was October of 2010. Over the last 10 years we have refunded over $450.00 to him for defective or incorrect items … he has purchased over $13,000 from us in that same period.

When we get a complaint about the quality of our products, I take it very personally. I have worked hard for the last 34 years to provide quality products to our customers. I am proud to say that we have helped over 80,000 customers in the USA and in 75 countries worldwide. We also have over 450 suppliers around the world and offer over 20,000 items to help restore old Chevys. 2012 was a record sales year for us and 2013 is heading in that direction. Do we get it right every time? Heck No! But when there is a problem we work hard to correct it to our customer’s satisfaction.

With 450 suppliers and over 20,000 items, it is impossible to have quality control be 100% but we do try. I want to directly address complaint #7 about brake shoe relining since we did have a big problem with brake linings. Back in 2008 when this took place, we lost the source of good brake lining. The lining we were getting was being made in England for street cars in Austria. The factory burned down in 2007 and the supplies dried up. Since asbestos has been outlawed, it has been difficult to find a good replacement lining. Everything that is available has brass flecks in it which causes squealing in the mechanical brake cars. In 2009 we found a lining that is better, not as good as asbestos, but as good as we can find. We refunded him his complete cost, including all freight charges on this item.

I guess what it all boils down to for me is how you are treated. As a customer you deserve to be treated with respect and get your problem resolved as quickly as possible. We as a company also deserve respect. Know that we are human and we make mistakes. Our suppliers make mistakes and stuff happens! It is not necessary to remind me of things that happened 5 to 10 years ago to make your point. When you have a company that does not meet your expectations, simply stop doing business with them. Perfection is a very difficult thing to achieve. In fact, Dave is really the only perfect person I know.

Point and counter-point made.

Various people have suggested to me that no further discussion would be of value.

Therefore, this discussion is now closed.