Haisley's vs. Scheid's machine work

[PC12Driver]

I dropped off my head at Haisley's to be cut for fire rings...



... nine weeks ago ...



... and was told 4-6 weeks. Called at 6 weeks and was told 1-2 more. Called 2 weeks later and was told that they'd be working on it in the next couple of days. And that was almost two weeks ago. There's also an unanswered email somewhere in there. I called today and it's still not done, no idea when. Needless to say, I don't really have the warm fuzzies.



So for the fun of it, I called Scheid's and they said they could cut 'em and have it back to me within a week. I'm thinking really hard about driving down to pick up my head and taking it over to Scheid's. At this time I'm waiting for a callback from Haisley's to see how far along they are (or aren't), which will determine whether or not I take the head elsewhere.



If anyone has any feedback on either place (Scheid's or Haisley's) I'd like to hear about it. Is Haisley's machine work worth waiting for or do I get my head back from them and take it over to Kent @ Scheids (Lafayette)? Does Scheid keep their word on the turnaround time?



Getting tired of driving a gasser...

 

[IC Smoke]

did you do a call around on price/time with the shops? I picked up a Anti-Defueling device from haisley and the only problem I had was NOT getting a busy signal when I called. 4-6 weeks without the truck..... OUCH I would have called around to see the quickest!



Ian

 

[PC12Driver]

Yeah, their voice mail has picked up more than they have. And 90% of the time their "voice mail box is full, please call back later". This probably should have been a clue to their workload vs. capacity.

 

[jerrethomas]

there work might be good, but is it worth waiting that long. there are plenty of other vendors on the site that could do it faster and the work would be done just as well. not starting a war, just pointing it out!

 

[Smokin Dodge]

I was at Haisley a few weeks ago to pick up my new transmission and all I can say is they are so busy I dont see how they even have time to think. Curt and Van are the only 2 that work in the shop full time, there were at least 10-12 trucks in the driveway waiting to get worked on, but they do good work and Im sure they wouldnt be to upset if you were to take your head to Schieds they are a close net family of shops.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

the curse of good machine work...



a great machine shop will be hard to find... they generally don't advertise... (neither do good lawyers or good doctors) they let their work speak for itself and rely on word of mouth advertising.



then they become VERY popular... business goes up, as do prices, as does the length of time between when you drop your stuff off and when it's finished...



and if you're Joe Blow off the street vs. a high visibility competetor, your stuff gets pushed to the back burner.



NOTHING against ANY shops, but I've seen this a zillion times.



general rule is to always double the length of time you're quoted... at least...



building a hot rod is easy... getting the parts together to BE built is the hard part!



Forrest

 

[supersonic]

Building a hot rod is easy... getting the parts together to BE built is the hard part!



Forrest

I beliveve you struck the nail dead with one blow of your hammer. :-laf

 

[RDLeader]

To bad you are not closer to Oklahoma, I'd cut them for ya in about 30 minutes.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

PC12!



I went through the same thing!!



I wanted Haisley's to cut my head and block for the Fire Rings I bought from them (Duh, right?) I asked them about cutting the grooves, you woulda thought I was requesting open heart surgery.....



Took it to Kent Crowder at Schied's and that bad boy was done in 4 days!! Kent is da' man!



Love me some Schied's



Brian

 

[Partyat33]

The only problem with Haisley is they don't answer their phone, they don't return messages and they don't respond to email. I hear the work is great though.

 

[NPloysa]

PC12!



I went through the same thing!!



I wanted Haisley's to cut my head and block for the Fire Rings I bought from them (Duh, right?) I asked them about cutting the grooves, you woulda thought I was requesting open heart surgery.....



Took it to Kent Crowder at Schied's and that bad boy was done in 4 days!! Kent is da' man!



Love me some Schied's



Brian

Not even open-heart takes that long! My g/f had open-heart last May. 6 hours to operate, 3 days in ICU and 2 in recovery!

 

[NBowlin]

I have waited a while for most everything from Haisey's, but they have always been patient with me calling to check on what ever it was. I understand that they are a small operation and I think its great that they have made something of themselves. I have been more than happy with everything I have received from them. Even when I was sold a that didnt work right in my truck, not defective persay, they took really good care of me. I have never been sorry after the wait.

 

[Todd T]

I had my head done at Schieds in Effingham IL and it took them four days from when i dropped it off. that included a valve job with all new guides and seats which they farmed it out to a local shop. it takes him about 2 hours to cut them, they use Haisleys fire ring kit so the only difference would be the person doing it.



give them a call and see if they can help you out. they charged me $225 for the fire ring job. $1850 for the entire job and some misc. parts.

 

[PC12Driver]

Well, three days after I started this thread I got a call from Haisley's telling me that my head was done. It was on a Saturday and they stayed around for me to drive down and pick it up (they're normally closed). I guess my two calls that week were enough to remind them of how long it's been.



I know Van does good work, so I was willing to wait the 4-6 weeks. And I assumed (I know, I know... ) that if he was taking that long to do the job, then that must kinda be an industry standard. So when I found out that I could have taken it to Scheid's and had it back in a week (after nine weeks of waiting) I was a bit tweaked. And it was pretty clear that jobs that were coming in after mine were getting out before me. Add to that the missed expected completion dates, and things were a bit frustrating. But that is the extent of the negative side of my Haisley experience.



The pluses do outweigh the minuses. The machine work is top notch, and Van is always willing to stop what he's doing and answer any questions or provide his expert advice (which probably extends the wait time, though... ). They had all the extra things I needed to finish the job (intake manifold gasket, bottoming tap). And for everything that was done to the head (trued, mag checked for cracks, new valve guides, valves recessed for the cam, grooves for fire rings) the price was very fair. It even came back painted.



So, everything is back together and working great! I have no leaks and the new cam feels great, even though I can't really get on it yet 'till my next retorque. I would definitely recommend Haisley's for engine work, but be prepared to wait.

 

[FordCummins]

I called Scheid Diesel in Effingham IL today, and Brad assured me that he would need my head and block no more than a few days to cut grooves for the o-rings and deck the head and block. I'll post up the results of how long it took. From what I've heard so far, Scheid does great, fast work.