why I have a South Bend Clutch in my truck...
03-31-2005, 05:42 PM
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why I have a South Bend Clutch in my truck...
Santa's elves ain't got nothing on Peter @ SBC!!!
came home and found a pretty black box sitting on the porch... This is the SECOND TIME that Peter has gone above and beyond a "reasonable" level of customer service for me, and I've never purchased a clutch from him!!!
WHAT!??! you say?
lemme 'splain...
when I bought my truck it had a 12" OFE in it... I was well aware of the potential problems with blowing out the center of the disk, but I was (and still am... can't afford to break stuff!) very careful not to shift up or down agressively, etc. I roll on the throttle fairly often, but did my best not to abuse it. Well, it dropped a spring out of the disk when I was backing out of a parking space... turns out a few springs had broken, and it fatigued the metal around them so much that it broke through and dropped one in between the pressure plate and disk.
I limped it home and called Peter. I was ready to buy another disk and just take it easy on it. I figured that one had lasted about 40k miles, I was low on funds (as usual) and if the next one lasted me another 40k, I would be fine with that.
Well, Peter asked me some questions about the disk, and it turns out that the one I had was not the latest version and that he had a revised disk with some softer springs. Long story short, he sent me a BRAND NEW disk AND pressure plate FOR FREE!
Never met the man, never talked w/ him before, never given him a dime. One could argue that I kinda/sorta paid for the clutch when I bought the truck from the previous owner, but that argument will get you NOWHERE with most companies, so why even try these days? most warranties out there are non-transferable, and that's just the way it goes.
fast forward about 35k miles later. the l"ittle OFE that could" is still kickin', but I'm always wanting more, and twins are in the works... don't have money for a dual disk setup, but I figure I can squeak 600rwhp out of a 13" FE in my light truck. Peter and I talk about my combo and my limited budget, and I make plans to buy the 13" FE setup from him.
In the meantime, I find a local board member who just went to a dual disk and has a 13" FE that's got some pretty good wear on it. It's still holding the power on the street, but it's not enough for the sled pulls.
He gives me a great price on it and I buy it figuring I'll just surface the flywheel and go. I call Peter and ask him what he thinks. Does he seem even the slightest bit annoyed that I found a used one and he lost a sale? Nope, he says "man, that sounds like a heck of a deal! if you want, send me the pressure plate and I'll rebuild it for $150, and then you'll have basicly a fresh setup for about half what a new one would cost!"
I sent him the pressure plate and went ahead and threw the disk in so he could check it out. (it was pretty gauled up, but still had tons of meat on it)
I am in no rush to get under there and swap another clutch, so I didn't speak with him for a couple weeks. He's been very busy I'm sure! I called last Friday to get an update, and he said he had a bunch of boxes that he hadn't gotten to yet... call him on Monday morning.
Monday morning I call... he can't put his hands on my clutch at that very instant (again busy!) so he says "tell ya what... I'll just send you a new pressure plate, and since you said your disk was pretty gauled up, I've got a used 13" FE disk sitting here that looks almost brand new... if you want that one instead of the one you sent, it's yours..." absolutely unreal...
I know this sounds like some cheesey comercial advertisement, but it's not... hell, most businesses wouldn't even really consider me one of their "CUSTOMERS" at this point! LOL!
Bottom line is if you're looking for a clutch, call Peter and see what he recomends for your combo... He will make 100% certain that you're satisfied with your purchase!!!
came home and found a pretty black box sitting on the porch... This is the SECOND TIME that Peter has gone above and beyond a "reasonable" level of customer service for me, and I've never purchased a clutch from him!!!
WHAT!??! you say?
lemme 'splain...
when I bought my truck it had a 12" OFE in it... I was well aware of the potential problems with blowing out the center of the disk, but I was (and still am... can't afford to break stuff!) very careful not to shift up or down agressively, etc. I roll on the throttle fairly often, but did my best not to abuse it. Well, it dropped a spring out of the disk when I was backing out of a parking space... turns out a few springs had broken, and it fatigued the metal around them so much that it broke through and dropped one in between the pressure plate and disk.
I limped it home and called Peter. I was ready to buy another disk and just take it easy on it. I figured that one had lasted about 40k miles, I was low on funds (as usual) and if the next one lasted me another 40k, I would be fine with that.
Well, Peter asked me some questions about the disk, and it turns out that the one I had was not the latest version and that he had a revised disk with some softer springs. Long story short, he sent me a BRAND NEW disk AND pressure plate FOR FREE!
Never met the man, never talked w/ him before, never given him a dime. One could argue that I kinda/sorta paid for the clutch when I bought the truck from the previous owner, but that argument will get you NOWHERE with most companies, so why even try these days? most warranties out there are non-transferable, and that's just the way it goes.
fast forward about 35k miles later. the l"ittle OFE that could" is still kickin', but I'm always wanting more, and twins are in the works... don't have money for a dual disk setup, but I figure I can squeak 600rwhp out of a 13" FE in my light truck. Peter and I talk about my combo and my limited budget, and I make plans to buy the 13" FE setup from him.
In the meantime, I find a local board member who just went to a dual disk and has a 13" FE that's got some pretty good wear on it. It's still holding the power on the street, but it's not enough for the sled pulls.
He gives me a great price on it and I buy it figuring I'll just surface the flywheel and go. I call Peter and ask him what he thinks. Does he seem even the slightest bit annoyed that I found a used one and he lost a sale? Nope, he says "man, that sounds like a heck of a deal! if you want, send me the pressure plate and I'll rebuild it for $150, and then you'll have basicly a fresh setup for about half what a new one would cost!"
I sent him the pressure plate and went ahead and threw the disk in so he could check it out. (it was pretty gauled up, but still had tons of meat on it)
I am in no rush to get under there and swap another clutch, so I didn't speak with him for a couple weeks. He's been very busy I'm sure! I called last Friday to get an update, and he said he had a bunch of boxes that he hadn't gotten to yet... call him on Monday morning.
Monday morning I call... he can't put his hands on my clutch at that very instant (again busy!) so he says "tell ya what... I'll just send you a new pressure plate, and since you said your disk was pretty gauled up, I've got a used 13" FE disk sitting here that looks almost brand new... if you want that one instead of the one you sent, it's yours..." absolutely unreal...
I know this sounds like some cheesey comercial advertisement, but it's not... hell, most businesses wouldn't even really consider me one of their "CUSTOMERS" at this point! LOL!
Bottom line is if you're looking for a clutch, call Peter and see what he recomends for your combo... He will make 100% certain that you're satisfied with your purchase!!!
03-31-2005, 09:42 PM
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Forrest the Lucky Dog
I too have had great treatment from Peter at SBC, My 01 had only a few k miles on it when the power got the OEM clutch, didnt bother me much so I order up a con ofe from Peter and it shows up from the UPS guy like all packages right there on my front deck, well the 2 German shepard dogs musta thought the package was food so they decided to eat it, I come home from work to find my new clutch scattered from heck to breakfast 
, things got chewed up a bit and I was HOT, dogs were grounded, in the end Peter made it right with me at no extra charge......................Very Nice to work with people that want yer return business
Cheers, Kevin
I too have had great treatment from Peter at SBC, My 01 had only a few k miles on it when the power got the OEM clutch, didnt bother me much so I order up a con ofe from Peter and it shows up from the UPS guy like all packages right there on my front deck, well the 2 German shepard dogs musta thought the package was food so they decided to eat it, I come home from work to find my new clutch scattered from heck to breakfast , things got chewed up a bit and I was HOT, dogs were grounded, in the end Peter made it right with me at no extra charge......................Very Nice to work with people that want yer return business Cheers, Kevin
03-31-2005, 11:23 PM
#7
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Yes, this thread discribes my dealings with Peter. I would not think of purchasing from anyone but him for my CTD. I am also sure that in the next few months I will be dealing with him again. I doubt that I cured the clutch finger wear and it should be getting time to fix it. This time I will also replace the hydraulics.
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04-01-2005, 12:40 AM
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I've never heard so many good things about SBC... decided to go for it -- I got a great deal on a SBC Con OFE for my 6spd... been sitting in the box unfortunately for quite some time. Anyone know if I can get a flywheel somewhere cheap and give them my core when it's done. I want to do this with only 1 day of downtime ?
04-01-2005, 12:50 AM
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That just makes your day when you deal with someone like that. Too bad I have an auto, don't get me started about the guys at bd.....
I thought I saw you truck for sale forrest? Going twins now?
I thought I saw you truck for sale forrest? Going twins now?
04-01-2005, 01:16 AM
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i haven't bought anything from sb but from what i've read on this site over the years i don't think any other company in the world has as great customer service and stands behind there products as sb. it just shows if you lose a little bit of money treating people right you will get alot more customers and people coming back. to bad everyone don't operate like he does (hint hint DODGE)
04-01-2005, 12:26 PM
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Originally posted by Jambbii
I thought I saw you truck for sale forrest? Going twins now?
I thought I saw you truck for sale forrest? Going twins now?
)but I'm not going to just let it sit in the mean time!
I've had the twins 80% built for half a year now... but I wasn't going to put them on w/ the little OFE in there. now I've got an engine sitting in the garage. I'm going to use it to put the finishing touches on the twins... in goes the clutch, in goes the twins, and it's a race against time to get a head ported and o-ringed before she spits a head gasket
Forrest
04-01-2005, 12:27 PM
#13
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Don't forget Scotty...
While we are passing out the flowers, another vender that is just a much as a business gentleman and will help you any way he can, is Scotty. One example is his original Scotty II has glued on tabs inside the housing. AFter over 100,000 miles I had one break off inside. I contacted him to order another housing, he sent one free. That cost him money especally with the shipping from Canuk land. He is also good with long phone calls when you have problems and giving you tips to keep the truck running as it should. Thanks Scotty, you are on my list too....
