Negative Pony Carb experience today

[67GTFastback]

I had a bit of a bad experience today with Pony Carbs. I have to Holley carbs, a 600 cfm C70F (67 GT 390 Carb) and a 735 cfm C90F (69 428 Carb). I have cleaned them both up, added a kit to them, and have different results. The 600 runs very well. However, when I put the 735 on my car, fuel spills out of the secondary chambers onto the secondary throttle plates. I have used the same fuel bowls to rule out float problems or anything to do with the fuel bowls. I have rebuilt many Holleys but never seen this before. I called Pony Carbs to ask if they could give me some direction, but had no luck. First, the fellow asked me if I had them rebuild the carb. I responded to say no, I am just looking for a couple of ideas to look for that may result in this behavior. He said that since they didn't do the rebuild, he could not help me. I asked if I could give him a brief description of the problem just to see if he has experience with this before. He responded with "it is impossible for me to tell without seeing the carb and what it is doing. If you want to send it to us, we would be happy to rebuild it for you." I responded with "I don't want to pay $300-400US to have the carb rebuilt when all I am looking for is a little direction". At this point, he just said "Sorry I can't help you" and we ended the call.

I have contacted Pony Carbs in the past and they have always answered questions for me regarding possible problems without hesitation. Have they changed to a "no help" policy or did I just touch base with a "bad apple"? Has their growing success changed their view on answering questions in hope of obtaining more business? Afterwards, I contacted Carbco in St. Louis (whom I purchased many parts from while I lived in STL) and Jess, the owner, was more than happy to give me some ideas (I have not yet had a chance to try but plan to tomorrow evening). Thanks.

 

[67GTA-FB429]

Next time ask to speak to the technician's manager or the owner of the shop.

You probably just got a bad apple. most places do not stay in business long with that type of customer service.

 

[Ozsum67]

Time is money. Pony carbs have done nothing but be helpful to me. They probably just didn't want to take the time to offer free advise. Have you purchased from them before? If you have, maybe you could call back and say you are a repeat/former customer and have better luck.

 

[67GTFastback]

Agreed that time is money, however, you have to invest some time to make money. If that would have been the first call to them, I would never purchase from there after that. If he would have been courteous and tried to help me, even for just 2 minutes with a couple of ideas which is all that I was after, I would have a different opinion. I have purchased some parts from them in the past...and to offer "free" advice is an investment in itself.

 

[Ozsum67]

Agreed that time is money, however, you have to invest some time to make money. If that would have been the first call to them, I would never purchase from there after that. If he would have been courteous and tried to help me, even for just 2 minutes with a couple of ideas which is all that I was after, I would have a different opinion. I have purchased some parts from them in the past...and to offer "free" advice is an investment in itself.

True. Maybe revenues are down because the free advise business doesn't pay to well. Or, like others said, maybe the chum just was having a bad day. Remembering back, most of my conversations with them came soon after a purchase and were directly related to that purchase.

 

[pabear89]

But the 2 min spent to help out would have been well worth it.

The news will travel fast when you have a poor responce at your Help Line.
More people will remember the bad news then the good.
Even if it was not purchased from them a few min of their time could bring a sale at a later date.

just my thoughts, well and the voices too.

PB

 

[67GTFastback]

But the 2 min spent to help out would have been well worth it.

The news will travel fast when you have a poor responce at your Help Line.
More people will remember the bad news then the good.
Even if it was not purchased from them a few min of their time could bring a sale at a later date.

just my thoughts, well and the voices too.

PB

Exactly my point PB.

Oz, it wasn't like I was asking him their secrets on how they "re-engineer" the Holley carb or how to tune it, that kind of free advice I could understand them not wanting to share and they shouldn't. However, I can tell you that if they aren't willing to spend two minutes to help me troubleshoot a problem, they just guaranteed themselves of never seeing my business. I certainly won't say "okay, since you don't have two minutes to listen to the problem, how about I send you my carb and $300 and you rebuild it..."

 

[Ozsum67]

Exactly my point PB.

Oz, it wasn't like I was asking him their secrets on how they "re-engineer" the Holley carb or how to tune it, that kind of free advice I could understand them not wanting to share and they shouldn't. However, I can tell you that if they aren't willing to spend two minutes to help me troubleshoot a problem, they just guaranteed themselves of never seeing my business. I certainly won't say "okay, since you don't have two minutes to listen to the problem, how about I send you my carb and $300 and you rebuild it..."

I understand your thoughts. Different people have different expectations on things. Sounds like he was more interested in making a buck now instead of later. So, maybe the scoop on Pony should read, they do good work, just don't expect any free advise.

 

[MustangPaul]

Me, too

I've had two carbs rebuilt by Pony Carbs. The first time they did it--in the late 80's, I believe, they were top notch. The last time they did it, about a year ago, I had to send one back to get it redone and they still aren't right.

Just sent one off to be reworked to one of the people mentioned in Hemming's Mustang Market magazine's article on Holley's.

When I spend that kind of money for a premium service, I expect people to be nice to me on the phone. When I called to find out what was wrong with the carb I had to send back, they replied that someone had messed up the carb. Nope. It was installed per their instructions.

Point being, at least in my opinoin, PC has been on top so long that they've begun to rest on their laurels. I won't go back to them, I can tell you that. Nor will I advise any of my mustang buddies to go there.

Just my opinion.

--Paul

 

[Ozsum67]

One thing they advise is to purge the fuel system of potential contaminants that could clog up a new carb. It seems, that with the sudden rush of fuel going to fill up the empty bowl(s), it could jar loose some of these particals. To do this, you collect fuel in an approved container while turning over the engine for about 10 seconds or so. Then, connect the fuel line and you're good to go.


This step is easily overlooked when installing a new-dry carb.

 

[foghorn67]

the thing you guys may not understand is the guy's call queue. he could have a few paying customers on hold, and if I were him, I would try to get the guy with the freebes out of the way.
you said it yourself, you always call them for advice, but so far you haven't paid them at all.
they are a profit company, not a library.
if you were a paying customer, sure, that might get me.
but this post does nothing to threaten of what I think of pony carbs.

 

[67GTFastback]

the thing you guys may not understand is the guy's call queue. he could have a few paying customers on hold, and if I were him, I would try to get the guy with the freebes out of the way.
you said it yourself, you always call them for advice, but so far you haven't paid them at all.
they are a profit company, not a library.
if you were a paying customer, sure, that might get me.
but this post does nothing to threaten of what I think of pony carbs.

I am not trying to change anyone's impression of pony carbs, only share my experience. If you would have read a little closer, I did mention that I have purchased some parts from them in the past...but I can guarantee I won't be in the future. If the tech I spoke with would have given me a couple of ideas to try after listening for just two minutes, maybe I would send him the carb for restoration if I couldn't resolve the issue...however, now I know that isn't going to happen. A few minutes could have lead to potential profit, however, he assured there to be $0. To me it is simply smart business sense, not that they are a "library" or is that just too much to get a handle on? After listening to MustangPaul's story, maybe there is some merit to it and not just an isolated incident.

 

[foghorn67]

I am not trying to change anyone's impression of pony carbs, only share my experience. If you would have read a little closer, I did mention that I have purchased some parts from them in the past...but I can guarantee I won't be in the future. If the tech I spoke with would have given me a couple of ideas to try after listening for just two minutes, maybe I would send him the carb for restoration if I couldn't resolve the issue...however, now I know that isn't going to happen. A few minutes could have lead to potential profit, however, he assured there to be $0. To me it is simply smart business sense, not that they are a "library" or is that just too much to get a handle on? After listening to MustangPaul's story, maybe there is some merit to it and not just an isolated incident.

you got me curious to what the problem is. that is really weird how the fuel is spilling over. make a post on it so others can have a crack at this. you got me thinking.
I was about to say check your fuel pressure, but it seems weird it's one carb and not the other.

 

[67GTFastback]

you got me curious to what the problem is. that is really weird how the fuel is spilling over. make a post on it so others can have a crack at this. you got me thinking.
I was about to say check your fuel pressure, but it seems weird it's one carb and not the other.

Will do, it is a really weird problem, especially as it is the secondaries. I will get to that later tonight.