Craft engine

[Stefun17]

Dear all

I belong to the Cobra club in France et I often visit this forum which is very interesting.

I ordered in july 2018 to CRAFT ENGINE a complete engine for my COBRA (engine + gearbox). As of today CRAFT ENGINE is unable to give me a date of delivery. For more than 5 months, they tell me having problems with the supplier of heads. I am really upset about this situation and I feel anxious because I transfered a huge amount of money and I never received a purchase order or a confirmation number nor general condition of purchase.
I called them several times and they always give me the same answer : We have a problem with the supplier of heads and it is the same everywhere in US.

Has someone heard about this problem with CRAFT ENGINE or with its supplier ? Is CRAFT ENGINE facing a difficult financial situation ?

Thanks in advance for your help and comments.

[Phx Mike]

What engine type are they building for you and what heads?

[patrickt]

Blue Thunder is always a crap shoot. BBM's page says their heads ship in two to three weeks. Edelbrocks are available everywhere and just need staging up to whatever you want to spend. I don't know if they would go with Barry R.'s heads or not. I think there must be some other problem.

[Stefun17]

It is a block 427FE with Edelbrock Stage II CNC big valves 2.25 / 1.75 cylinder heads. If there is another problem I would like to know what it is? Will Craft not plan to close? Did they favor another client who would have benefited from the head that were intended for me ...? Forgive my language, I use Google translate

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Stefun17

It is a block 427FE with Edelbrock Stage II CNC big valves 2.25 / 1.75 cylinder heads. If there is another problem I would like to know what it is? Will Craft not plan to close? Did they favor another client who would have benefited from the head that were intended for me ...? Forgive my language, I use Google translate

Well that's strange. You can get the Stage III version from them off of eBay in about ten days. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Edelbro...-/192202372651

[Stefun17]

Mine are stage II
Thanks for the link, I'm going to ask them why Stage III are available immediately on ebay and not Stage II

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by Stefun17

It is a block 427FE with Edelbrock Stage II CNC big valves 2.25 / 1.75 cylinder heads. If there is another problem I would like to know what it is? Will Craft not plan to close? Did they favor another client who would have benefited from the head that were intended for me ...? Forgive my language, I use Google translate

You may want to investigate legal proceedings. Just speculation but because you are in a different country they may be taking advantage of you.
In my opinion a much better choice would be either Barry Robotnick or Brent Lykins. For starters, their horsepower numbers are real. I have also heard Shelby Engine company is producing good products now.

[Unique427]

I have an engine built by Craft.
Build time was 4 months but felt like 4 years.
There were over 30 engines waiting for parts ahead of mine.
Your wait time seems exceedingly long.
My suggestion is call them for a laundry list of what they are waiting for.
If you find an alternate source, it is possible
to procure those parts within the US, ship to Craft
and have them deduct cost from final amount due. The Lance Smith (owner) I know is an honorable man and will finish your engine.

Google Translator to French

avoir un moteur construit par Craft.
Le temps de construction était de 4 mois mais semblait être de 4 ans
Plus de 30 moteurs attendaient des pièces avant la mienne.
Votre temps d'attente semble excessivement long.
Ma suggestion est les appeler pour une liste de blanchisserie de ce qu'ils attendent.
Si vous trouvez une source alternative, il est possible
pour acheter ces pièces aux États-Unis, expédier à Craft
et demandez-leur de déduire le coût du montant final dû. Le Lance Smith (propriétaire) que je connais est un homme honorable et finira votre moteur.

[Phx Mike]

Originally Posted by Unique427

I have an engine built by Craft.
Build time was 4 months but felt like 4 years.
There were over 30 engines waiting for parts ahead of mine.
Your wait time seems exceedingly long.
My suggestion is call them for a laundry list of what they are waiting for.
If you find an alternate source, it is possible
to procure those parts within the US, ship to Craft
and have them deduct cost from final amount due. The Lance Smith (owner) I know is an honorable man and will finish your engine.

Google Translator to French

avoir un moteur construit par Craft.
Le temps de construction était de 4 mois mais semblait être de 4 ans
Plus de 30 moteurs attendaient des pièces avant la mienne.
Votre temps d'attente semble excessivement long.
Ma suggestion est les appeler pour une liste de blanchisserie de ce qu'ils attendent.
Si vous trouvez une source alternative, il est possible
pour acheter ces pièces aux États-Unis, expédier à Craft
et demandez-leur de déduire le coût du montant final dû. Le Lance Smith (propriétaire) que je connais est un homme honorable et finira votre moteur.

Agree - my experience was similar and I have always had great support and responsiveness from Lance at Craft. My FE took about 90 days. I also did not have to pay it all in advance.

Not sure what the comment about “horsepower is real” above is all about. My FE was built by Craft and the dyno sheet power and tq numbers seem in line with what I have seen elsewhere for engines of similar spec.

[Stefun17]

Thank you for your answers, my interlocutor is currently an employee and I have never had contact with Lance. My order is important and expensive: engine, cluth, gearbox and accessories. Maybe this employee has instructions to put other engines in priority of mine. Could you give me Lance Smith's direct contact because a contact with him might be able to unblock the situation before considering a legal proceedings.
@Cobra 3170 "Just speculation but you're in a different country." Yes that's my feeling.
I'm part of Club Cobra France and here Craft had a good reputation, but my experience is starting to be known and some colleagues of the club who waited to see the reception of my engine to eventually order one too, are starting to change their minds about Craft.

[Unique427]

Craft Performance Engines 870-246-7460
Central US Time vs France is 7 hours.
Call Craft before things get busy 9-10 a.m. Central US.
Because your call is international it is advised to arrange the time of call in advance.

[DanEC]

Who specifically are you dealing with at Keith Racing? I live about 100 miles from them and they built my engine about 8 years ago before Keith Craft sold the business but they were - and as far as I know, still a reputable company. I think Lance is now the principal owner and contacting him directly may help.

I will tell you that they are a small, out in the country side, but productive company and at least at the time I did business with them they were shipping engines internationally and supplying engines to Kirkham. I have to believe they will get the head issue resolved and get you your engine and transmission, although there may be some delays due to parts or workload.

[Dwight]

I have been to KC several times. There are a reputable company.

We have bought several motors from them through the years. Great bunch of guys. Like Dan EC said there are a small company but sell a lot of motors.
If there is a problem and we had some, they will fix it.

I talked Lance last summer at the London Cobra show. He worked for Keith before he bought the business. Great guy.

Don't worry just call and talk to Lance.

[ACademic]

IMHO, given this situation a stand-up owner would take the time to contact the customer directly, apologize for the delay, explain in detail what has caused it, and offer up some form of reparations for the below-grade customer service (regardless of whether it’s in his/her control). This customer should not have to be forced to jump through hoops for a large upfront financial commitment as this.

[Stefun17]

@ACademic : Being myself in the business I totally agree with you.

@other : Thank you for your reassuring messages, my contact at Craft is Tony Loy, we agreed to remember in 10 days to make a checkpoint, if things have not changed I will try to contact Lance but the problem is that when I call 870-246-7640 I fall directly on Tony.

[Jerry Clayton]

wrong phone number------should be 870-246-7460

[Phx Mike]

Just call and ask for Lance. I’m certain he will sort it out and offer apologies for the delay.

[Stefun17]

Yes sorry it's : 870-246-7460

[olddog]

Can anyone confirm a Tony Loy does work for Craft?

This seems impossible to believe. Craft has a great history, and Lance is as nice a person to talk to, as you will find anywhere.

[Unique427]

Originally Posted by olddog

Can anyone confirm a Tony Loy does work for Craft?

This seems impossible to believe. Craft has a great history, and Lance is as nice a person to talk to, as you will find anywhere.

Tony Loy has a long history with Craft and is a masterful engine builder.

He is also the guy who usually answers the phone when Lance is out.

As DanEC stated, Craft is a small company in a very small town with a widely known reputation.