Hooters and Horses warning!!!

[bentl11]

No, not about the Hooters, but Houston Performance. They damaged my car's body, paint and engine while in their shop, totalling so many thousands of dollars of damage, that it's still being added up. And yes, I'm after them in the courts for it. The owner is very careless about dyno tests. ( I have seen them screw up almost all of the five runs they ran while I was there ... and I mean loose hold downs ... can you imagine? It scared me so bad at one point that I got away from the dyno area.) The owner can be extremely, and I do mean extremely, abusive. His language is about as nasty as a drunken sailor when you catch him a a lie. And he will look you in the eye and lie and then lie again. If he tears your car up ... good luck trying to get him to fix it. If you still insist on going, photograph every square inch of the car (as I did, before going, during his pulls and afterwards) for use in courts. Document with witnesses that the car was running correctly BEFORE you go!!! With the damage estimates far in excess of $10,000 (verifed by independent shops) this guy is really bad news for the whole Ford community at large. I've spoken to others he has lied to as well. And they tell me they wouldn't let him build their engines either. One last note...there seems to be a lot of people he has scr***d over and I would be willing to share my legal counsel and notes to help close him down. And it's important to close these types of places down if for no other reason than to protect other Cobra owners from a similar fate. I was very careful and documented everything, and so should you. If you're a victim, leave a post and we'll put a stop to con artists like Houston Performance.

[Steve R]

Where is Houston Performance?...


O.K., I found it.. http://www.houstonperformance.com/

[Steve R]

Bentl11'
Those are some pretty damning words. How about some details and photos?
Steve
Thanks for letting us know...

[mr0077]

FWIW, the four cars we put on the dyno were properly cared for, and we all had a good experience (well, he COULD have recalibrated the dyno so we would get more impressive HP readings), and we're planning on another trip in the Fall, so...what Steve said, how about some details and/or photos?

[Great Asp]

Bentl11,

You said "this guy is really bad news for the whole Ford community at large"

Does this mean you will send all Chevy owners down there?.......

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, I could not resist. I hope you get everything worked out.

Eric

[scr11]

Over the past 4 years, I've meet more than a few folks who have recommended Houston Performance to me. After a careful search of engine builders I narrowed it down to Keith Craft and Houston Performance. Well, 2 1/2 years and 8000 miles later, my Houston Performance 393 storker is doing great.
I even had Steve (the owner) dyno my car about 4 months after I installed the motor. We did about 8 pulls. My car was strapped down correctly. Steve even had two of his mechanics help him with the dyno pulls. Steve ran the wide band, one mechanic operated the car, and one had his fingers in his ears while leaning over the engine listening for detonation.
I was quite impressed with Houston Performance and would recommend them to anyone. They were nothing but honest and fair with me. That's tough to beat.
In fact, the only questionable "situation" I've ever heard about Houston Performance was from bentl11. I was not there to know who did what to your car. But my car was treated extremely well by a very competent Steve at Houston Performance.
Bentl11, I wish you the best with your situation.

Scott, SPF#1230 / 393

[Goober]

Scott, not to change the subject, but I only live a few miles from Houston Performance. I too have a 392 stroker and am thinking on taking it down for a dyno run. My original dyno sheet from RDI shows 439 HP. Is this close to yours? If so, what did your car make at the real wheels.

Thanks
Mark

[bentl11]

Bear in mind these photos are only a tiny amount of the damage Houston Performance did. They don't show the huge oil leaks, myriad of small scrathces, valve covers falling off, etc. This car was built as the B&B factory show car (I have a letter from B&B proving it) for one of the two big national car shows to demonstrate what they are capable of. Custom multi-layer paint job that (sorry guys, I love their cars, but I flew to New Orleans considering a purchase and looked at the cars, I'm not looking for flames it's just street cars vs. a show car) makes Superfomance cars look rough. Look at the paint thickness in the first photo...imagine how many layers must be there....

I just wish that I had seen the post about the H&H affair sooner, so that owners didn't needlessly risk their cars. After I saw some of the straps come off while running on the dyno, it made my hair stand on end!! This seemed to be the norm while I watched.

Paint damge


The fan used to have blades....


Yes, that's a hole in the hood!!


Cross-threaded Aluminum heads....


Their idea of a $350.00 custom air cleaner.....


Bear in mind, this is only a fractional amount of their damage...

A few other little tidbits:

1) I was overcharged several hundred dollars from the agreed amount. (he lost his written bid, I found mine) and his response to my complaint....tough, do you want the car or not?

2) The car would not rev past 4K RPM. His response...not his fault.

3) Car covered in filth sitting in parking lot after agreeing that it would NEVER be outside and kept covered. His response...he got too busy. (car was so dirty that it scratched the paint nose to tail)

4) Steve said it would take only a couple of days...it took a month and a half.

5) Huge oil leaks and I mean huge...his response...not my fault (funny it didn't leak before)

6) Not only broke the blades off the fan, but broke the fan assembly off the car!

7) Valve cover fell off car in parking lot and the other was on held on by the two remaining bolts.

8) Rerouted the hose to the overflow tank to where it got melted and sprayed the entire engine bay with anti-freeze. ( try dealing with this stuck in 5 o'clock traffic and your engine bay looks like it exploded)

9) There was not supposed to be any anti-freeze used at all, just wetter-water ... another lie he told, as I asked him directly about this.

10) Kinked the accelerator cable upon reassembly...it broke and left me stranded on the Katy Freeway in rush hour.

11) Dented in the bottom of the oil pan. I asked him about this less than fifteen minutes after I picked the car up. His response....not my fault.

This is still not all the problems, there's quite a few more.......

On top of the fiasco, when I confronted him with the problems he tore into me and used the most extreme foul language possible. I gave him a week to think about it and wrote him a letter trying to reason with him (I couldn't have been more polite, and yes, I have a copy)....his response...more vile language than I have ever heard in my entire life. The particularly vicious nature of his cursing left me shocked. I still think about it today, you just can't imagine that this would come out of someone's mouth. It makes me wonder about his sanity.....

[scr11]

Mark - The dyno sheet you have form RDI is from the engine dyno. What Houston Performance has is a Dynojet chassis dyno. You will lose a lot of horsepower on the chassis dyno, so be prepared. The general rule is 15-17%, but can be higher. Unfortunately, the Superformance sidepipes are very restrictive. Mike Stenhouse has a better stroker combo than me and he lost exactly 21% from his RDI engine dyno compared to a Dynojet chassis dyno. Unfortunate for me, I never did an engine dyno. All I have is the documented 391 rear wheel horsepower (at 5800 rpm) on the Dynojet chassis dyno. If I assume the same 21% loss as Mike Stenhouse (similar motors, pipes, trans, gears, etc) I should have 495 flywheel horsepower. Truthfully, my goal was about 520 flywheel horsepower, but hey, I got close enough.
As for Houston Performance, it's likey you'll need to book an appointment to use the dyno. I'd also recommend allowing them to drill a hole (they'll cover it when done) in the left sidepipe (just past the collector) to perform two critical tests: an exhaust EGT and an air/fuel mixture. These two pieces of data will help tune your car and prevent potential engine damage. I think 3 pulls on the dyno was something like $125 and the wide band (EGT and air/fuel) was about $60. It's worth it. Do it once and be done with it.
Good luck!

Scott, SPF#1230 / 393

[Steve R]

Bentl11,
What work were they supposed to do on your car?
Steve

[bentl11]

The were only contracted to put on new heads, cam, intake manifold and the carb I supplied. They were addtionally supposed to put in a new rear end gear and distributor, but I got the car out before any other damage occured. The heads were irreparably damaged with all the cross-threaded bolts. It was just a total mess. I was not especially pleased when one the valve covers actually fell off. It took forever to get the oil out of the engine bay. I can only conclude that they had to have been on crack, to find what did as acceptable.

Be aware, that I believe in my heart, that the owner has deep psychological problems. I don't intend this a a slur, I really believe it...and it's scary when someone you knows loses touch with self- control and reality. That's how violent he became. I would hope that those around him daily take precauations against his temper. I can only imagine how he must treat his family. I've often wondered if I would hear about him harming someone on the evening news. We've all had people swear at us in anger .... but not like this. His outbreak was absolutely uncontrolled ... the only thing he didn't do was threaten to kill me or I would have gone to the authorities. Had I been there in person, I have no doubt I would have had to done something I would have forever regretted to stop him from harming me ... justified as it may be.

[kountzecobra]

If all this did occur, then why didn't you take him to court? Did you fix your car yet?

[Steve R]

Bentl11,
Bare with me here. Did you pick up the car in the described condition expecting it to be done, or did you pick it up in order to rescue it? Seems like we are getting bits and pieces of a complicated situation.
Steve
PS
Do we know any of the other victims you speak of?

[bentl11]

I went to pick it after I was reassured on the phone that they would take care of the remaining items once they arrived at their shop. (a week or two) When I arrived he was really evasive and harsh. When I tried to talk to him he got testy and left the room. I had to follow him around the shop as he kept ignoring me for almost an hour. I was so relieved to get away from him that I didn't even open the hood, I just got in and left. I found the first damage about 15 minutes later when I stopped for gas. The car was so filthy I just wanted to get it home to clean it. But I 'd noticed that it was running really badly (maybe that explains why he didn't run the dyno test I paid for ).
And oh yeah, I'm after him big time. Due to Texas and Federal law he is subject to triple damages. That could amount to 50 to 80 thousand in damages or more if the judge decides. Hopefully, the judge will decide that he'll be responsible for my legal fees should I be victorious and that could add tens of thousands more. Though my goal is to have his business license revoked and the shop sold or closed. Even if I do not achieve that, I'll continue to see if others need my assistance in seeking remuneration. The suit has been in preparation for almost two years, and I'm dead serious about punishing this crook, regardless the cost.
And no, the car is almost undriveable...it's NEVER taken more than 20 miles from home as it's too expensive to get it picked up by a flatbed wrecker, should I have a problem. I've had in the shop so many times to fix assorted items he damaged, that I've lost count.
I have spoken to others that have had like issues with them, only like a fool, I didn't take their names down. So I'm looking for them now. Hopefully they will read these posts and enjoin a suit of their own against him. I will willing provide testimony and documentation to prosecute said suit against him. Should they need financial help to prosecute, that is a possibility.
I've found a local shop that seem very conscientious and they are going to take a shot at getting the car to at least run to redline. But the paint damage is so bad that almost the whole car needs to be repainted and the engine pulled and rebuilt correctly. I can only imagine what the cost would be to really do the paint repairs to pre Houston Performance condition. Can anyone imagine the cost of sanding the existing paint down to the fiberglass after removing the body from the car? And then lay up the many, many layers of PPG and then apply the layers for the stripe and then clear coat it again?

[Back in Black]

Then I wish you the best in getting at least 3 x damages! Been there and except for the foul language and the fact that my abuser (manufacturer?) is in Canada, I would also be suing... There needs to be a watch dog group/mediator to monitor and approve of/certify such businesses.. the ones we all "depend" on for these types of services...

[Steve R]

Bentl11,
If I understand you correctly, you have been pursuing legal action for almost 2 years. Perhaps your actions have had a
positive effect on his bedside manner. I wish you luck. In the few cases here that I have followed, Quite frankly it seems there is little or no justice to be had in such a situation. A Mr. Fonsecca of Fla. who had a similar complaint was hell bent on pursuing similar actions. He followed many parallel paths to shut the shop down. In the end, it was his opinion that the legal system is pretty much useless in such a case.

Here is the latest example of how useless the justice system is when it comes to recovering damages. Read the whole thread. In this case it looks like the guy is in trouble with the law, but how much do you think all his victims will recover?
Engine builder scam
Steve