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its a little long - but read it through (thanks to Allan for providing the bandwidth to sustain)
So we embark on the journey into big time sprint car racing, but before we do, I tell my (then)15 year old son he needs to learn everything about the cars before he would be driving one. That instruction included learning and knowing the value of the parts. Used, new, time - everything. Contrary to what some people think, a dad helping his kid to go racing doesn't always equate to silver spoons and unlimited budgets.
I must say, the kid did very well. He asked questions, read catalogs, learned part numbers, talked to vendors, dealers, racers - anyone and everyone he could think of, and soaked all the information in. Ahh to have a young empty mind with room for data. So before he ever strapped in a sprint car, he had bought and sold enough parts that he ends up with a fairly decent collection of spare parts, and enough hardware to go racing. So we did, but thats not the story because then I'd just sound like a dad who thinks he has the next .........
Along the way, EVERY decision in what he bought, where he bought it, and how much to pay for it, was his decision. I am impulsive, his mother is not, and he takes after her - thus better to let him make the decisions. He simply was told what his budget would be each month, and blah blah blah. From January 2007, to January 2009, he makes all the decisions. Car, engine, parts - everything. Then I get involved. I see this ad on Hoseheads:
BRAND NEW WINTERS ULTRALITE REAR END, 4:11, LONG SPLINE, SWIVLE SPLINE, TITANIUM LOWER SHAFT W/TI STUDS, LIHTEWEIGHT EVERTHING, BRAND NEW STILL WITH TAGS
and then the terms of the $2500 asking price and method of payment accepted and contact info. I didn't really care about the spelling, I just knew we wanted a new rear end for the 2009 season, and the rear end in the picture and description was what we were looking for. So I tell the kid to call the seller up, and he hesitates. He doesn't want to spend that much money. Says he can get a better deal somewhere else. I argue "but not brand new with everything in it like this one." He hesitates still, so I take the initiative to call the guy up, and clarify the ad. The guy on the other end of the line says "Yep, it's brand new, has everything, EDM, REM, swivel spline, ultralite, tit, etc, we paid over $3,000 for this rear end, I can ship it, blah blah blah, and I'm firm at $2500."
So I hang up, wait a couple days for the boy to decipher the value in his head of buying something that is brand new for a discounted price, and when I get tired of waiting for him (and fearing the deal will pass) I instruct the boy to call the seller, pay him $2500 with his mothers paypal account, and get the rear end on its way. He reluctantly agrees. We wait a week for the rear end to show up, it doesn't, so I call the seller to get a tracking number and he says he's breaking the rear end down to fit in a box, and he'll ship it that day. Now I've never torn into a Winters rear end, but it sounded simple to put back together, so I sounded my OK.
A couple days later here comes the UPS guy with a brand new Winters ultralite 4:12 long spline, swivel coupler, titanium lower shaft rear end. I start to bolt it back together, and I'm wondering why the torque tube studs are in a plastic bag. That was the least of my problems, as I wanted to make sure this thing went back together right. As I go along, I start to realize something. Shouldn't a polished ring and pinion be polished? I know a little bit about polishing as anyone in the construction industry in the NW can attest. So I consult the Winters catalog. Sure enough, I find a picture of a polished and lightened ring gear. It wasn't what I had on my bench. I grab a magent, and darn if it stuck to every stud in the bag and on the rear end. I almost laugh, because had the rear end been shipped intact, I would have laughed about the missing titanium studs(I've seen guys pull one ti bolt off a car before they sell it) and would have never known about the ring & pinion not being what was advertised and verbally expressed. I confirm the tag numbers with the Winters catalog and Winters themselves just to be sure, and yep - what I was looking at was what Winters had built new.
So I can accept the fact that the kid was right and I was wrong. But how do I tell the wife that she just purchased a (maybe)$2200 rear end for $2500. Worse yet, how do I justify to the kid that the rear end he had picked out was identical to this one and $1000 cheaper. DOH! I wanted the fancy stuff just so I knew I would be providing him the best. Yet he didn't care. He didn't see the value in it. Good kid I tell ya.
So I call the seller up to offer my thanks for the instruction on bolting a rear end back together, and then I mention that I must not have bought the rear end pictured in the ad and what we had discussed on the phone. He offers an apology for the misunderstanding(I'm still trying to figure that one out) but says he will talk to his dad about it and get back to me. Now I didn't know this guy, but before I sent $2500 off to someone I've never met, I did research enough to know that he drove a sprint car out of Placerville, answered his phone by the same name in the ad, and gave credit to the fact he answered the phone by a business name. What I sould have done, was asked for the serial number of the rear end, called Winters, and verified it was the same through pictures, etc. Thats what the boy would have done. My stupid.
Anyway - long story short - I'm still waiting for Matt Barber who races out at Placerville to call me back and offer a solution to my own stupidity. My wife has cut me off, my 17 year old kid thinks I'm an idiot, and now has every right to tell me to butt out when it comes to decision making. Several people at this past years PRI show tried to tell me the same thing, but I digress.
I sincerely hope that my new friend Matt Barber who races at Placerville is simply as stupid as I am, and sold something without really knowing what it was. It still doesn't make sense why the torgue tube studs were in the snout in the picture, yet shipped in a plastic bag, but anyway, that is my problem now. If my new friend Matt Barber did pay over $3000 for this rear end, then I am glad that I was able to contribute partly to helping him recoup from the screwing he took.
To BF at Kaeding Performace, Paul, and whomever else TJ spoke with about purchasing a new rear end for 2009, my apologies - I was the dumbass who steered him elsewhere. And to Matt Barber who races out of Placerville, I'm still waiting for the phone call, and here's my number just in case you lost it - (253)840-2844.
To my son - would it be alright if I put some hot water in the bucket? My hands are cold.
Green to Checkers, 
Ted Hartman
The greatest knowledge is to know that you know nothing
at all.
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Update -
This afternoon I received a phone call from Matt Barber. He offered his explanation to the situation as - we did in fact not receive the rear end we had purchased due to his mix-up in shipping. With that, he offered that he had not been able to get in touch with me, and had mailed a partial refund. Upon his learning of this thread, he was able to call and get in touch with me. In the phone call, he also offered a full refund if we wanted to return the rear end.
As I have learned my lesson, I left that decision up to my son, and he has elected to wait for the partial refund check to arrive, and keep the rear end. That would not have been my decision, but that is no longer my department.
I would like to thank Matt for contacting me today. I am a believer in communication, openness, and honesty - and while I'm not entirely confident in my sons decision, I do feel more at ease knowing that Matt reached out to resolve the situation.
Most of all I want to thank Allan Holland for not acting like a Bored Cop, and allowing this thread to remain open and viewable. It reaffirms my belief that it is possible for a negative situation to have a positive outcome by keeping everything out in the open, and not hidden or reserved for a select few to voice their displeasures, criticisms, and/or personal agendas.
Be safe everyone and lets hope I may resume my rightful place to sleep in the near future,
Ted Hartman
The greatest knowledge is to know that you know nothing
at all.
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