Would you use this caliper? Options

[PatMc]

The degradation we see here can probably be repaired.

No, absolutely not. Maybe if it was the last on existence, maybe…but no.

[bbrock]

I know a reputable vendor you does offer 'B' stock calipers that have cosmetic damage but deemed to be safe and functional otherwise. Any chance 'B' stock was ordered or sent by mistake?

I discovered about the 'B' stock when said vendor saw a picture of my calipers on the forum and reached out to say I was sent the wrong calipers by mistake and promptly sent the good ones. They didn't look nearly as bad as yours though.

[bkrantz]

Junk. And if a sketchy rebuilder sells calipers that look that bad on the outside, what nasty stuff is lurking in the bores?

[Brian Fuerbach]

I know a reputable vendor you does offer 'B' stock calipers that have cosmetic damage but deemed to be safe and functional otherwise. Any chance 'B' stock was ordered or sent by mistake?

I discovered about the 'B' stock when said vendor saw a picture of my calipers on the forum and reached out to say I was sent the wrong calipers by mistake and promptly sent the good ones. They didn't look nearly as bad as yours though.

I think I received "F" stock. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[Van B]

I’m mind blown by what I’m looking at… PMB has ‘74 calipers on sale btw.

[bbrock]

I know a reputable vendor you does offer 'B' stock calipers that have cosmetic damage but deemed to be safe and functional otherwise. Any chance 'B' stock was ordered or sent by mistake?

I discovered about the 'B' stock when said vendor saw a picture of my calipers on the forum and reached out to say I was sent the wrong calipers by mistake and promptly sent the good ones. They didn't look nearly as bad as yours though.

I think I received "F" stock. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Yeah, 'F' would be about right. The 'B' stock I received had a couple cosmetic flaws but in no way would you question whether they were safe. One of those things you see and think, "huh, that's kind of a shame, but they'll work."

[Geezer914]

pull the pistons if they are good and use the caliper for an anchor!

[Van B]

Thought about this thread and the long time vendor who sent that part out.

I think the responsible thing to do is for that vendor's rep to own up to this and offer an explanation.

For the record, we do know who you are and that you were OK putting your name on the box and charging money for that piece of yellow zinc scrap. Again, speaking for myself, my future purchase decisions will be affected by the response here or in private.

[Brian Fuerbach]

Today UPS delivered a box of calipers I ordered from a different supplier that I had found locally. Just opened the box and I can honestly say these are what I expect from a rebuilder. They are cad plated and the machined surfaces are just as they should be. They have “new” chrome pistons and came with all new hardware, pins, clips, bleeders, caps and retainers. They look brand new. The owner Pat is great to talk with and has tremendous knowledge regarding braking systems. I must have talked with him for almost 45 min before committing to order. I am glad I did and want to give a shout out to Pat and his skills.
If you are looking for 914 brakes here is Pats contact info.
Automotive Brake Solutions in Long Beach, Ca. (310) 947-7014

I will be returning the other calipers to Pelican.

[Brian Fuerbach]

Today UPS delivered a box of calipers I ordered from a different supplier that I had found locally. Just opened the box and I can honestly say these are what I expect from a rebuilder. They are cad plated and the machined surfaces are just as they should be. They have “new” chrome pistons and came with all new hardware, pins, clips, bleeders, caps and retainers. They look brand new. The owner Pat is great to talk with and has tremendous knowledge regarding braking systems. I must have talked with him for almost 45 min before committing to order. I am glad I did and want to give a shout out to Pat and his skills.
If you are looking for 914 brakes here is Pats contact info.
Automotive Brake Solutions in Long Beach, Ca. (310) 947-7014

I will be returning the other calipers to Pelican.

Picture

[Brian Fuerbach]

Hardware

[barnfind9141972]

Hardware

Pat is the man, I have front and rear calipers from him including pads and hoses. They are awesome and have had zero issues after driving

[PatMc]

Hardware

Pat is the man, I have front and rear calipers from him including pads and hoses. They are awesome and have had zero issues after driving

Thanks for the kind words. Most people call me something else lol

[Brian Fuerbach]

Hardware

Pat is the man, I have front and rear calipers from him including pads and hoses. They are awesome and have had zero issues after driving

I plan on doing the fronts also, just not a current priority. Maybe during next pad change.

[rjames]

The new ones look great! I love seeing that new bleeders were included instead of cleaning up and reusing the old ones, which in at least one instance that I'm aware of, led to one snapping in half in the caliper when tightening. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Spoke]

Your latest set looks great. The first set looks like a rock formation on the side of a mountain.

[Brian Fuerbach]

Your latest set looks great. The first set looks like a rock formation on the side of a mountain.

LMFAO (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[Eric_Shea]

Very disappointed when I received 2 rebuilt calipers and one obviously had some considerable corrosion before being restored. After cad plating it looks like a gold nugget. The pad resting areas are extremely pitted and uneven. Pads move a lot more in the caliper than in my original calipers. Will this lead to any issues if I decide to use them?

I would be very disappointed as well Brian. Very sorry for the mix-up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

That is a "B-Stock Blowout" caliper that appears to either have been put on the wrong inventory shelf or pulled from the wrong inventory shelf. We restore thousands of calipers per year and quite often, these are the cores we are left with. Usually we can make lemonade out of lemons by selling these calipers for a fraction of the price, (this caliper would sell for roughly $40.00 in the open market. Still having "excellent" internals (to answer that question) otherwise they would be thrown out for metal scrap. How they ended up in your hands is a mystery that we've struggled with all day yesterday. The two inventory shelves are on top of one another so... we assuming that's how it happened in haste to get the order out the door to Pelican. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please stand by as our team has a care package coming your way. We know it takes time and effort to deal with a situation like that so I've put a little something in the mail to reduce the sting.

Hopefully it's not how far we fall but how high we bounce. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

As you can tell from my screen name, I'm Eric Shea. I founded PMB Performance in the winter break of 2004-2005 right here in the pages of 914World. I'm also an admin here who assisted Andy, Mark, Gint, and others in creating 914World as we know it. I'm extremely proud of my involvement here and extremely grateful for Andy and others for making this the most badass place for 914 lovers ON THE PLANET. Fun fact; I was in the Music Industry at the time working as the Associate Publisher for Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines. One of our biggest competitors was "Guitar World" and I always thought that was a great name. It encompassed the "World-Wide" aspect of what we were trying to do. The suggestion stuck. Now you know the rest of the story.

I have 19,115 posts as of this writing. Learning, living, loving and helping all things 914 in these forums. I'm hosting Red Rocks Classic this year and 914's are a "Vital" part of our shop and our existence. We're the number one caliper restoration facility in the world because of you. We restore calipers for Porsche Classic, Mercedes Benz USA and countless others... all because of a small thread in the Vendor forum here. I thank you. We're the largest supplier of 5-lug conversion kits to the market. We make and supply countless specialty items for our cars. I own 3 914's and 914-6 variants (6 if you include the parts cars (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ). It's safe to say I eat, live and breath 914. To see a thread where we've disappointed a fellow 914 owner is, frankly, quite devastating to me personally.

I want to thank the members in this thread for not throwing me under the bus, as the urge to trash a vendor is strong. Brian exercised great restraint in his post as did many of you. The fact is, that caliper did slip out of our facility in an A-Stock box. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

This is my "Breakwerks" team. Each and every one of them came out in the parking lot and stood behind our product and I stand behind them. If you'll notice, each one is a human being. All capable of making a mistake. That said, I'm proud of them and I love them like the family we are here on 914World. Will they make more mistakes? Many! As will I, every single day. Their faces told the story when I showed them your thread. They care. We've disappointed a customer. Not an overly exciting day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)



We've taken measures internally so a caliper of this caliber never gets in a box destined for a A-Stock order again. I've reached out to Pelican Parts to rectify this as well. We've even questioned the practice of putting our name on "B-Stock Blowouts" moving forward.

This is a pair of A-Stock 914 rear calipers that I pulled off the shipping shelf and it is indicative of the quality of the products we sell day in, day out whether it's a 914 or a factory 917. You all get the quality that has delivered both Pebble Beach and Amelia Island podium finishes. Rest assured.



Brian, thanks for posting this thread. Call us if you ever have an issue we my company again. Holly is "amazing" at taking care of customer issues. Van, thanks for pointing me to the thread. With the daily business grind and Red Rocks 2022 looming on the horizon, I don't get out much these days. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[Van B]

Eric, Thank you for speaking up. If I'm honest, seeing that part stopped me in my tracks regarding my plan to send you my 996 and 914 calipers. I couldn't get my head around why a caliper so eaten up would be restored even if the internals functioned. What I mean is, I wasn't confused how that caliper got pulled from a shelf. Rather, I was confused why it wasn't harvested of parts and then thrown in the trash right away.

My opinion is that the 914 has arrived as a legit classic Porsche and I just don't think there is a market for that kind of part anymore. You know better though, since customers are calling you, not me.

I definitely wish you'd been quicker to respond, but ultimately, I'm thankful you have; and how you have. Your response is very important for customer confidence, and it was on the money. So, thank you again.

[Superhawk996]

@Eric_Shea

That response / apology should be a MBA case study in the proper way to conduct business and to respond to a legitimate customer concern.

It seems to me that you clearly are evaluating how this happened internal to your own inventory and shipment processes. More importantly, how to prevent a reoccurrence. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif) This is behavior that should be benchmarked by all others.

I applaud you Eric. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)