Mark DeBernardi Original Customs, What ever happened to Mark? Options

[Boston Tom]

What ever happened to Mark DeBernardi and Original Customs?

Thanks,

Tom

[VaccaRabite]

He moved out of California and does other things now. Last I talked to him he was more interested in 2002s.

Zach

[ConeDodger]

I talk to him or text fairly often. He lives in Michigan. He still has his 914 turbo. It isn’t so much that he is ‘in’ to 2002’s. He has a customer that he built a car for and the guy keeps changing what he wants done so it has become the perpetual project. He also has SirAndy’s real 6 project but I think he is trying to ‘do less’ as far as Original Customs is concerned.

Curious or just wondering what he is up to?

[Boston Tom]

I talk to him or text fairly often. He lives in Michigan. He still has his 914 turbo. It isn’t so much that he is ‘in’ to 2002’s. He has a customer that he built a car for and the guy keeps changing what he wants done so it has become the perpetual project. He also has SirAndy’s real 6 project but I think he is trying to ‘do less’ as far as Original Customs is concerned.

Curious or just wondering what he is up to?

He did a 2056 for me in 2016-17. Was fine. Sold the car in'25, new owner took it to a specialist who said whoever did the motor didn't know what he was doing and charged him a fortune to turn it into a large displacement 4. Now he's mad at me.

Whatta' ya gonna do??

[rudedude]

I’d like to hear more of this “specialist”

[VaccaRabite]

Mark built a fine engine. The specialist is dumb. 2056 is a delightful engine in a 914.

Zach

[rick 918-S]

Mark is the specialist. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/burger.gif) Obviously the guy can't possibly know what he has or how to tune it.

[Cairo94507]

@SirAndy - Jesus, I forgot all about Andy's 6; how is that progressing? Cheers, Michael (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[ConeDodger]

I talk to him or text fairly often. He lives in Michigan. He still has his 914 turbo. It isn’t so much that he is ‘in’ to 2002’s. He has a customer that he built a car for and the guy keeps changing what he wants done so it has become the perpetual project. He also has SirAndy’s real 6 project but I think he is trying to ‘do less’ as far as Original Customs is concerned.

Curious or just wondering what he is up to?

He did a 2056 for me in 2016-17. Was fine. Sold the car in'25, new owner took it to a specialist who said whoever did the motor didn't know what he was doing and charged him a fortune to turn it into a large displacement 4. Now he's mad at me.

Whatta' ya gonna do??

Sorry Tom,
But I have to tell you, I’m not even going to bother Mark about that. Mark has built many engines. He IS the specialist. The Type 4 motors I see blow up have all been north of 2056. I would say that the 2056 is the safest up sized Type 4 in existence.
What I’m not hearing is that there was ever a problem with the 2056.

I’d bet this new owner has just been handed a grenade. As long as he doesn’t drive it, it probably won’t blow up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Chris914n6]

I talk to him or text fairly often. He lives in Michigan. He still has his 914 turbo. It isn’t so much that he is ‘in’ to 2002’s. He has a customer that he built a car for and the guy keeps changing what he wants done so it has become the perpetual project. He also has SirAndy’s real 6 project but I think he is trying to ‘do less’ as far as Original Customs is concerned.

Curious or just wondering what he is up to?

Talk him into finishing the 'limo' (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/yellowsleep[1].gif)

[76-914]

Mark is the specialist. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/burger.gif) Obviously the guy can't possibly know what he has or how to tune it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I never heard a bad word about Mark and I wouldn't listen to a guy I never heard of either.

[enf2232]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

[enf2232]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

[enf2232]

Don't know what happened with the double post.

[SirAndy]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

Are you saying Mark did your engine?

I'm confused ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[enf2232]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

Are you saying Mark did your engine?

I'm confused ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Yes.

[ConeDodger]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

Are you saying Mark did your engine?

I'm confused ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Some hard realities that Mark dealt with: if, you build an engine for a customer, you are using @50 year old parts. In some cases, you put it on a crate and send it across the country so the owner can bolt on the peripherals which are dubious and run the bad gas from two years ago. Then when it runs bad, blame the engine builder.

There are a handful of us who could call Mark about this. I will not be doing that. i hope no one else does either. I worked right alongside of Mark to build my car. I know what kind of work he does/did.

[Superhawk996]

Lots of blame here with no documentation of said claims nor any mention of who these shops are making the claims.

There are some jobs that no matter who worked on it, the next guy working on it will tell you the first guy had no idea what they were doing (trades, software, medical, etc.).

Short story:

I once had a car I was selling. Went on the test drive with him. Guy had no idea how to drive a manual. Constantly in too high of a gear and lugging the engine mercilessly to the point that I could hear detonation & knocking. Complains about poor acceleration. I kept telling him to downshift before trying to accelerate wide open throttle. He didn’t.

He bought the car anyway.

6 months later the engine quit.

Heard later through friends in contact with him what a POS I was for selling him that car with a bad engine. I can guarantee that prolonged lugging & detonation was the reason that engine died a premature death.

Food for thought:

There is a reason Raby doesn’t post & share here much anymore. There is a reason why he now only sells high end, fully complete, fully broken in, dyno tuned engines with a disclaimer about installation & added accessories.

[rick 918-S]

I have had a similar experience to what Boston Tom described. Engine was "rebuilt" just prior to COVID. 1.7 with a bump in displacement. Car ran ok for a very short time then quit. COVID hit and it sat. Now I am in the process of having it sorted and the technician said practically the same thing. Was not impressed at all with the quality of the work.

Now paying good money after bad to have the work redone.

Are you saying Mark did your engine?

I'm confused ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Some hard realities that Mark dealt with: if, you build an engine for a customer, you are using @50 year old parts. In some cases, you put it on a crate and send it across the country so the owner can bolt on the peripherals which are dubious and run the bad gas from two years ago. Then when it runs bad, blame the engine builder.

There are a handful of us who could call Mark about this. I will not be doing that. i hope no one else does either. I worked right alongside of Mark to build my car. I know what kind of work he does/did.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Zero details about what happened to either engine. Was it overheated, run lean, timed incorrectly, Valves not checked after the first run in... All things out of the builders control and will kill an air cooled engine quickly. No mention of any conversation with Mark to see if he had an opportunity to review the issue and either make corrections or determine if it was even related to what he did.

My Dad used to say: The car ran great when it left, Then the owner brought it to be checked out by all the experts....

[emerygt350]

I have spent two years tuning the 2056 I built, racing it, driving it 20,000 miles. If some noob had bought it, it would have grenaded. And I am not a skilled engine builder. I did stay at a motel 6 the other day.