Originally posted by fst951
Did Rob get you too Steve M928?

Originally posted by RACR ACE

My collection of expensive cars speaks for itself.
Sincerely,

Eric Munck

Attention Eric Munck followers:

I am the owner of the black 928 GTS. I shipped my car from West Kentucky to Eric in California. Here is an update on my car since I hauled it home from Eric's shop.

I thought Munck had done a great job in adding a supercharger to my car. The engine looked great with the powder coating, colored vacuum lines, hoses, polished supercharger, tubing, etc...But as we all know, beauty is only skin deep. Here is a list of just some of the things I have had to address.

#1 The car ran hot after it was driven 20 to 25 miles. Why? The after market oil cooler covered half of the front of the radiator; the stock radiator fans were replaced with a Mickey Mouse 12" fan that - at best - produced 1200 cfm (this won't cool a 5.4L engine with a 10.5:1 compression ratio); a tranny cooler was also mounted on the new Devek radiator. A T type supercharger was installed instead of an S type. I believe the larger T type charger contributed to the overheating also. It was installed in such a way that the inlet pipe to the supercharger rubbed a hole in the new radiator after driving it only a couple of hundred miles.

#2 There were numerous oil leaks on the oil cooler and oil lines. Both cam covers had to be removed and new gaskets installed (this was fun).

#3 I had the pleasure of putting the AC condenser on and getting the AC going again. A considerable amount of mods had to be done to get this all worked out.

#4 Eric had removed the rack & pinion to put a new gasket on the oil pan. The steering wheel was off 90 degrees. I had to take my car to an alignment shop to fix this problem. I paid Eric $200 for an alignment to be done in California. If this was done, they didn't know what in the hell they were doing!

Enough about the problems (there are more). In my first conversation with Eric, he informed me that he had worked for Porsche in Germany for something like 6 or 8 years. I guess I should have asked him if they taught him anything. He also informed me that he had a state of the art shop that was kept immaculately clean and was even equipped with a dyno. When I picked up my car, I failed to see a dyno in his cluttered shop. I would not recommend that you eat off the floor. I also noticed that when he went to raise my car on his lift, he had to go outside and start a portable generator to provide electricity for the lift.

I failed to pick up some of the parts that were removed from my car, such as a complete air breather system, both exhaust manifolds, oil and tranny coolers, front fender liners, and the correct fuel injectors. I called Eric the next day after getting back from California and asked him to send me the parts. He said the exhaust manifolds would make good boat anchors, but he would send them and the rest of the parts immediately. As the weeks went by, I failed to receive my parts and made several attempts by phone, and e-mail requesting that he ship my parts. Eric never answered or acknowledged my requests. As of this date, I have not received the parts. However, he did call me during the week of September 16, 2002, and told me he had heard that I was having trouble with my car (I nearly cracked up) and offered his assistance. I informed him that I had all of his assistance I could afford and told him that he made a total mess of my car. Nothing he put on it worked as it was supposed to. I told him that if he wished to help me, he could send me the parts I failed to pick up in May. He pretended to act surprised that I had not received the parts and promised to get right on it and that he had told one of his staff (of two) to send me my parts. There must be poor communication between the staff and the boss. I cannot call him a thief because I'm sure he'll send the parts any day now.

Eric received my car and the first of five payments for his services on September 1, 2001. I picked my car up during the first week in May 2002. I will not say how much the total bill was because I don't want to make you all cry. The first day that we arrived at Munck's shop, my car was high on the lift with Munck on a stepladder and another man inside the car working, trying to get it ready; it was not finished as promised (again). Although there were handshakes all around, there was tension in the air because the car was not finished. Munck wanted to take the car to the California Speedway on May 18 & 19 for a Porsche event. Keith Widom of SOCAL 928 had contacted me about this on Eric's behalf just days before I left for California. Also, there was to be an article written about the car and published in Excellence magazine. A meeting was previously scheduled with the editor, Pete Stout, to do the article about my car and the photo shoot. Although I would like to have seen an article about my car in the magazine, I told Munck that my car was going nowhere but Kentucky as my car had been in California long enough. I felt like this situation added more fuel to the fire. The next day, I talked to a deputy sheriff because I felt like there could be trouble when I returned to get my car. The deputy gave me a phone number to call in case of trouble, which turned out to be unnecessary. Maybe I didn't give Munck enough time to do this work for me; after all, he only had my car for 8 1/2 months!

There is much more to this story. I can be reached at dsarten@apex.net.

The moral of the story: Don't send your 928 2,000 miles from home to be modified by someone you fail to check out. You could be lied to and taken advantage of.

Good luck to the man with the white GTS!

David H. Sarten
1993 Black 928 GTS

PS. I just feel lucky to have my car back.

Last summer, I had the misfortune of blowing a thrust bearing and screwing up a motor on my 928S4. After considering my options, it seemed that an engine transplant was in order. I was approached by Eric Munck (Projekt928.com) on the SoCal 928 board. He told me that he had a S4 motor (acquired from 928 International) in his shop that he could install. I even received a positive recommendation from a SoCal 928 member that was familiar with Mr. Munck. I decided to go with his engine and install. Keep in mind this was last summer before the posts regarding the black GTS and white GTS cars hit these boards. I had my car delivered to him. I went to his shop. He showed me a white GTS that he was going to supercharge. I also saw the black GTS that had the burned up motor. He explained that to me but I don’t recall the details of it. I gave him a deposit to start the job with the balance due upon completion.

After a few months, the stories erupted about the botched supercharger episodes with the black and white GTS’s. He called me very upset. I believe he was worried that I would pull my car. He explained that those were SC issues and that my car would be perfect. I told him that I was not concerned about other cars and that I wanted mine done correctly. I explained to him that I would post my experience with him when all was said and done. I hoped that he would use my car as his opportunity to set his record straight.

After numerous calls, emails, broken deadlines, much trouble shooting on his part, Mr. Munck informed that the car was ready. Well, six months after delivery (February, 2003), I went to pick up my car after he informed me that it was “running great.”

The car was anything but “running great.” The car stumbled when taking off from a stop. It shifted roughly. It was running hot. It was extremely difficult to start cold. There was a transmission fluid leak. Also, there were missing parts. These included a missing front spoiler, belly pans, spare tire cover, wheel locks. There also was a hose that was not connected. Mr. Munck had very poor excuses for what was causing the problems. He even told me that the transmission shifting problems would clear up after driving it for a while. Some of this was noted after I got the car home. He had the nerve ask me, “aside from those problems, isn’t the car running great?” (Also, I noticed that the white GTS that was to be supercharged was still there but up on the lift sans engine this time.)

I informed Mr. Munck that I was not satisfied with the vehicle and did not believe that he was capable of properly completely the job. I also informed him that I had stopped payment on the check that I gave him. I told him that I wished to have another mechanic inspect the car. Mr. Munck said that he did not want to work on the car anymore and was more than happy to have it taken to another mechanic. He was curious as to what was causing the problems. We both agreed that the car would be taken to Precision Motorwerks. Precision was a highly recommended shop in Anaheim that was known for fixing problems created by other mechanics.

During a conversation with Mr. Munck I asked him a few pointed questions. Mr. Munck claims to have never applied or obtained a license from the California Bureau of Automotive Repair. Mr. Munck does not have the Bosch System Tester diagnostic equipment (Hammer). He tried to borrow or rent one but was unable to acquire access to it. Mr. Munck also claims that he is not in business and that he only works on cars as hobby. It should be noted that Mr. Munck operates to websites dedicated to the solicitation of customers for the supercharging of 928s and Hummer 2s and has employees.

The following is a list of most of the noted issues with the vehicle provided by Precision Motorwerks:
·1/8” gap between torque tube and transmission. This was a result of incorrect hardware (bolts to short and not screwed in all the way).
·Motor mount safety discs missing.
·Temperature sensor not connected.
·Bolts missing from on left suspension cover
·Belt tensioner nut loose. The screw is turned in very far.
·Tensioner had no oil in it.
·Transmission wiring all “wadded” up. Not secured or routed correctly
·Orange silicone all over starter motor connections.
·Coil ground wires incorrect. Driver’s side not even attached. Passenger side not connected to proper spot.
·Power wire on left front ABS not properly routed or secured. The wire is crammed against a metal bracket and is being rubbed through.
·Lifting hook for engine missing on right side. The left side has the right side’s lifting hook (where the coil ground wire should go). The left side is not present.
·Exhaust pipe supports (from engine to pipe) missing on right and left side.
·Water crossover bolt loose on left front. Knock sensor bracket missing.
·Cam timing on the 1-4 side is set to .51 mm. The specification is 1.8mm +/-.1mm.
·Cam timing on the 5-8 side is set to 2.78 mm. The specification is 2.0 mm +/-.1mm.
·Ignition cap on the 5-8 side has a huge crack in it.
·Oil line from the engine to the radiator is almost kinked completely closed.
·Mount for fuel line and clamp near cylinder #1 missing.
·Both knock sensors mounted incorrectly. The two brackets for the front knock sensor are missing.
·Virtually none of the vacuum lines or breather lines were properly connected.
·When the engine was put back together, there was silicone sealer user everywhere (except where it should have been).
·Engine oil fill and breather leaking oil into block area where the intake manifold sits. There was no silicone at this junction.
·Silicone around/in injectors. There is silicone inside the fuel rails and the injectors have silicone inside of them.
·The injectors are a Ford part.
·Bolt for fuel pressure regulator loose. Wiring to crank trigger beyond repair.
·Engine overheat sensors (for exhaust temperature) not connected.
·The butterfly inside the intake manifold is missing (not re-installed after the manifold was powder coated). The missing butterfly will cause a loss of 40-50 ft. lbs. of torque below 3,500 rpm.
·Intake manifold gasket locators installed upside down.
·Missing bolt in the steering rack support plate.

That was not an all-inclusive list of the problems. The list was pages. There was incorrect hardware uses in several places. Some of the removed bolts had ruined threads. Plus, I did not post the comments from the guys at Precision. They had nothing nice to say about Mr. Munck’s work. Basically, they had to undo most of what Mr. Munck did short of pulling the motor. Keep in mind that Mr. Munck stated that he knew the people at Precision and was more than happy to have the car taken to them.

When asked for, Mr. Munck did ship most of the missing parts to Precision. He also delivered the missing wheel locks (different ones than what I originally had), spare tire cover, front spoiler, and a 944 belly pan (?). I spoke with Mr. Munck one time after the car was assessed by Precision. I asked him about the “work” that he had done. This time, he explained that he had an employee who told him that he was a Porsche trained mechanic that did the work. Mr. Munck later found out that the individual was not properly trained and had to fire him. I asked why he did not notice these problems when he checked over the work on my car. His only response was that he apologized for it. I grew tired of this charade and decided to stop poking holes in his stories at this point. That was the last time I spoke with him.

I picked up the car last week from Precision and it now runs like a new car. I am very pleased with the work done by Precision Motorwerks and give them the highest recommendations.

On the day that I picked up the car he tried to bill me for several thousands of dollars more than what was agreed upon. I flat out told him now that I would only pay for what was previously agreed upon. I was lucky enough to avoid serious financial injury from Mr. Munck because I was able to stop payment on a check. He later agreed to pay for what it would cost to finish the job by Precision. I figured I would then pay Mr. Munck the difference between what I owed him and what it took to get the car running correctly. Well, after receiving the final tab from Precision, the net result for Mr. Munck is not going to make him happy. I have tried to correspond with Mr. Munck regarding this situation via certified mail (return receipt) and he has refused to claim the mail from the post office. I am still considering my options in dealing with Mr. Munck.

The main reasons for my telling to series of events is because I told Mr. Munck that I would do so when this project was complete and I also wished to give another point of reference for those who might inquire about Eric Munck and Projekt928. What is very distubing, is that Mr. Munck was fully aware that I was going closely look at the finished work and post the results of what occured. This was a chance for a best effort from him.

In my opinion, Mr. Munck clearly lacks the technical expertise, the attention to detail, the proper diagnostic equipment, and moral scruples to run a business and properly work on Porsche 928s, particularly, the S4 and above models. Additionally, he is non-licensed and employees untrained mechanics. This opinion is based upon his sloppy "work," statement made by him to me, along with verbal and written misrepresntations that he made to me regarding my car. My car was presented in an unsafe, not fully assembled, poorly working condition.

I was lucky and have learned one helluva lot from this experience. I hope others learn from it as well. I know this was long and I tried to leave out some of the less important details. Feel free to ask any questions.

To the Moderators: Sorry, I didn’t really want to start another big Munck post, but I felt that I had to let the 928 community know first hand rather than through the grapevine.

__________________
Wade
'89 S4 auto
Gran Prix White
Rennlist Subscriber
SoCal928 Member