Autocraft / RND

[S6PNJ]

Without wishing to get into a whole heap of mess and trouble, I was reading a thread on here (no links but I'm sure you'll guess which it was) and wanted to know more about a company referred to as RND.

So Google being my friend I looked them up and found their website. After a quick peruse, I found some pages referring to Autocraft mouldings on the camshaft and on the drawings etc.

So my question is - are RND what became of Autocraft, or are they completely separate companies and are just using (though licensed) old Autocraft drawings and components? From what I can make out, they seem to be one and the same and I'm just seeking clarification as I may be needing an engine rebuild at some point in the future (worn valve guides at the moment) and I want to know what my options are.

[RedSpike66]

PH member dpd3047 seems to have close links with RND. There was a feature in Sprint a few months ago about how they own all the Melling blueprints, and therefore the IP, for the original Melling SP6, and all the specification changes they have made from TVR originals to bring back to Melling spec for finger followers, cams, valves, guides etc. etc. along with proper hardening of surfaces and cross bolting of the crankcase etc.

I have no personal experience of them myself, just what I've read and heard.

I think there is a link between Autodraft, dpd3047, and RND, and as we all know, anyone can make mistakes, go bust, leave customer high and dry etc. etc. but it's whether they learn their lessons and start up again as a trustworthy company ! That's the big 'IF' here I would imagine.

I think clive f has put their GT cams in his Sag and seems quite happy with them so far.

Read the end of this thread too....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by RedSpike66 on Thursday 26th July 17:11

[S6PNJ]

Thanks for the info and links Spike, yes that is the thread that prompted my question!

[coco79]

I have approached RND for my rebuild, they seem to offer good value for money and a warranty too..mine should be going in later next week.

[RedSpike66]

Including RND, you have Racing Green, Str8Six and TVR Power, all offering fully warranted rebuilds today. Several other independent TVR garages will also offer you very high quality rebuilds using TVR Power components, like TrackVRoad, so there is plenty of choice.

You might want to talk to at least three before you decide, as they all offer different product with different engine sizes, bhp/torque characteristics etc.

[V8 GRF]

RedSpike66 said:

PH member dpd3047 seems to have close links with RND. There was a feature in Sprint a few months ago about how they own all the Melling blueprints, and therefore the IP, for the original Melling SP6, and all the specification changes they have made from TVR originals to bring back to Melling spec for finger followers, cams, valves, guides etc. etc. along with proper hardening of surfaces and cross bolting of the crankcase etc.

I have no personal experience of them myself, just what I've read and heard.

I think there is a link between Autocraft, dpd3047, and RND, and as we all know, anyone can make mistakes, go bust, leave customer high and dry etc. etc. but it's whether they learn their lessons and start up again as a trustworthy company ! That's the big 'IF' here I would imagine.

I think clive f has put their GT cams in his Sag and seems quite happy with them so far.

Read the end of this thread too....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

dpd3047 is indeed Dave Davis of RND engineering formerly of Autocraft and I wrote the article in Sprint referred to above in association with Dave, a few customers and with some independant engineering input.

If you have several spare hours then you can search back to find a VERY edited thread about one man's experience that if iirc was more or less solely responsible for the introduction of the N&S rule on here. There were issues and DD recognises that but he was torn to shreds on here and that imo is wrong on what was just one persons poor experiences, as we all know there are always two sides to every story. If you look at RNDs site as linked to above he had plenty of satisfied customers before all that and is now back producing re-engineered parts for the Speed 6 that have plenty of satisfied customers. (Check out the thread linked to above and several others)

He may not have the glossy website and profiles of other well known businesses but from what I've heard and seen he knows his stuff and provides a good solid alternative to those who perhaps want to do the work themselves or just an alternative to the three companies mentioned.

Edited by V8 GRF on Thursday 26th July 17:54

[RedSpike66]

V8 GRF said:

RedSpike66 said:

PH member dpd3047 seems to have close links with RND. There was a feature in Sprint a few months ago about how they own all the Melling blueprints, and therefore the IP, for the original Melling SP6, and all the specification changes they have made from TVR originals to bring back to Melling spec for finger followers, cams, valves, guides etc. etc. along with proper hardening of surfaces and cross bolting of the crankcase etc.

I have no personal experience of them myself, just what I've read and heard.

I think there is a link between Autocraft, dpd3047, and RND, and as we all know, anyone can make mistakes, go bust, leave customer high and dry etc. etc. but it's whether they learn their lessons and start up again as a trustworthy company ! That's the big 'IF' here I would imagine.

I think clive f has put their GT cams in his Sag and seems quite happy with them so far.

Read the end of this thread too....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

dpd3047 is indeed Dave Davis of RND engineering formerly of Autocraft and I wrote the article in Sprint referred to above in association with Dave, a few customers and with some independant engineering input.

If you have several spare hours then you can search back to find a VERY edited thread about one man's experience that if iirc was more or less solely responsible for the introduction of the N&S rule on here. There were issues and DD recognises that but he was torn to shreds on here and that imo is wrong on what was just one persons poor experiences, as we all know there are always two sides to every story. If you look at RNDs site as linked to above he had plenty of satisfied customers before all that and is now back producing re-engineered parts for the Speed 6 that have plenty of satisfied customers. (Check out the thread linked to above and several others)

He may not have the glossy website and profiles of other well known businesses but from what I've heard and seen he knows his stuff and provides a good solid alternative to those who perhaps want to do the work themselves or just an alternative to the three companies mentioned.

Edited by V8 GRF on Thursday 26th July 17:54

Spot on Dave.

You have to try to speak to as many people as you can, and if you end up with 9 very happy customers and 1 unhappy one, then that is probably the norm (just look at Trip Advisor where hotels fantastically reviewed by nearly everyone all round the world who have stayed there have one in every hundred reviews who absolutely slates them.)

Only people's real experiences can be taken into account for you to make an informed decision, aswell as talking to the vendor/owner and determining whether you feel you can trust them.

[DAVEY DEE]

I've read both Sprint articles,the website over & over as well as all the threads & I like it.I'm saving up the funds at the mo,but RND is where I'll be taking mine when the time comes.I like the way the are going back to the original ideas,but if I'm honest,I like the fact I won't be dropping it off expecting a bill for 5 & half grand & then picking it up with a bill for 8 & half!.

I feel I'd be getting much better value for my hard earned( & even harder saved) & I for one can't afford to go to Power or Racing Green with an open cheque book.The "big" companies have excellent products but with big reputations comes big bills.

My perception,Is that as RND are relatively less well known their reputation has not had chance to grow,& with 3 or 4 well established players,people "play safe".When I first started looking into them nearly a year ago now,not many peopl could offer opinion,but that seems to be changing.

As I said,I like what they're doing & Dave has been very helpful & not at all pushy,and I can't wait to take it down to him coz I'm sulking like a little kid while she's off the road.

[Whitey]

Well, from memory, it was certainly more than one customer of Autocraft that was not happy.

[TOV!E]

Whitey said:

Well, from memory, it was certainly more than one customer of Autocraft that was not happy.

Ditto, and did not the costs come to over £30 grand and a fked engine, i think this happened to 3 or more people........

[TVR_owner]

To be fair, I thought the article in Sprint, whilst very informative lacked a little... cough... disclosure.

Articles in Sprint are for the prime benefit of the member and I thought the lack of "other information" was frankly quite misleading.

That said, if a corner has been turned, then another quailty outlet has to be good for the owners,

[V8 GRF]

TVR_owner said:

To be fair, I thought the article in Sprint, whilst very informative lacked a little... cough... disclosure.

There was more that could have been disclosed.......... but you know how things are......!

[TVR_owner]

V8 GRF said:

But you know how things are......!

On a good day I know how things are, on a bad day I dont know which one of the 7 days it is

Thought I may have seen you at Sillystone last weekend?

[V8 GRF]

TOV!E said:

Whitey said:

Well, from memory, it was certainly more than one customer of Autocraft that was not happy.

Ditto, and did not the costs come to over £30 grand and a fked engine, i think this happened to 3 or more people........

The thread I referred to was based on one man's experience and was one sided as it didn't tell the full story. I don't think that there's ever been a denial of mistakes being made but I'd suggest that every business makes mistakes as there's more than one tale of expensive and fruitless attempts to sort engines but for some reason this one isn't let lie.

Let's face it the real villian of this piece is TVR and the poor quality of the engine components that they unleashed on their unsuspecting customers. As Power, RG, Str8six, RND and others have proved since there's nothing inherently wrong with the basic design just the implementation.

[PetrolHeadPete]

My view, for what's it worth...is that lessons have been learnt and having spoken to Dave on numerous occasions things are *never* as simple as they seem. Talk to him, you'll be surprised.

RND "new" approach is back to basics, keep it simple and supply good quality parts + honest advice.

Not to mention good value.

They get my vote. But...you pays your money, and takes your choice.

[m4tti]

Hi Pete,

Could you give us an update as to how your car is running now post head swap please.

RND do seem to be good value.

[PetrolHeadPete]

Running really well

I checked valve clearances at about 1K after rebuild and condition of cam faces etc.
All looks A-ok
Just done an oil change and oil was pretty good

Unrelated but been busy "fettling" recently...some mods to the throttle bodies to improve the linkages/get rid of one pot and also added oil catch tank to take the oil breather away from the airbox...finally rid of the oil vapour entering the fuel mix
Means I keep a close eye on how it runs. Overall, very happy.

[tail slide]

Whitey said:

Well, from memory, it was certainly more than one customer of Autocraft that was not happy.

Me. He said at the time that his mechanics were the ones that messed up the engine build, which may be the case. I then went to another TVR specialist who talked the talk but re-built the engine 5 times! S6's are great engines but need extreme care with tolerances and build compared to an RV8/Chevy.

STR8SIX's engine has been perfect for nearing 20k now, and a lot of track time.

[crypto]

tail slide said:

Me. He said at the time that his mechanics were the ones that messed up the engine build, which may be the case. I then went to another TVR specialist who talked the talk but re-built the engine 5 times! S6's are great engines but need extreme care with tolerances and build compared to an RV8/Chevy.

STR8SIX's engine has been perfect for nearing 20k now, and a lot of track time.

It would be an interesting chart with the above mentioned big players and people judging the quality of their rebuilds (or repair of the rebuild). But this would probably be against the forum rules ...

However, I think all of the big players are competent and can provide good rebuilds. But faults happen in every company and it's the warranty that separates the wheat from the chaff. And I not necessarly mean x-miles or x-years warranty but the attitude of the person/company having done the rebuild and how the customer is approched in case of a problem after the rebuild.

I know str-8-six has a very good reputation here but they lack (in my opinion) how they handle customers with (repeated) repairs of a rebuild. I'm disappointed and I miss the "proudly built in britain" attitude.

(And rebuilding an engine 5 times doesn't really speak for this builder )

[schnecker]

crypto said:

tail slide said:

Me. He said at the time that his mechanics were the ones that messed up the engine build, which may be the case. I then went to another TVR specialist who talked the talk but re-built the engine 5 times! S6's are great engines but need extreme care with tolerances and build compared to an RV8/Chevy.

STR8SIX's engine has been perfect for nearing 20k now, and a lot of track time.

It would be an interesting chart with the above mentioned big players and people judging the quality of their rebuilds (or repair of the rebuild). But this would probably be against the forum rules ...

However, I think all of the big players are competent and can provide good rebuilds. But faults happen in every company and it's the warranty that separates the wheat from the chaff. And I not necessarly mean x-miles or x-years warranty but the attitude of the person/company having done the rebuild and how the customer is approched in case of a problem after the rebuild.

I know str-8-six has a very good reputation here but they lack (in my opinion) how they handle customers with (repeated) repairs of a rebuild. I'm disappointed and I miss the "proudly built in britain" attitude.

(And rebuilding an engine 5 times doesn't really speak for this builder )

I think you will find it wasn't str8six that had to rebuild his engine 5 times. But a company that was in the south west.