My mother was in town from Long Island so we took her out to Todai over at Woodfield.

On the way I popped into Hi Flo's shop, which is in Elk Grove Village, about 18 miles from downtown Chicago. It's a location I know well, since it was the longtime location of Performance Technical Center, which was a Corvette-oriented performance shop.

I talked for a while with Bill, and a few of the guys that work there, that I know from over the years (Max, Paul)...

Now, here is what I am going to do. First off, I co-run a message site for enthusiasts, and Hi Flo is an advertiser and we have no other professional connection to them. That being said, I will give you my thoughts and observations, and please take them as my own opinion ONLY. I am not always right and I am not a shop owner EITHER.

1) Shop has three cars in there from users on this board. I looked over one of them, which is Angelo's car. Very nice. Looked like a complete kit to me, though I did not go over the combo in great detail since I had my wife and son with me. Also saw Greg's (Smearin) car on the lift, and did not have a chance to check it out. My understanding is that he has a single setup, and the car is close to hitting the dyno. The other car was a guy from around here who does not post much. I also saw three Supras, 1 C5, 1 GN, and a few nice cars up front.
2) They have a nice new in-ground Dynojet in the back of the shop.
3) Bill showed me one of the Corvette kits, very nice. He said they have 20 of them. I did not go up to the loft or ask him to show me the kits.
4) I did not see the F-Body kits, Bill and Marko have both told me they are in Elgin in the warehouse. I got the vibe that the pipes just got there in the last week or so.
5) Bill suggested I swing by next week and check out some of the F-Body kits.
---------------------------------------------------------
MY FEELINGS:
-If you want an update, please call Marko. PM me for his cell number if for some reason you don't have it.
-If don't have a kit ordered, just wait and see how it all unfolds.
-I encourage Hi Flo to take some pics of the kits, and the kit on Greg's car, just to calm the villagers. Now if the only way folks are going to calm down is for someone like me to go there and see the kits, well, Marko get 5-6 of the kits over to the shop and then give me a call. If you guys are there late a few nites next week order up two pizzas from Lou Malnatis and get a 2 liter of Coca Cola. I'll come out and take pics. I'll even host them that night. I will be out of town from Saturday until Tuesday nite in Vegas, but can come out after that. If you come out Wed nite, I'll also swing out to Speed Inc. and take pics of LastLS1's car, I'm mostly jealous.
-My honest sense of when these F-Body kits will ship is something like this... I'm thinking if the pipes are not coated, and say Hi Flo uses a local coater, we are talking like 3 weeks from today or later before kits will ship. If you are an early deposit, it would make sense to me that you should get a kit in a month. If you can't get one in 4 weeks, I don't understand what the delay is for.
-Hi Flo has said anyone who just can't wait anymore should contact them for a refund. The offer still stands.

This is all just my opinion, I am not the founding member of the Turbo Police, but it's clear from this deal and past deals that turbo kits take 6 months to get together, especially if you use outside parties to mass produce piping, and that all turbo guys seem to think that they will deliver products faster.

John

 

good post....im a hi-flo customer...hi-flo has been pretty helpful and good to talk to...however i think some pics ASAP would really calm the nerves of the current customers.... having some pics tonight would be just what the doctor ordered....there is no reason why this couldnt be possible, since they were jsut delivered, and obviously wouldnt be in storage

seems like things are finally movin....but i like the pics idea if u didnt get that feeling already...

if u have not made a deposit on a kit, stay the **** outa this thread, cuz u ******** only disrupt what could have been good, imformative threads in the past...

 

This, IMO, is a must for them. Calling them and asking for an update probably wont tell me anything i dont already know. Those of us who spent our money want to see that something is being done. Comments like this:

really dont help their case, as their shop hasnt made this transition yet. I would like to see that my money has been spent on something other than marko's corvette and 20 corvette kits (unless you're planning on sending one of those to me). Pictures are a must, very, very soon.

 

so we agree, we want pics

PICS DAMN IT, PICS

 

I agree. I told them that several times when I was there.

 

What i want is my ******* turbo kits i have more car parts boxed up in my room than i do in my garage.

Pics would make much more comfortable in this situation though.

 

tell me aobut it....i got my room packed with **** for this years setup...shelves upon shelves filled at my dads shop, my cars all apart...etc..etc. good weather jsut hit, been riding shotty on cruises...gettin REAL pumped to get the show on the road....sold my other setup.... the sooner the better. can i get next day air? lol

 

Why would freshly arrived parts be in storage, when Bill just posted they were unboxing them?
Things that make you go hmmm

 

I had my car completely ready and mostly taken apart, but after a while i said screw this, put it back together, and now i'm driving it again, i even drove to work today. the wait is ridiculous, but when back up with facts it's acceptable. all we have now is excuses and rumors, so i'm pretty pissed. (mostly because of bills comment about the parts being in and how busy they were at the shop, when that obviously wasnt the case.)

 

glad he took the time to address our concerns

 

I was IM'ing with him for a while.

In the end you guys have to make your own decisions.

 

are they planning on doing anything or are they going to continue on with the "**** you all" attitude?

 

Sounds like next week is a big week. I'd say if next Friday rolls around and nothing substantial has happened, well, not sure what to say. You guys need to make a decision at that point, it's your call.

If no kits ship by Easter, folks would certainly be more than justified to ask for refunds.

 

I do not want to derail this thread, but somebody needs to clear out their inbox... I'm relatively new to the board, but already I've seen multiple threads where PSJ has gone out of his way to help board members (e.g. this Hi Flo deal), and I just wanted to say that's seriously cool and will keep me frequenting the board (and of course buying from the supporting vendors ).

 

Ive followed this for a while and been quiet.
I just dont understand their communication. Why arent they posting? whats up with the website? Why isnt their ONE good picture up if the kit is on a car? Its not like they dont know what is being said on these boards, why not clear their name? LOL a 10 word update from bill to address a thread of several pages. why not just tell us whats wrong....people arent stupid.

If its not going to be ready for another month...then say it
so waiting people dont have cars in pieces lying around!
im still rootin for HiFlow ... hope they figure something out
my .02

thx for the effort PSJ.

 

This gives me nasty CAS and INCON flashbacks.

 

Like I said, if folks in that first group are uncomfortable call them up and get a refund going, or get placated. When did this gp start?

 

Uhh what.. THEY HAVE MY CAR.!!!...


I have no idea what you're talking about....

 

PSJ is in on the scam, I can smell it. j/k

I'm dying to see these kits and what they can produce, hopefully soon.

 

I hope for everyones sake that they are telling the truth!!! Even there own!!!