Challenge for Simon Erland

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
61

Uldis,

Lets be perfectly clear here, no-one here is claiming to be an engine God, with one possible exception. The reason Bernard has asked about the engines that Simon has built is because he continually refers to all the engines he has out there, all 100% reliable and all beating all-comers.

Fair enough, he should not put it in that way.



As I remember a conversation with you where I did lose a little patience was when you stripped several threads on your cam cover and inferred it was my fault because you followed the torque settings in the Lotus manual that I had sent you a free copy of.Most people would have stopped after stripping the first one…

I see now the confusion.
The threads were beginning to get stripped, and I was surprised (and pi$$ed off) at myself and the manual, because it said in the Lotus boof to torque them like that. Three were slightly damaged (but not completely stripped) and I re-tapped and used longer bolts.
Still, at not time I menat to imply you had the fault, that would have been ridiculous and unfair. It would make me a definite right tw@t!

And BTW, the manual I bought from Bell & Colville for… (can’t remember, but it was more than 50 quid)
For the record, I have never received anything free from you. Must be confusing me with somebody else.

62

Sorry Uldis,

I sent out over 50 free copies of the CD, I thought you were a recipient…

BTW you did receive some free advice…

Dave

63

No CD.

Yep, thanks for the advice. I did call yu many times so I gess I got more than the normal after sales entitlement

64

Uldis,

Lets be perfectly clear here, no-one here is claiming to be an engine God, with one possible exception. The reason Bernard has asked about the engines that Simon has built is because he continually refers to all the engines he has out there, all 100% reliable and all beating all-comers.

Fair enough, he should not put it in that way.
\

Why should he not put it that way? Because it is untrue?

65

Because it winds up people…

I only smile when he’s over-enthusiastic.
You get wound up.

Guess who’ll have an ulcer first

66

Being over enthusiastic is one thing, lying is another.

So you obviously know the truth of the matter so come on - spill the beans, were are all these engines beating all comers?

Never yet been wound up on a BBS - I might pretend to be but thats wholey different. Surely you can see the difference?

67

Surely you can see the difference?

Nope, because I’ve never met you, and that changes perception and interpretation.

But no, I have no idea on how many engines he’s built, and for who.
I have the impression he posted that in one of the first round of discussions, here on Exiges.

Back in the days when I needed some engine work done I took a gamble with Simon (when there were no references), and it worked out well for me.
But I’ll give you guys one thing, if it was me, I’d probably campaign the K in a slightly different manner.

68



But I’ll give you guys one thing, if it was me, I’d probably campaign the K in a slightly different manner.

IIRC at the start of this erm, saga, Simon mentioned certain engines out there, I don’t recall him claiming to have built them? Certainly, Simon is on a mission and given his Rover connections, that’s understandable. He started down this road when his own rebuilt engine turned out to be a disaster and obviously the deeper he dug, the more worms he uncovered (sit down Scuffham).

It seems to me his detractors are more intent on shooting the messenger than actually listening and taking on board what he’s trying to tell them. Now, things said in conversation can be taken out of context, we are surely all aware of that! Does anyone seriously believe Simon Erland 'phoned and opened with “that Joe Bloggs, he’s a right [censored]” - I don’t think so. (sorry Joe)

Uldis alludes to Simon’s delivery and we’ve been treated to a lecture on Net etiquette from the likes of Steve Butts. I myself, have been accused of “causing mayhem” (by Dave Andrews). Tough, get over it. When you have a strongly-felt belief, you gotta say it. IMO, Simon is obsessive on the K and it’s requirements for power and reliability - and the problem with that?? Isn’t it about time SOMEONE stood up and pointed out the wrongs perpetrated by some well-known tuning companies? Who, I might add, are keeping suspiciously quiet about all this. Yes, Simon may throw a name or two into the argument for support; again, what’s wrong with that?

The main criticim of Simon Erland comes from a very small coterie, who all have self-interest at heart - particularly Scuffham - whose posts on SELOC betray a childishness and paranoia bordering on the psychotic. He is also IMO obsessive about the Honda - I don’t see the brickbats flying in his direction (well, not enough anyway).

I make no apology for mentioning Scuffham, when he has no right of reply; he has his surrogate voices on here who will no doubt offer their opinion, as is their right. The vast majority of K owners are silently waiting in judgement to see if Simon can back up his claims and only engines out on the road/track will do that. He is addressing that requirement as we speak and over the next few months the questions will be answered, I’m sure.

69

321,

“Does anyone seriously believe Simon Erland 'phoned and opened with “that Joe Bloggs, he’s a right [censored]” - I don’t think so. (sorry Joe)”

Yes, that is exactly how it happened, so you need to revise your view. And the name was Steve Butts and the insult was pretty direct. Steve is not the only one he has spouted this garbage about, that is why I no longer consider him a ‘nice guy’ All of these have earned this reaction simply because they do not agree 100% with what simon has to say and have had the temerity to say so. He has tried to rubbish a good number of people that I have the greatest respect for, some that you will be familiar with too, not just the group that you allude to here, he is a nasty piece of work.

As I have said many times, I have no probkem with his views on the engine and have supported him strongly in the past, but I know that he has and still is grubbing around trying to dig up dirt on those he perceives to be his enemies, fortunately I have a large number of contacts out there who have forwarded the details to me verbatim so I know exactly how he operates.

That is one reason I take issue with him.

The other reason is his use of supposition, incorrect information and downright daft assumptions to support some of his more extreme views. When these include incorrect or misleading information then I am duty bound to point this out no matter how it may be perceived by Simon.

If you dont like my postings, get over it. I too am entitled to a point of view, I also speak for a number of others who have no internet presence.

Dave

70

And the name was Steve Butts and the insult was pretty direct.

Dave

Pffft - if Mr Butts’ name came up in a conversation of mine, I would probably use the “C” word too! Fortunately, he doesn’t register a blip on my radar so…moving on. It’s down to personalities and what’s deemed acceptable conduct?

Quote from Scuffham to me (from SELOC): “Now, unless you have something positive to say, I suggest you fcuk off back to wherever you came from and STFU”. Sticks and stones etc. The results will speak for themselves.

71

The main criticim of Simon Erland comes from a very small coterie

Perhaps, but his proponents seem to be even fewer in number and with less “established” reputations.

Any danger that this thread will get back on topic (namely answering the questions posed to Simon (aka Lord Lucan))

72

You’ll soon find he has more support than you think on here but given the flak flying around and the way things get personal very quickly, I don’t blame them for merely observing.

73

The funny thing is, I actually hope you’re right.

I would wholeheartedly like to see that he’s built some good, powerful, reliable engines for people and has a list of happy “customers” and can mention fellow tuners who admire his work.

I think we would all like to see this, particularly K-owners out there. It just hasn’t happened yet…

Rather than alluding to “silent” majority who have not come forward, I would like to see real posts. Like we would like to see real engines and real answers.

74

The funny thing is, I actually hope you’re right.

But it’s not funny - at all. Think of the timescale Simon Erland has had to work within. Once he set off down the road of investigating just what was wrong in the tuning world vis-a-vis K-Series engines, he then had to collate all the information available, decide on the correct course(s)of action and find people who had the knowledge and machinery to bring his ideas to the metal. Now , it wouldn’t take long for the tuning world to find out about this individual enquiring into their domain and yes, I’m sure a few noses were put out of joint. Given Simon’s closeness to the Rover world, it should surely come as no surprise that the more he found out, the angrier he became?

Now you can’t just conjure up clients and engines from thin air, so again this takes time. Uldis was the first to take the plunge and given that a reasonable power figure was achieved (ok the torque will be there on Tues!), others have followed. Every client is an individual, with different needs/specs - all have to be catered for. Given that Simon does not have an engine building business, this places him at the mercy of someone elses timetable and so on it goes - all this whilst carrying on his day job!! I say fair play to the guy. I know Uldis is very happy with his engine’s performance and there will be others soon.

75

I don’t have any problems with what Simon is trying to achieve, as you say for most of the K series owners out there tuning the existing engine makes a lot of sense. My beef is that early on Simon was making out that it was “cheap and easy” to get big power out of a K and that there were plenty of examples of powerful, reliable engines out there to prove it. I would argue that he has not proven this to be the case. Here we are over a year later and he’s still getting the parts made.

I agree that by getting loads of special parts made and junking most of the original engine they can be made reasonably powerful and robust. But this is hardly “cheap and easy” in my book. Oooops don’t mention the book.

Bernard

76

I agree that by getting loads of special parts made and junking most of the original engine they can be made reasonably powerful and robust.

Bernard

Well, this is where Simon and I differ. He IS concentrating on larger capacity/power engines (although the next one is a “hydraulic cam” example - more interesting to the majority, I would have thought). But the “prey” is in the higher echelons of motorsport.

77

I find it very childish and pathetic that Mr Valentine seems to have no problem launching into people that he really does not know, and cannot respond in this forum.

What is particularly ironic about all this is that some 4 years ago, Simon’s phone was somewhat engaged with Mr. Erland perusing the Spanish inquisition vis-a-vi his experiences with the Rover engine.

Now it would appear from where I am siting, that Mr Erland has had some 4+ years to make his case, and all Bernard Scouse is asking is for Mr. Erland show some evidence for his claims.

As somebody that is totally non-technical, this would seem quite a reasonable thing to ask, and I can only assume from the lack of answers that this is just not possible?

In the mean time, can Mr. Valentine please enlighten me as to what right he thinks he has to post such vociferous stuff with impunity?

Amanda

78

In the mean time, can Mr. Valentine please enlighten me as to what right he thinks he has to post such vociferous stuff with impunity?

Amanda

Oh, but I have every right to post what I damn well please. With impunity? I think not; you are proof of that, are you not?

79

In the mean time, can Mr. Valentine please enlighten me as to what right he thinks he has to post such vociferous stuff with impunity?

Amanda

Oh, but I have every right to post what I damn well please. With impunity? I think not; you are proof of that, are you not?

Sadly you seem to be so keen on SimonE being right that you are hell bent on making a resonable case for him without actually going back and reading what the man himself actually has to say.

80

What the hell are you guys talking about?!

Jim Valentine is not Simon Erland, I think you’re confusing them both. Jim is posting and talking about what he knows, and is responding.

Simon Erland only started last year posting. 4+ years? he was getting ripped by some engine tuners.

Vociferous stuff with impunity? What are you on?
Have you been watching too many drama films lately?