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Let me Reintroduce myself


Dad
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Good evening fellow enthusiasts, It was suggest ( i think it was Jimmy)  that I should post and reintroduce myself to the group since so many things have changed here.  I'm pretty sure there are some that know me  but there may be others that don't.  I got involved in the Starquest scene  by My son ( screen name Kreal) in 2004, he had bought a Quest and had some issues with it and introduced me to the forums so I can help fix it  using his account. I would use his account and just sign Dad when I posted anything.

 I had Started an Engine rebuild/ Machine shop in 1989   Doing work on mainly industrial and Truck engines ( cat, Cummins, Intl  etc)  There is more $$ in the diesel, although we did work on basically anything going down the road,  Just the engines we didn't work on the equipment.  So getting back to the forums,  I would see at times questions or posts on head rebuilding  or block boring- you know basic machine work, so I would chime in and help answer questions,  Well  you know how young kids on forums can be difficult, well my son misbehaved and got a suspension for I don't know maybe 10 days or something and they said Hey, you can't share accounts.  Well Ok, I will make my own and was thinking of a screen name, well everyone knew me at the time as  "Dad"  so  that became my screen name.
  As I got more into the forums and people found out I had a shop  they asked if I could get parts?  Sure, that's my business so we started to handle parts for these cars,  My son totaled his in 2004 and had to part it to recoup some $$  and found a market for used parts, Dragging wrecked and rusted Quests to my shop.   That is how I got my white Quest  that I rebuilt and painted in 2007.   My other son Bill took an interest  and decided he wanted to restore one,  He went full bore and I think his story might still be on the boards  His name was Coldscrip.  Anyway  we  supplied parts, And I even rebuilt engines for these from Florida to Maine and west to Missouri   Our parts business was a good hobby-  to be honest I made more selling a caterpillar overhaul kit  than a quest kit,  But meeting the Quest people was way more fun,  As time went on we met more people mainly at Pidgeon forge meets,    Our collection of running quests grew to 6 in the family,  Sadly in 2020   my building I had leased got put up for sale- forcing me to relocate after 31 years in business,  At 62  I said, nope  not during this Covid mess, I'm not doing it,  I quickly  sold off the equipment and closed the doors,   I needed room so sold My 87 Shetland and My 83 Starion.  I did keep My first Quest  the white 87.   I took a few months off, added on my garage,  took a parts job at a Navistar dealer then at a Chevrolet dealer.  We kept in touch with our Quest friends and many kept asking if we would sell parts again ( We, meaning the Wife and I who was a big help in my business),      So Her and I decided to start offering parts again  and In January of 2023  we opened Dads Engine Parts LLC.   I just recently retired  but may find something part time to keep me busy.    So here is my intro to the folks that may not know who we are.    After 31 years in Machine shop business  I made a lot of connections with suppliers and reconnected with many of them,  Wiseco still make My custom forged pistons  that I got licensing from Midwest turbo when they closed.  My Oem Mitsubishi connections, although I know get more direct from Japan  and of course my aftermarket suppliers.  We still have 3 Quests in the family,  I pretty much Use what I sell, just recently installed a fuel tank in My son's quest, Sourced out the fuel pump, Fuel feed lines, Filler tube hoses, Fuel drain plug ( took a few tries to find ones that seal well)   so after documenting what I used  I am able to offer those to the community saving tons of trial and error searching for what you need- That's what I'm about.     We have  been expanding our line as we go ( we are still trying to make room for parts)  Unfortunately I no longer offer any type of machine work.

     So that in a nutshell is what Dads Engine parts ( Formerly Engine Machine service) is all about,   I stick with what works like the same brand of timing kits and cylinder heads I was using 15 years ago  as long as they aren't discontinued  Been on this forum for 20 years now  so if you need parts  or some advice especially in the Engine part  feel free to contact me.   check out my site www.dadsengineparts.com       Not sure if the mods need to move this I wasn't sure exactly where to put it  so I put it here.     Have a great day
 

Dad  ( Randy)

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It's nice to hear the full backstory. I have bought a few things and sought some sage advice from Dad/Randy as I begin my (slow) restoration/rebuild of my 89 Conquest. He's been a great source of parts and information. I know I'll be getting more parts and advice going forward.

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Randy/DAD is the OG! My suggestion Randy is that you just do a Starquest podcast and then make yourself available for 24/7 online questions through video chat:)

Appreciate the time that you take with people to answer questions and provided advice and quality parts for these cars.

Steve in VA

 

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