I left NJ for Orange Park on Monday - 5/3/04 - at about noon. I made it to the Georgia border by midnight and stopped for some rest. I picked up the rest of the way at 11am and was at Dennis' shop by 1:30pm.
I was astonished to see how overloaded Dennis' schedule was. There were four MM's at the shop (mine, Mark's, Tom's, and the "Monster"). There were also several mustangs and a turbo'd Lightning. Aside from that, there were many everyday customers stopping in for routine fixes (AC work, tune-ups, etc...). One of the most surprising things about the shop was that Dennis only had ONE technician working with him to handle all of these vehicles.
I introduced myself to Dennis Reinhart himself and let him know that I would be dropping my Rauder off on the morning of 5/5/04. Dennis stopped what he was doing and took time to familiarize me with the surrounding area. He even offered to take me out to dinner. I stayed at the shop for about 30 minutes and observed as Dennis and Artur continued their work. It was apparent that they both take great pride in their work and that they respect the customer's vehicle.
The next morning I showed up bright and early. As Artur continued the S/C install on Mark's car, Dennis personally wrenched on my MM. I was amazed that he could get ANY work done because the phone would not stop ringing. I have heard some people say that Dennis' phone manners have something to be desired. I used to agree but now I have the highest respect for him. He must have answered 300 phone calls that day... every one was answered with a polite "Reinhart's" and then handled in a timely manner. Anyway, Dennis removed the trans with a bit of help from Artur. He then invited me to tag-along while he ran some errands and got lunch. I had a great time speaking with Dennis and getting to pick his brain a bit. Besides being so knowledgable, he really is a great person to speak with.
After lunch, the Head Cooling Kit was installed on my ride. Dennis and Artur both stayed about 1.5 hours late to continue work on my car and Mark's. Dennis knew that I was on a tight schedule and was very accomodating.
On Thursday morning, my newly built tranny was ready for installation. It, along with a P.I. 3,000 rpm T/C, was bolted back into the MM. A large trans cooler with braided stainless lines was also installed. Next came the new high-flow fuel filter kit with braided lines. All of this was accomplished while also working on Mark's car AND dyno-tuning Tom's car. Dennis also found time in the day to replace several AC components on a customer's Dakota. He and Artur again stayed late; this time until about 9:15pm. He knew that I had to leave for Sarasota on Friday morning, so Dennis worked on my car until it was fully operational.
I took it out that night for a good romping. As per Reinhart's request, I noted all of the car's quirks and characteristics. He said that we would use this list as a basic guideline when dyno-tuning it in the morning. In all honesty though, the car felt fantastic... I could hardly find a thing wrong with it's driveability.
On Friday morning, Artur strapped my pride & joy onto the DynoJet. Dennis made a few runs without any chip to get a good baseline. My car was running the Kooks exhaust and a conical K&N. It put down a solid 283 rwhp and 284 rwtq. After fudging the AFR and timing a bit, she laid down a respectable 293 rwhp and 294 rwtq. Now, these numbers were achieved in 90 plus heat. Imagine what it'll put down back in NJ with the 50-60 degree track nights?!
All in all, I was VERY impressed with the quality of Dennis' work. I also cannot thank him enough for the wonderful customer care that he provided... I was very happy that he let me stick around the shop to observe how his business runs. All of the parts installed were of the highest quality and were sold at great prices. Thank you very much, Dennis.
