TOPIC: looking for a gadgetman..

hey there! ive had my truck running with the groove now for about a year, its been great! although i havent tunned a few things yet, to get my mileage, and i also have a ton of questions,
i was wondering if i could get in contact with HARRY WRIGHT from west kelowna, i vacation up there a few times a year it be nice to stop in and say hi, if you get this harry ide like to talk shop!
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thanks again

Dear Mr. DAINPANTON, I can't help but notice the spelling of that name (if it is truly a name) and how close it is to Pantone...? just wondering out loud...

anyhow you are welcome to post Q/A here in the event you cannot find your freind, perhaps we can help?

Tracy G

yeah my name is dain panton,= Scottish heritage
im wondering why there is a part of the site that says find a gadgetman.. with names listed in areas.. but there is no contact information..? wouldn't it work as advertising.. I don't know just wondering out loud also..





also wondering your opinion on the quality of the grooves in these photos

sorry 1987 chevy pickup 350 ..
if you notice in the top on its quite hard to see but that is with the throttle plate fully closed, the grove cuts about half way threw the thickness of the plate..
I have a whistle at idle.. is that normal?.. had to adjust the idle screw back so it wasn't annoying.. but when I begin to open the throttle sounds like a turbo whistle..
is this the groove making this noise? will the depth and angle of this cut effect its performance?
also wondering your opinion on the distance both grooves continue around the throttle bore radius?

Looks to be cut poorly,need to fill center all the way to the top cut a uniform groove and it can dip but not snake as this is. as for whistle alot will have a slight whistle as air going over a pop bottle.

well .. im now wondering why the tbi that I shipped all the way from Vancouver Canada was shipped back to me with a poorly cut groove?
how do I go about getting the same size bit.. so that I can repair it.. and try cutting the groove in my second tbi for scientific purposes lol
and not have to go through some kinda of shipping back refund or repair,

Hi Dain, yeah those are very roughly done Grooves in your Chevy TBI. But- did you notice an improvement after they were done? I once cut some pretty rough Grooves in a 2BBL Nissan, not as rough as these- but my "Caveman Grooves" still got a power gain.

For Gadgetmen, there is good documentation in the site's Index area of how to properly mod these GM TBI units. Some folks get their PL, do whatever, but never show up here. I've seen Harry's neme listed here I think, can't remember seeing him in the forum

Ron used to say that the GM TBI's were one of his favorite's to Groove, I believe several Gadgetmen have agreed! I've done just one, as per Ron's protocols. Got a power gain, never got any MPG #'s on it.

I spoke w/ Collette by phone this AM should be speaking w/ her again this eve., she's been busy w/ other things. If you aren't a Gadgetman, we can try to connect you w/ someone closer, offer tech advice, etc. where are you located, Dain?

Tracy G

hey im from Vancouver bc Canada, and I was born a gear head, and believe I understand the groove and how to set it up right, i wanted my pl first but ron said he would give me a deal on the mail in mod and it
seemed to be the fastest way to get it on my truck and start tunning. but i don't think ron was the one who ended up doing the groove,, and i also don't know why the iac pathway correction wasn't done.. he didnt ask me to have it jb welded before i shipped it, so that the groove could be cut further...
in my mind.. getting my pl, after the mail in mod was done, so i could see ron hatton's work on my tbi.
but i don't think he would take credit for those grooves..
so im pretty disappointed about that,

Wow Dain, no waay Ron did that job IMHO. Where/when did you send that TBI in? I'm just curious- was there any improvement (or change, besides the whistle, for that matter?). Only way at present to get Gadgetman bits is thru the Personal License program. You get on each of the 3 size bits, and training DVD by Ron Hatton, and you're already here, this forum acts as a support Q/A info exchange.

Collette Thomas was appointed by Ron as Managing Director last December. She is the source for the PL kits, which are still $500.00. Collette has been busy with other issues recently though she should be back on track very soon. I and others like Dan Merrick will jump in to help on here as we can. I always try to help any Gadgetman or customer as I can.

I can only guess how that TBI would up like that...? Those Grooves could be filled in w/ metal epoxy and the job done properly, as Ron has always said. But this one could be a real challenge for a brand new Gadgetman unused to the technique. Not impossible mind you a disciplined gear-head could manage it!

The bits- I once took a bit to a senior professional tool-maker w/ a huge shop and over 40 years experience, he had never seen anything like it. They don't exist anywhere else, and the details of them make the difference, combined w/ technique of course.

IF you wanted to become a Gadgetman to begin with, that might be the best thing you could do. Though I had nothing to do with this mod, I apologise for the shoddy work, it's embarrasing to me!

over-

Tracy G

hey first of all I want to thank you all for agreeing with me. now I know im not crazy. when I first saw them I knew they weren't done well, that why I took pictures, I sent it about a year ago and I sent it to the gadgetman headquarters I believe it was in Nevada or Arizona
as for tool control, im surgical.. and watched rons you tube videos 1000 times
as for change. yeah power gains. slight mileage gains... but most of my idle air is through the iac pathway and not going past the groove because of the adjustment to more closed, to get rid of the whistle.

lets get me a personal license somehow

I grooved my 93 350 TBI and the whistle wasn't there after I did the Idle air modification. I also moved all of my sensors from the front of the TBI to the spare vacuum port behind the TBI unit directly on the manifold. And these TBI's work well with being filled and regrooved, I had to do that to mine and it helped a lot.

I'm not online a lot anymore but i'll subscribe to this thread and try to answer any questions that I can.

Ken

tracy G! I just wanted to say those grooves look amazing!! can you please contact me as soon as possible, thanks dain