Trying to contact Erik Johnson

[oldchevyguy]

Does anyone know what's going on with Erik Johnson? I have been trying to contact him for over a week. Left messages, etc, with no response.0

[wallace18]

If you are talking about The Race line I can only tell you he took me for over 10K a year ago. I had to get a lawyer and still waiting on getting my money back. He also cheated the forum on his vendor pay. I would not deal with him if I were you. See post.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...t=erik+johnson

[oldchevyguy]

Here's my story. I bought the complete 996 setup from the race line about a year ago. Installed it, and built the car around it. I recently started the engine, only to find out I have 6 reverse gears! I called him, and he said I was send the wrong adapter plate. He was supposed to send the correct one in 2 to 3 weeks. It's been 5 weeks now, and I can't contact him. This setup uses a stock Chevy flexplate, and starter. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN PURCHASE THE CORRECT ADAPTER PLATE?

[wallace18]

Try Kennedy Engineering out of California. They do a lot of this sort of thing for desert racing.

https://www.kennedyeng.com

[beeman]

I have the Kennedy adapter for my g96, went together fine.

[UnhipPopano]

My understanding of what an adapter plate is, is the suitable adapter between the engine and the transmission. For a manual transmission, this is also the location of the clutch. Now to have the wheels spin in the wrong direction, this sounds more like you have the wrong transmission than an adapter plate, or how would you have gotten it together. If I have this wrong, please explain.

[crash]

My understanding of what an adapter plate is, is the suitable adapter between the engine and the transmission. For a manual transmission, this is also the location of the clutch. Now to have the wheels spin in the wrong direction, this sounds more like you have the wrong transmission than an adapter plate, or how would you have gotten it together. If I have this wrong, please explain.

The issue sounds like the adapter plate did not have the correct bolt pattern on it to flip the transaxle upside down. This will give you 6 reverse gears and one forward. This is the entire point of flipping the transaxle because all but a couple of models of Porsche transaxle are rear engine, NOT mid engine like our GTMs.

The Mendeola has a reversible diff and therefore can be run in any position you want. Upside down, right side up, it doesn't matter as long as the differential is installed properly for the orientation that you want. This is one of the benefits of the aftermarket transaxles. With the stock Porsche units, unless it came as a mid engine, like a Boxster, it has to be run upside down.

[Roger Reid]

Crash is leading you in the right direction. The trans axle needs to be inverted to have 6 forward gears. You also need to check or relocate the drain and refill ports with fittings. Yes, try to have Eric get you the right adapter that inverts the trans. I hope he will respond to your calls.

Now that you have started this rant on Eric Johnson, let me add my 2 cents. I purchased a G50-52 from him back in 09. I paid for rebuilding the trans to bring everything up to new specs. What I got was a box with gears, limited slip, and synchro's that were in very poor shape. The main shaft (the one that extends into the clutch) was twisted causing the clutch to destroy itself. When all was said and done I spent another $6,000 rebuilding the box and clutch. To any new builders looking for trans axle, avoid Mr Johnson.

[OZIGTM]

I too got screwed by Erik Johnson as well.
I am still owed a clutch for a Graziano box, which I will never see, he also refuses to refund the money.
It's lucky that there are still some straight up people like John B from HCF autoparts in Texas who can step in and help out.
I can't thank him enough, for his honesty, willingness to help and back up what he promises to deliver. Especially as I'm on the other side of the world.

Rohan

[beeman]

Ha, I just looked at my invoice from California Motorsports from 2011 when I bought my g96 setup... My contact there was none other than ERIK JOHNSON!
Should I be concerned about the gearbox? Installed but not run yet..
Does this guy just jump from shop to shop? My BIL is an attorney with a big firm, Erik better hope my setup runs perfectly...

[crash]

IIRC CMS is a separate company from EJ. He did work with them for awhile to market to kit car communities, but again IIRC, it was a short lived partnership.

Really sad to hear this about Erik. He was a good source of info about transaxles.

[oldchevyguy]

Does anyone know who made my G96-1 adapter? It is the style that has a 2 piece flywheel, using a stock automatic flex plate. I called Kennedy. There's uses a one piece flywheel, which they claim is better. It's also $1800 plus shipping. I only need the adapter plate. Any information would be appreciated.

[crash]

There was a guy with a reference to Texas in his name that was on here and made adapters for people. Maybe "txbuilder" or something like that? Anyway, I recall him saying he was making plates for Audi transaxles and said he would build things for others in a one off type of arrangement. You might want to do a search both here and on the other forum. I'm a little unclear from your post as to whether you need the adaptor plate or the flywheel?

[oldchevyguy]

I was hoping to buy just the adapter, but I can't find the supplier that made mine. KEP is $1800 plus shipping for the one piece flywheel and adapter plate. A little pricey. I found another company, Race Car replicas, who has both parts in stock for $1000 + shipping. Does anyone have any experience with these guys?

[claybags]

RCR is the manufacturer of the SL-C coupe and other component cars. Very REPUTABLE!! No worries there IMHO.

Cheers, Jeff

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

If the adapter plate you have is flat on the back side, couldn't you just drill and tap new holes in it?.....maybe send your plate to Kennedy to have that done? I would assume that it would be a lot cheaper...even if KEP didn't make the adapter plate in the first place, they might be willing to drill and tap new holes in your existing plate for a lot less than buying a brand new adapter plate? Just a thought. And yes, if RCR already has the parts you need, they are very reputable if you want to go that way.

[Blast3r0]

I was hoping to buy just the adapter, but I can't find the supplier that made mine. KEP is $1800 plus shipping for the one piece flywheel and adapter plate. A little pricey. I found another company, Race Car replicas, who has both parts in stock for $1000 + shipping. Does anyone have any experience with these guys?

[email protected] is who you are looking for. He is out of texas.

[oldchevyguy]

Follow up. I purchased a adapter plate and matching flywheel from RCR. $1078 shipped. It was a little different than the one I had, but similar. They both used a stock style flex plate. RCR is a little hard to deal with. They dont return calls very well. They seemed bothered by my request. But, after pay pal ing the money, as they dont do credit cards, the stuff came in just a few days. No directions. No pilot bearing. Like pulling teeth, I finally got specs from them for the bearing and flex plate. All is well now, in the flip is about half done as I write this. The car completion has been delayed by many months because of this fiasco.