Comp Cams
 

I received a private message regarding Comp Cams, Tim Cole, and the big block Chevy rocker arms for Stock Eliminator. Tim actually had the 1/2" stud big block Chevy rocker arms made because I told him we were going to modify the Comp Cams rockers, and have studs and poly locks made for them. He told me to wait, and he was able to push through the changes for us.



First, Time Cole retired from Comp Cams around 2018. Chris Padgitt left Comp Cams, went to Crane Cams, and then to Bullet. The person who "replaced" Tim Cole at Comp Cams is Dave McCarver.


Second, the stud and poly locks for the Comp Cams stainless pro series big block Chevy rocker arms for Stock were made by ARP. I am not sure if ARP will sell them separately.


Third, three years or so ago (sorry, cancer treatment killed some of my memory) I asked my friend at Comp Cams, Bily Godbold, to inquire about having ARP make a new stud for those rocker arms at was at least 0.187" longer on both ends. He agreed the change was necessary. Unfortunately, I do not think the change was ever made.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Spoke with ARP this morning. They told me the studs are a special made stud for Comp Cam and they can not or will not sell to an individual.
Called Comp, they said they will not "break up" a kit to sell juct studs and poly locks. Thought to myself "what if I need one or two, does that mean I have to buy whole kit" Sure looks like Comp and ARP both are not racer friendly.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Alan, I'm not on the tech side so I can't answer the question as to the additional length on each end without some more information, but I did see Terry's reply and questioned a contact in the engine builder room and was given two part numbers. I'm not sure if these are what Terry is looking for.

Stud - # 4543-1
https://www.compcams.com/hi-tech-roc...hread-cpg.html

Poly Lock - # 4657-1
https://www.compcams.com/hi-tech-pol...ingle-cpg.html

Re: Comp Cams
 

That's where the industry has been going in recent years.....

Step 1. "Firm" full of know nothings buys up aftermarket parts company(s).
Step 2. Purge personnel that have experience and knowledge.
Step 3. Bring in the used car sales types to make videos speaking on subjects they have no experiance with or hands on knowledge about.
Step 4. Lose customers/revenue
Step 5. Sell off failing company(s)
Step.6. New owner(s) issue press release calling their new venture a win/win..... blah, blah, blah

Re: Comp Cams
 

Thanks. Sure looks to me as if studs and poly locks are available separately. I think the sales team could use some more training.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Guys, please don’t bash comp cams and especially Billy Carroll. This man has done nothing but go out of his way to get people paid on Contingency and to find parts like he just did
thanks Billy, and comp cams for all you do! you have been more than great to me, and I will continue to spend my money with you!

Re: Comp Cams
 

Thank you for the kind words, Keith. I greatly appreciate it along with your support. I try to help anyway I can. That being said, Terry has a point that needs to be addressed. I have the luxury of walking to the key guys in any department for help. Unfortunately, guys calling in might get a guy that is answering a question correctly (not breaking up a kit), but not tenured enough to know that there might be a work around, in this case the individual part number (stud and poly lock) to get the customer what he is looking for.

Regardless, we can do better. I will bring this example and scenario to the tech line manager so that it can be discussed and hopefully prevent it from happening in the future.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Thank you Billy. I stand corrected about Comp not being racer friendly and if I ever see ya at a race I will offer ya a drink.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Well, I might as well throw another one at you then Billy, I tried ordering a custom cam for my stocker and was told Comp no longer sells internationally (Canada) I got the one I wanted (comp) but it was from someone living in the US.

Any chance this was a mistake and can be rectified or is this in stone?
Thanks

Re: Comp Cams
 

there are a few canadian WD .s who buy direct from Comp cams .. see if your local speed shop has a account with Karbelt or Keystone automotive or i would think the canadian east coast engine shop Armstrong brothers probably buy direct from Comp

Re: Comp Cams
 

Good point, I got my cam as it turned out, but yes, A&J is about 20 minutes from here, should of asked John when we were at the last Greenfield race.
(hindsight is always 20-20 lol)

Re: Comp Cams
 

Thank you, Terry. We face the challenges like many companies do, one being we get far more calls than we can possibly answer in a day and another simply being that we had the luxury of many great people who reached retirement around the same time and are enjoying life outside of the company now. Although we have people assuming their roles, in the best case scenario it will take decades just to gain the time they put in. The relationships they had will never be replaced. Not taking anything away from the new relationships being made, but all things take time. We are doing our best. We have a good group. No problem keeping us honest though if there are problems we need to work on.

I'll look for you at the track. I'm looking forward to it.

Re: Comp Cams
 

This one caught me by surprise a week or two ago when I came across a thread questioning this. I have been with COMP coming up on 15 years (not on the sales side) and I thought this could not be right. When I asked a few people internally I got mixed responses. The correct answer though is that to a retail customer we do not ship directly to Canada, only to a warehouse distributor or a speed shop who has a account setup with us. This didn't make sense to me until I got to the reasoning behind it and how this came about. Years ago we did ship to Canada to all customers, but when we invoice we charge for the product and shipping fees. I believe the change was made due to fees (customs, taxes, tariffs, etc.) that used to be simply handled by the recipient starting to get charged back to our account. Some were in addition to fees the customer was paying and many were billed back to our account by UPS or FedEx after the transaction making it very hard for us to reconcile it, or do so without making it an expense the customer didn't account for making it a bad situation. The easiest fix was to deal directly with distributors where the billing and freight transactions allowed for minimal paperwork and fees. Not being on the sales side, I don't have a list of the Canadian speed shops and distributors, but I could get a list together.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Thank you so much! I understand completely why you would do that, wish it would of been explained better on the phone. My impression then was, Comp gave up on international business. Great to see I was incorrect!

Re: Comp Cams
 

I'd like to state that I do not necessarily blame any Comp employees. The reason for this post was to provide information that multiple people asked me for. I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder.



I will say that Comp now has pretty much no one who knows Stock And Super Stock well, especially not at the level that Tim Cole and Chris Padgitt know it. Chris is still working, at Bullet. Also, apparently, Comp no longer wishes to keep Billy Godbold on the payroll full time. He's the lobe designer. Or was. Yes, they have him "on retainer", as a "consultant". And to be honest, that gives engine builders the impression that Comp has little desire to actually constantly strive to improve their cams and develop better profiles. Billy was originally very excited to see that there were investments made in new machines and equipment.



I've done business with Comp Cams for decades, I truly appreciate that Tim, Chris, and Billy made certain that a small engine builder such as myself was treated extremely well.




The time I spent at the PRI Show made me extremely concerned for where the automotive aftermarket is going in the next 2-3 years, and beyond.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Yes, noticed it myself. I've pretty much given up on anyone listening to me because I am a budget racer. Big Buck has taken over.

Re: Comp Cams
 

" I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder." Quote from Alan
I feel you are right.
I was a Loyal open Account WD with Comp from way back in the 80's
I was also a small 2-3 man Engine Machine Shop/Speed Shop
My Deep WD deal went away with the new management.
Guess they thought they would make more money charging me Jobber.
Instead they lost a customer. They showed me that they value mass marketing sellers. I went to a supplier that valued my business and Loyalty & offered price points where my business could make a good profit.
It is a shame that the Corp bean counters just don't understand how it works.

Re: Comp Cams
 

When have bean counters EVER improved anything other than the bottom line for the share holders??

Re: Comp Cams
 

As a small guy and getting smaller [no pun intended] In the past, I enjoyed the same relationship as some of the others listed above. It is a fact of life that the small operators are fading out.

I opened Woodfin Automotive in 1972 with a hand full of tools and $300.00 in my checking account. It was a good run that lasted 50 years. That opportunity no longer exists.

Now that I am retired, I still build and work for a few pet customers. I will not be able to do so much longer, plus, most of my relationships are as old as I am, so we are all fading out.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Alan,
I wish I had known you were at the PRI Show.
I would have looked forward to meeting you.

Re: Comp Cams
 

Speaking of us little guys and places to receive wholesale pricing, consider the wholesale side of Lane Automotive, Motorstate Distributing. They gladly sell to small shops and the pricing and shipping is excellent as well as the service. They also drop ship direct from vendors.