I guess I'll weigh in on this issue too. Pull up a chair, this is a long one.
I've met Jim in person and toured his shop, right in the shadows of the Indy 500 grandstands. Its a cool old building that seems to have started in the 1930's as a service station, then was added on I think in the 50's to make a small car dealership, and then added on a third time. Its kind of fitting that Jim is working on these old ignitions in a building that was around when our old cars were still new cars.
Overall I'd bet its the size of a decent 4-5 car garage. Neat and well organized inside, nicely painted walls and floors, tools and test equipment nice and tidy. Just down the block is AJ Foyt's place.
Jim seems to have a ton of experience as a former automotive teacher, used to run a fuel injection business, and recently closed that to focus on the ignition business. A lot on his plate for basically a one man operation with some part time help.
When I was there it looked like a well run small business, no chaos or mess, just someone who knows his stuff very well and is in high demand as the old farts who know how to do this stuff are retiring and dying off.
For the volume he does there are bound to be a few hiccups, and he seems to acknowledge them and try to fix them. I'd rather have that than someone who dodges an issue and won't even attempt to correct it.
My own frustration is not with Jim or an ignition issue, but with a body man who is working on my cab. I know how to do the work, I have the tools, but I don't have the shop space, the time, or a paint booth to finish the cab myself. This body man had my cab for about six months, then I got it back in primer. Six months later he was getting caught up on projects and we had another go at it. Set aside time for January and February to bring it in, finish the body work, get it painted and back to me by March 1. Mind you, this is just the cab we are talking about. He works full time in a body shop and he has a 3 stall shop he rents to do side jobs.
As of May he wanted to give up, but he's really an artist with metal and I don't want to find someone else. he's installed a bunch of patch panels and the truck looks to be 90% finished with no plastic filler. Meanwhile, his wife is having their second baby, he sold his condo, just closed on a house, and HOPEFULLY will be back on my cab in the next week or so.
Moral of my story is if you have the guy you want to do the work be prepared for delays and hiccups. If you change your mind and no longer want him to do the work, be prepared to find someone else with the same talent. In my case, I'd rather wait it out than search for another. Maybe someday I'll change my mind, pick up my parts, and move on. But for now I'm still convinced the guy I've found is eventually the guy I will trust to do the quality of work I want.
Your mileage may vary.