[muscle_collector]

personally i cant believe anyone could complain about getting proof positive documentation on what a car really is for the price. goodness its worth way more than that on rare cars and should increase the value of any car more than a couple of hundred dollars. people will complain even if it was free.

[OG68]

Originally Posted by dataway

It has always baffled me why Pontiac seems a bit like the stepchild when it comes to records and documentation. Some of the other marques have outstanding public domain data, much of it assembled by enthusiasts and offered for free to the community. Some marques still have "classic" data supported by the manufacturer.

We all wish we could have a Marti Report, yet the most popular make has nothing but a 'Birth Certificate' stating Invoice Date and shipped to dealer. *
No wonder there's 10 gazillion SS Chevys out there.

* Except Corvette

[burd]

Originally Posted by burd

No one wants to throw any money towards keeping it running. ?

Well then don’t complain when it stops. I don’t need it, I did my car when it was 35$ and sent from Pontiac.

[Keith Seymore]

I was looking for something else and came across some of the earlier discussions, in case anyone wants a trip down memory lane.

2011:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...light=Basement

2013:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...light=Basement

2022:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...light=Basement

[Rachelsdad]

To those who may discount the value of the up-sell, I paid for my PHS stuff within the last couple of years, even though my '63 has been in the family for 60 years. I would gladly pay an additional amount (within reason) *now* for "digitally enhanced" documentation.

Going forward, a 2-tier service (optical scan vs scan + digitized) would be a great expanded model, but it's not my business, and Jim will do what he deems best for his business.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by burd

Well then don’t complain when it stops. I don’t need it, I did my car when it was 35$ and sent from Pontiac.

If $110 for an email isn't enough to keep it going, no amount of donations will. Donations usually only come in a single wave, and once that money is gone, the company is right back where it was.

[72projectbird]

Appears it's back up and running! Got my information today.

[bluejudge]

PHS
Yesterday at 2:25 PM
·
10/30.....BIG UPDATE. We now have our new scanner and computer set up. We will start getting orders back to customers as fast as we can. But please be patient as it will take some time
PHS

I think they are back!!!

[burd]

A nice donation from here would have went a long way, might even seen Mr Mattison on here to ans questions

[Rachelsdad]

IME, making contributions to a commercial enterprise rarely ends well. If there is no compelling business model to sustain the entity, it's just forestalling the inevitable.

Now, Mr. Mattison could have been invited to join the discussion here and solicited input from the group, but I suppose he wasn't asked.

To be clear, I'm not averse to donating money, just not to commercial businesses. And of course, since donations are by definition voluntary, I would not seek to obstruct or prevent anyone from donating whatever he wanted wherever he wanted (so long as the cause wasn't something likely to bring harm to anyone, obviously).

[grandam1979]

I’m not sure why everyone thinks he needs the money to continue sounds like he had an equipment failure and got it fixed just like any business would do.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Jim has been a member of PY Forum for many years .

[bluejudge]

PHS
11m
·
11/1 update. We started getting orders sent back to customers the other day. We are going to get the backlog of orders done before we turn our order page back on.
We are getting a bunch of emails about new orders. But we have to get the ones back to customers that have been waiting first. There is still a learning curve for us with the new scanner but we are trying our best to learn it so we can speed the process up. The upside.....the new scanner does a much better job of scanning the microfilm compared to the old scanner. So this will be better for everyone in the long run
PHS

Today’s update, sounds like Jim is moving along…

[Rachelsdad]

My '63 build sheet is nearly illegible. I wonder if a fresh report would provide a readable scan (worth the re-order cost). Hmmm...

[burd]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Jim has been a member of PY Forum for many years .

He doesn’t post

[tempest1964]

Originally Posted by Rachelsdad

My '63 build sheet is nearly illegible. I wonder if a fresh report would provide a readable scan (worth the re-order cost). Hmmm...

If it’s illegible and you reach out to him, he’ll probably try to reprint it. He reprinted mine when he realized it had an error on the color code. No extra charge.

[dataway]

It may be some time before it would happen, but if the original films degrade and there are no digital copies ... then basically all existing PHS documentation becomes almost worthless (at least in the high end of the market). If there are no originals, or digital records of the originals then no one can check a PHS document for authenticity against original records.

It might be in everyone's interest to fund a conversion to digital, even if the information stays in the possession of PHS. It is after all historic information of value to most Pontiac owners.

Kind of like paying for a new building for someone that has a huge collection of rare Pontiacs setting out in the weather that they don't want to sell. Unfortunate that it has to be done, but more unfortunate to lose the information.

[1968firebird455]

I spoke with Jim about this a few years back and he mentioned it's cost prohibitive. My take is that it's a pretty low key operation with one employee (I believe an older lady that's been doing it for decades) and its a ton of clerical work. Pretty much a small space packed with file cabinets. At his age I don't blame him for just making the few hundred dollars a day in orders vs dropping six figures to digitize everything. You have to think that the vast majority of the microfilms will never pay out. Either the car is long gone or the person never orders for it. While I see a value of preserving this for the future end of the day business is about making money and if I had to chose between passive income or making an investment that wouldn't pay back in my lifetime I would choose the former. Id image after Jim is done it would move to his son. Awesome service to have available to us but I'm not banking on it lasting much more than another 20-30 years.