A letter from Henry Nelson
Postby Dave Shadel on Fri May 15, 2009 4:55 pm
Retirement- Cliffs Notes Version:
Production of complete N40 Q500 and N40 QM40 engines will stop this month. Spares will continue to be available.
The Complete Story:
Nearly 2 years ago, it was announced that my associate Neil Lickfold and his family would be leaving to return to New Zealand. The actual date was still to be determined. At that time I decided to buy a double-plus order of N40 side exhaust crankcase castings, and those engines then would be the last production. As it happens, Neil is leaving in June and the crankcases are nearly gone. I have only a handful of engines remaining.
Spare parts to keep existing engines running are in plentiful supply and I will continue to build parts as long as there is demand. There are also parts available to convert short stroke engines to long stroke.
I still have spare parts, and continue to rebuild N15 diesels that I built 30 years ago. I think 30 years from here is unlikely, but no one should feel abandoned.
Production of glow plugs, N15 glow and diesel engines, rear exhaust 40 and 45 engines will remain unchanged.
I had 2 key employees leave suddenly in 2000 but I was lucky that Neil was available to come, learn and make significant contributions. However, I am not starting that process again. It’s time to reduce the workload to what I can handle myself. It’s kind of a return to how I started the business 35 years ago.
To all of you who have supported me these past years, THANK YOU.
Henry Nelson
Nelson Competition Engines
