A Nelson Racing Engines lawsuit has reached a public outcome twice on the record: Miller v. Nelson Racing Engines, a Los Angeles County case brought by an Australian buyer, ended in a $75,000 judgment against the company, and Ed Carter v. Nelson Racing Engines, Inc., et al., filed in the same court, was marked settled and dismissed in November 2012. Both cases involved contract disputes over engines the Chatsworth, California builder was paid to produce. They sit alongside a much larger set of customer complaints that have never made it to court.
Miller v. Nelson Racing Engines and the $75,000 Judgment
The Miller case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court under case number PC055421. The plaintiff, an Australian buyer, alleged breach of contract and fraud after paying $55,570 for an engine that NRE never built or delivered. The Hong Law Group, which represented the plaintiff, reported that the case resulted in a judgment of $75,000 against the company.1Hong Law Group. Case Results
A critical site, tomnelsonracingengines.com, later published what it described as a “Notice of Entry of Judgment” from the Superior Court of California and characterized the ruling as making NRE “responsible.”2TomNelsonRacingEngines.com. Nelson Racing Engines Court Ruling Forum posts referencing the judgment claimed that defendants Nelson Racing Engines, Nelson Racing Enterprises, Tom Nelson, and an individual named Larry Lewis accepted the judgment and that it was ultimately paid.3Pro-Touring.com. Nelson Racing Engines Those payment details come from user accounts rather than court records and are unverified.
Ed Carter v. Nelson Racing Engines
The second lawsuit, Ed Carter v. Nelson Racing Engines, Inc., et al., was filed on June 28, 2011, in Los Angeles County Superior Court at the Chatsworth Courthouse. The court classified it as a contract and business dispute and assigned it to Judge Stephen P. Pfahler.4UniCourt. Ed Carter vs Nelson Racing Engines Inc et al
Carter filed a First Amended Complaint about a week later, and the case moved through pre-trial motions and status conferences for the next year and a half. On November 13, 2012, the docket recorded a short-cause court trial at which the matter was marked “Settled.” The case was ultimately dismissed.4UniCourt. Ed Carter vs Nelson Racing Engines Inc et al The public record does not disclose the settlement terms, so it is not known whether NRE made any payment or admitted fault.
Customer Complaints Outside of Court
A long-running thread on Pro-Touring.com documents grievances from buyers who never sued. The complaints cluster around long silences after deposits were paid, engines delivered months or years past the promised date, and quality problems with finished builds.
One customer described paying a $26,000 deposit for a 632 Hotrod engine in June 2011 with a four-month delivery estimate. The engine was not completed until April 2012, and upon inspection it had been built on the wrong block, pushing the timeline out to at least February 2013. Another poster reported waiting three years and, after flying to the shop for a dyno pull, found the engine still unfinished.3Pro-Touring.com. Nelson Racing Engines
Quality allegations surfaced as well. One customer said an engine arrived with rockers hitting retainers and a damaged harmonic balancer, and alleged that the dyno documentation NRE provided carried identical date and time stamps to documentation shown on other NRE engines featured in YouTube videos, raising questions about whether individualized testing had actually been performed.3Pro-Touring.com. Nelson Racing Engines
At least one buyer reported recovering a $1,500 deposit through a credit-card chargeback after three months with no communication about an order for billet valve covers. Not every account was negative. A 2014 poster said the engine was completed on the agreed-upon date after the buyer set specific terms and used a signed order form.3Pro-Touring.com. Nelson Racing Engines
If you are considering a build with NRE or any high-dollar engine shop, the recurring theme in both the lawsuits and the forum accounts is the deposit. Written specifications, milestone dates, and a signed order form appear in the one account that ended cleanly, and their absence appears in the accounts that ended in chargebacks, judgments, and settlements.