I hate cars
 

So the new big block I installed decided to come apart. Low and behold the roller cam had about 1/4" of play from front to back. This is awesome since my machinist insisted on putting the short block together bc he wanted to make sure it was right........ Turns out he doesn't believe in using all the parts included in the repair kit (ie torrington bearing) for the thrust portion of the block. Slowly but surely the timing gear was chewing in to the thrust face of the block. Bad news is the motor had to come out. The good news is all of the hard parts look great. No damage to anything except bearings and the "thrust face" of the block.

So in closing, it's better to pay more for quality as opposed to paying twice. The good news is I was hooked up with Motor City Speed/Billy Briggs formerly of Wheel to Wheel. He has been very helpful and accommodating. Going with a bigger cam and higher compression while I've got the motor apart. So maybe I'll get something out of this annoyance aside from a parts and labor bill. Hopefully more than 350miles.... Sigh.....

That sucks! I assume the builder won't reimburse you for the job he screwed up!

He offered to cover the labor, when he gets time. I just feel kind of retarded letting the guy who messed it up fix it.

Oh buddy -- we share some motor stories.... I'm on the SECOND rather expensive rebuild of the ORIGINAL motor I had built but a illustrious racing engine builder...

The original 427 small block was a complete unmitigated disaster from the start. The builder - long time local shop - closed 3 days after I picked the engine up... it lasted a few months before I realized what a pile it was...

REBUILD #1 - Good local shop - well known - 30 years plus in biz... problems here were piston too sloppy in the bore - and too far down the bore - and the wrong # on the spring. They chose to use flat tappet springs on a roller cam...
The cam is toast... and the metal in the oil looked like metallic paint.

REBUILD #2 - just finished with it.... motor sounds fantastic - #'s were good - I watched as they cleaned the oil filter (mesh type cleanable) - looked great. So far so good...

40 grand later I might have a motor I can use for a couple of years. :rofl:

That's pretty bad Greg. Hopefully I'll have better luck the second time around.

Yeah -- I certainly hope so! I'm rooting for ya!
:cheers:

If you've been around this hobby/sport for awhile---the phrase "Been there done that" strikes a chord. I think the only guys that might be worse than sloppy engine builders with a strong reputation are the paint and body guys that everyone else seems to have luck with until I take them my car---bunch of dope smokin hippies--LOL.

Sorry to hear your troubles---glad you are getting away with just bearings on this one---with that much movement, it coulda been much worse. I'm not even going to start on all my war stories with the drag car and the number of motors in and out of it---glad you are getting a chance to make it even better. Keep us posted.

Doug

Ouch, these things do come with their share of headaches. Just remember, this is supposed to be fun. :lol:

Sounds like me, when I was in high school I payed a guy to put 3.42 gears in my 91 z28 10 bolt because I didnt have the proper tools. 3 months later at the track the entire carrier came apart because he "forgot" to torque the carrier bolts.

I hate cars typically once a month at least.. lol


Just remember that if it was easy everyone would do it thus lessening the accomplishment.