RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

Couldn't find the thread but someone mentioned some reputable LS1 engine builder in South Florida???

Anyone know any in the south florida area??

thank you.

gtpvette

iTrader: (2)

I asked this same questions eariler this year,,, and was told about Mesa Balancing. Nice guy,,,, but took him 4 months to do my shortblock!

I had my heads milled at Redline in Davie. I haven't had any additional work done there,,,, but I'd go back there again and they do motors.

HTH!

GDM Z28

iTrader: (16)

Redline did my friends motor...200 miles and already a lot of metal shavings...he had to take it back and they said it wasnt there fault

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

What kind of build did he do? I just need a rebuild with new rings and bearings.

WS666

iTrader: (14)

You wont find a reputable LSX engine builder in south florida. You closest bet would be J&J Performace in the Ft Myers area... Get in contact with JZ'sTA

sprayjunkie

Whose motor was this? If Matt C.'s **** has any issues, they're getting bombed!
I had redline setup my heads as well, and they just did an awesome job of repairing Matts AFR 205s that got killed on the race cer. Other than the CNC marks missing, they look brand new now! I don't think I would hesitate to let them build a motor for me.

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

Yeah I was thinking about getting in touch with him.

GDM Z28

iTrader: (16)

my friend ed...he posts on here as like 99firefighterz28 or something....right off the bat the motor was killing crank position sensors. The reflector wheel on the crank was not in place right and it would not give the sensor a reading (they did all the machine work on the motor and put it together)....he pulled the motor to get that fixed and when they dropped the pan noticed metal shavings EVERYWHERE....they said it wasnt there fault.....i would never bring an LS1 there after that happened...it was a H/C/Built bottom end LS1

gtpvette

iTrader: (2)

Disassembled shortblock, Bore/Home for 3.905 pistons, decked the block, polished crank,checked align bore, refurbished rods, balanced and reassembly of shortblock. I provided all parts less main and rod bearings $1900.00

MiaSSmaro98

iTrader: (9)

thats how much mesa charge you?

black01_WS6

iTrader: (13)

I think you best bet would to buy a new short block from one of the sponsors. It may be a bit more money but you will be able to put it in right away and won't have much down time. A lot of the shops down here are overloaded, and a engine build on the side could take a long time.

You can buy a new shortblock for around 2600, and you could turn around and sell you old engine to make up some of the money difference.

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

I don't have the luxury of selling my old engine as it has a crack in the block that was welded, I was going to drive the car with the little bit of oil it leaked until I saved up for a good shortblock, but now two cylinders do not have compression, as a recent compression test showed.

Also I don't have 2600 dollars, now 1k I can come by.

gtpvette

iTrader: (2)

I'm afraid so. $1900 was the machine shop costs. If I were to do it again,,,,, I'd go buy a shortblock from one of the vendors. Faster and Cheaper. It just turned into 'While I'm at it' let me get a new ported oil pump, gears and chain, camshaft, forged pistons, etc. etc. etc.

After reading your last post,,, with 1K it will be tight. If you can find a decent block and transfer everything over might be a thought. Any ideas as to why you don;t have any compression in those cylinders?

As a sidebar,,,, I had the same issue with my used motor I bought out of Tampa. Paid a whole lot for what turned out to be a bad motor.

Good Luck!

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

THe motor seems like it was a flood motor from the internals, it had rust all over it, and chunks of rust, I cleaned that all off. I am thinking the cylinder walls and rings rusted out and messed up the clearances.

But I have yet to take the motor apart, so I am just guessing.

I do plan on just buying a block and transferring everything over with new rings and bearings of course. The engine had good oil pressure and the rest of the cylinder measured 190 with the compression test.

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

For some of you guys that had head repairs done, how much did the head repair cost you? please let me know if it was for a single head or not.

sprayjunkie

My roommate just had a pair of heads repaired at redline in Davie, they came out fantastic. I will find out how much they cost, but it is not cheap OR quick.
These were AFR 205 sbf heads that got destroyed on his 8 sec. race car, and they now look like new minus some CNC markings.

Mike

30thanniv

iTrader: (2)

The easiest and less stressful thing to do is to buy a shortblock. Machine shop are notorious for stating quick turn around times and then changing it up on you. So a few months could turn into a year easily. I have seen it happen many times.

BTW with all the rust in your block, it occured to me that your car may not be a "flood car", but rather a car that sucked in water through the intake. With the flooding we get here in rainy season it could have happened.

A buddy did that once and then cranked the engine and hydrauliced it, since water doesn't compress. It bent rods and windowed the block. Perhaps with your engine someone had the smarts not to crank it when it sucked water in.

gator's 99TA

iTrader: (2)

sometimes, when the deal is too good to be true, it is.

i will ONLY go with established companys to build my stuff. there have been so many REAL horor stories of guys loosing big money on bad engine builders. i will gladly pay 10% more for an established company that stands behind their work.

RiceKilla

iTrader: (15)

I purchased the motor from Manuel's used auto parts in Houston, TX. The engine cranks up and everything, but I cleaned all the gunks of rust off, I even got one good test run. Then, after that, it wouldn't hold an idle, so we did a compression test and Voila, two dead cylinders. The engine has no rod knock and awesome oil pressure. The motor isnt hydrolocked at all.

I still have to make a thread warning people about that salvage yard, the idea that they could let an engine like that leave their yard is disturbing.

BTW- this is what it looked like the first time I dropped the pan. But I spent a whole day cleaning everything with a wire brush it looks almost like new. Didn't get pics of the internals after the clean but it looked a crapload better after I spent a good day cleaning, it seemed like the rust wasn't attached to the parts, it kind of wiped off.



To this



And a pic of the crack

GDM Z28

iTrader: (16)

i found a builder in south florida that seems to be good...hes going to be doing some work for me...pm me ill fill you in