Is AES still around? I tried call and email but no answer.

 

No idea if they are in business still but there are plenty of guys on here that had motors built but them and the time to build /customer service is just not there! Plenty of other good builders around LME,HKE,billy briggs,ect!

 

Do yourself a favor and save yourself a headache and look else where for an engine.

 

Not sure what the deal is with AES anymore. One thing is certain, their communication is nothing short of awful.

Not going to get into it, but I'd personally suggest another vendor.

 

Im on the fence from a 370 390 or 408 s480turbo build

 

Stock stroke, big bore works great for boost. A 388ci (4.125 bore x 3.662 stroke) will make awesome power.

 

I cant get a 4.125 out of a lq9 tho i thought

 

They are still around!


Built my 383,


just redid my all-pro heads and will be building me a dart 427 here shortly.



If you are out of the midwest, you know they build some of the baddest **** around....

http://edition.4hop.com/PROMEDIA/FSC....html#?page=38

 

They ****** blow dick, just like everyone else has stated, place is a ******* joke.

 

Doing you a favor OP. Lots of other quality places to build you a nice setup out there.

 

I think you will find a lot more good things than bad things on here.


I know they had some issues toward the end of the year and early this year as the owner was injured and they were short handed.



needless to say all of my experiences with them have been great.

 

They have issues lying to people all the time! No blueprint build sheet with engines, generalized receipts of components installed in engine/heads, promising better parts on the phone and then cheap/inferior parts get installed. Who the **** wants that? No one. But that's the way AES does business. They hide behind the generalized receipts when a cheap part fails, and assume no responsibility. I am going through this right now with them. Shady as **** on their part.

 

Should i just get a TSP 408 it was around 4800$ only reason i say 390 was for short stroke big cubes, i plan on making 1000rw with a s480

 

I wouldn't bore an LQ block over 4.030", not when you're throwing boost into the equation. Some say the max for N/A build is just .065 over before the cylinder walls start getting weak.

 

You probably got my PM about my AES 390ci.......runs great.

As far as the different opinions in this thread go......I can tell you the only unhappy thing I had happen....as someone above mentioned....I ordered my engine with Flat Top pistons. It said -15cc pistons. It took me 3-4 months to get a proper receipt sent to me.....and it was still wrong. I figured **** it....at least I have a receipt.

As far as the internal parts go. I told AES the engine was to be sent to a local shop near my house in Ft. Lauderdale where it would be finished...heads,intake, pushrods, cam, etc.....all the parts I ordered were verified correct as to what I ordered.

When I ordered the engine they were out of 3.825" Callies cranks. They said it could be awhile their new shipment would come in so they were upfront about that. Lucky for me I called callies myself and they had a 3.825" unfinished crank sitting on the shelf. I paid for it over the phone, they finished it and sent it to AES in about 1 week. They put my engine together and shipped it out to me IIRC....in 2 weeks.

So they were a little hard to get hold of on the phone for awhile.....email was tough to get an answer. But the engine build and ordering and shipping went just fine.

But its a friggin engine......lots of shops will build the same thing. Its just that AES was building these 390ci's and people were putting down crazy boosted numbers and having no failures......so they were doing it right. Hopefully they still are.

One thing is for sure in engine building.....NO SHOP will last forever.....and NO SHOP will retain the same quality forever. Agostino, Wheel-to-Wheel, Morgan Motorsports, MORE Performance, and many more shops who have built the fastest cars and highest HP engines....all gone now. The best LSx engine builder I know has been in the same shop for 34 years......he's right here in Ft. Lauderdale, FL...... Hundreds of LSx engines in this area built by him....not a single failure I've ever heard of. 2yr/24,000 mile warranty with every N/A build. Try getting that anywhere else. He finished my AES 390ci, mainly because I wanted him to have something to do with checking it and finishing it off. I didn't use him to build my 390ci because he was WAY too busy and I needed my engine in a few weeks time....and the AES 390ci was a good deal at the time, hard to beat.

I say choose a shop with great customer service.......local to you if possible or within a doable drive so you can do a face-to-face if needed. Do not pay all up front....no more than half down. Thats what I did with AES. If a shop can't handle 50% down / 50% when finished....walk away.

.

 

390ci is easy to get done. 3.825" crank, 6.125" rods, and a custom piston made by wiseco or diamond pistons. Tell Mike Pannetta (diamond) the dimensions, and he will make them for you. Tell him you want 300 thou thick crowns, and 4.005" pistons (385ci, extra thick cylinder walls).

 

Do i get the crank right from callies? I dont see it on there site.

 

I think you will find otherwise.

Issues at the end of the year ?

I was stupid enough to buy from them 3 times.

First a rotating assembly took around 9 months

Second a block and some machining work....it was well over a year before that got to me

And more recently some basic rebuild parts. Eventually some have arrived after over 3 months, but I'm still outstanding some CA625 head studs, paid for in full 3 months ago.

IMO Never ever trust or buy from AES Racing. They will screw you over.

They may be capable of good work, but their customer service is utterly pathetic, and at the minute the only way I can see it is they've stolen close to $700 from me.
I'm now having to chase this via credit card company

 

Isn't AES the same vendor that requires an oil changer after 2 dyno pulls else it voids the warranty?

 

Ok aes is out then,
370ci, 390ci (else where), 408ci.
Which should i do ?