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I would like to get a feel for what I might be about to get into if I have a Big Bore 382-388 built for my 91 RS. I have confidense in my builder but after seeing what's required for Darton Wet's I'm worried. The Drys also worry me.
I listed the four types/systems of sleeves I know about...
Darton Wet
Darton Dry
ARE - Darton Dry
LA Sleeves Dry
Thanks for taking time to vote.
Last edited by 99 Black Bird T/A; Dec 14, 2003 at 10:42 PM.
After looking at the Darton Wet sleeves at PRI, I would definitely consider those over the ARE dry sleeves. The main reason is the amount of section thickness through the length of the sleeve is much better. Yes, it requires some interesting machining. Once people get that figured out it will be a very nice setup. Virtually a 0% chance of dropping the sleeve due to it's shoulder setup as well. Very nice looking piece of work.
Either sleeve would work, but I would definitely consider the wet sleeves at this point. Darton also offers a service to install the sleeves for you if you or your builder are not comfortable doing the machine work.
Which builders are using the Darton wet sleeve?
Later,
Bart
Lingenfelter, Gen III, Cartek, School of Automotive Machinists, JPR, Redline Motorsports, Morgan Motorsports, Thunder Racing, and Kroyer Racing Engines. The list grows longer every week by the way.
Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development
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MTI dry - had no issues to date & over 15,000 miles
MTI dry - had coolant/leaking issues
I didn't realize MTI had their own custom dry sleeve.
thanks
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Its fine for racing, but it is annoying for a daily driver.
Its fine for racing, but it is annoying for a daily driver.
Good info thank you for sharing it.
Most people who spend enough on their car to punch out the motor are not going to use it as a daily driver.
It would be interesting to see exactly how reliable it is to punch out these motors. I know plenty of people / customers that have done it with no problems at all. I know about equal as many that have had to deal with some sort of coolant problem.








