Nothing against Summit Racing but During Covid, Some of those places i listed above where the only places with stock or access to certain size bearings or piston rings. In some cases there pricing was much better too.

 

They probably had things in stock because Summit is probably the largest aftermarket company out there. They probably sold out, couldn't replenish stock, so the other companies you mention that did have stuff in stock then became the go-to guys.....

 

Well I can say I've built at least a dozen engines with completely eBay parts, all of which but one are still out and putting in work. Key is to know what parts are what and which to buy. I'd NEVER buy a full kit tho, I piece meal parts and I continue to use sellers and parts I've used before . Half the eBay built engines are in dailys, others are in mud trucks, the dead one was in a mud truck we abused on the street and sent a few rods thru the bottom end spinning 7k tho.

 

I agree there are some decent parts on ebay, you just have to know who to buy from. Ive seen plenty name brand parts on ebay. Tru cool for an example. I've had good experience with there coolers and I've gotten them from ebay.

 

Actually some of the stuff came directly from King or Hastings. But also some of the pricing was better than Summit. Again nothing against them as I do buy from them as well but some times it pays to shop around.

 

NICE! But you did your homework, and ferreted out good sources as I mentioned above, My point is, going in uninformed can be hazardous to your wallet!

 

When you hit the 70 year old mark, your time becomes much more valuable than it was 35 years ago. I'm glad for you guys that know who to go to. I don't want to take my valuable time up at this age learning the hard way on ebay. My .02

 

Don't feel alone, I just completed 36 years.... TWICE! LOL!!

 

Unfortunately the QC of parts now, I've seen big name parts fail or be bad right out of the box . You can't count on a name anymore as it's been bought out 3 different times using the old school quality name as a selling point. Imagine getting Delphi, Elgin, ac Delco and no namer roller lifters and have more failures out of the box with the big names vs the no namers. I've probably built 50+ engines in the last couple years , actually have had MANY bad lifters, in which is why I run every engine on my break in stand where I can pull a head in 20 minutes and replace lifter vs 1.5hrs in a truck. I've read you aren't supposed to soak a lifter in oil anymore , you know like we've been doing for the last 100 years. They say now to rev engine to 3k and hold till lifters pump up! Wonder what kind of damage that's doing to a lifter bore or roller until it pumps up. Either way, I still soak mine in 0w20 and have had best luck with the Elgin lifters. I ramble sorry, too much info floating around in my melon.

 

Lets hope we get another 15 or 20, eh?!

 

I had an interesting day today. I have 12pt ARP cylinder head stud hold down nuts. I don't like the look of 6 of them ("splined" points look worn). So I called ARP to order 6 new ones. He told me I'd get better pricing at Summit, gave me a part#, and that was that. Called Summit, and the guy was VERY good. Bailed me out of some bad information. When he described them as needing a 9/16 socket, I said WHAT??!!! Mine take a 1/2" socket, guaranteed. So he looked up more ARP part numbers. Apparently, ARP offers the 12pt fasteners in either socket size!!! If you can't get accurate ARP info from ARP.....Wherein Hell are you supposed to get it??? This would've derailed my project big time. NEVER assume ANYTHING! Even a part number from the manufacturer could be incorrect, or not match what you have. Make sure you know what you want, and what you're actually going to get. There may be a difference!!!

 

Depends on the stud size too, I have both 1/2" drive 12 point deep well 9/16" & 5/8" sockets for that reason. I did a build that used 1/2" ARP Studs and that was the fastener sizes.

 

Race ya there! LOL!