Engine upgrades, is cheaper really better?
Sounds like somebody did not install the front or rear cover correctly. Probably eyeballed it instead of using the proper tools. Again falls back to get it done by somebody that knows what they are doing the first time around.
This is a great thread. I get questions all the time from people that just want to know "the exact cam specs before they buy it". You just need to grin and bare it.
Kurt
Kurt
There's alot of valid points made in this thread, but regardless it comes off as a customer bash fest. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight the owner made a bad decision and learned a hard lesson. I'm sure he regrets it, but no need to rub his face in the ground to make a point.
There's alot of valid points made in this thread, but regardless it comes off as a customer bash fest. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight the owner made a bad decision and learned a hard lesson. I'm sure he regrets it, but no need to rub his face in the ground to make a point.
I don't think that this thread was posted to rub his face into the dirt. If you are in this business some things just get old. I think that it was made so that people might take a second to think before they act. Sometimes buying something "cheap", is not always the cheapest way to go in the long run. You will be better off to save your money just a little bit longer and buy a quality product that will last you longer.
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Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Rockfield Kentucky
Very nice post! While I feel sorry for the guy and his problems you cannot make it a cake walk for him.
I have been out of the business of just because of this type of situation. When I had my shop I never seemed to get the guys willing to pay to get things done right. OK I had a few LOL.
A lot of my work was fixing others problems. Cars that had ben done by someone else that would not idle or run they way that they should.
Given the risk that guy took the cheap route. It was his option to take that risk to save a few bucks. I try to recomend that people weigh the risks before choosing parts or services based only on the lowest price. Yeah about half listen to me
Robin
I have been out of the business of just because of this type of situation. When I had my shop I never seemed to get the guys willing to pay to get things done right. OK I had a few LOL.
A lot of my work was fixing others problems. Cars that had ben done by someone else that would not idle or run they way that they should.
Given the risk that guy took the cheap route. It was his option to take that risk to save a few bucks. I try to recomend that people weigh the risks before choosing parts or services based only on the lowest price. Yeah about half listen to me
Robin
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From: Port Tobacco, MD
This isn't a customer bash thread by any stretch. We ALL have made bad decisions at one time or another. I have made 2 bad decisions that cost me a pretty penny, the only difference was no one was there to turn me in the right direction.
Eight years ago I built my first motor for my corvette, forged 346. Had a machine shop go through the block and perform the prep work and I decided it was easy enough to assemble at home. **** how hard could it be. Well a couple hundred miles later it spun a bearing. Took it back to the machine shop and had them fix the motor the right way. A year later I ended up buying the tools to check/set clearances. If someone had said "hey the **** isn't that easy you'll probably end up....spinning a bearing, getting trash in the motor, ect", I would have taken the motor to an accomplished shop.
Last lesson was a little more expensive. We were building my 438" for my drag radial mustang and made 2 critical mistakes in component selection which led to building the motor basically 2 times.
It just kills me when local guys have seen my all motor corvette run 11.0s with a basic package and 10.4s on a more extreme package and ask for my opinion because they KNOW I will steer them in the right direction. Instead of following directions and make a right at the first intersection, they make a u-turn and end up back asking for help after their way failed and spent thousands of dollars. When in doubt get help from a professional.
Eight years ago I built my first motor for my corvette, forged 346. Had a machine shop go through the block and perform the prep work and I decided it was easy enough to assemble at home. **** how hard could it be. Well a couple hundred miles later it spun a bearing. Took it back to the machine shop and had them fix the motor the right way. A year later I ended up buying the tools to check/set clearances. If someone had said "hey the **** isn't that easy you'll probably end up....spinning a bearing, getting trash in the motor, ect", I would have taken the motor to an accomplished shop.
Last lesson was a little more expensive. We were building my 438" for my drag radial mustang and made 2 critical mistakes in component selection which led to building the motor basically 2 times.
It just kills me when local guys have seen my all motor corvette run 11.0s with a basic package and 10.4s on a more extreme package and ask for my opinion because they KNOW I will steer them in the right direction. Instead of following directions and make a right at the first intersection, they make a u-turn and end up back asking for help after their way failed and spent thousands of dollars. When in doubt get help from a professional.
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From: Port Tobacco, MD
There's alot of valid points made in this thread, but regardless it comes off as a customer bash fest. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight the owner made a bad decision and learned a hard lesson. I'm sure he regrets it, but no need to rub his face in the ground to make a point.
There's alot of valid points made in this thread, but regardless it comes off as a customer bash fest. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight the owner made a bad decision and learned a hard lesson. I'm sure he regrets it, but no need to rub his face in the ground to make a point.
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Webb City, MO...out in the garage
this IS a good thread.
i know when i'm spending thousands of dollars on a badass motor for a car that basically is a toy, i like to shop around & talk to different people. price is important, but you can't go into an engine build thinking it's going to be cheap at all. i went with the builder i did because of their reputation and experience. their prices weren't cheapest, but it was fair for what i'm getting.
one thing i will say, one of the vendors i called was LME. Bryan i believe was who i talked to. i just had a few simple questions along with wanting a price quote. he spent almost 20 minutes talking to me...that's him talking, me listening. i almost couldn't get off the phone. he was VERY thorough and imformative. i felt guilty for not using them for my build, but they definately deserve my future business when the time comes.
i know when i'm spending thousands of dollars on a badass motor for a car that basically is a toy, i like to shop around & talk to different people. price is important, but you can't go into an engine build thinking it's going to be cheap at all. i went with the builder i did because of their reputation and experience. their prices weren't cheapest, but it was fair for what i'm getting.
one thing i will say, one of the vendors i called was LME. Bryan i believe was who i talked to. i just had a few simple questions along with wanting a price quote. he spent almost 20 minutes talking to me...that's him talking, me listening. i almost couldn't get off the phone. he was VERY thorough and imformative. i felt guilty for not using them for my build, but they definately deserve my future business when the time comes.
Thats b/c most people never stop to think about how a shop pays its bills, and most of them don't care so long as they can pay less money.
I've told this story before but back when I had my shop building GP bikes I had an attractive club racer make it very clear that she would do "anything" if I would work on her bike.
I thought about it for a quick minute and told her that didn't seem like a fair trade since int took me years to learn what I knew and had invested a lot of money in equipement and she was born with that "thing".
I never minded a young enthusiast who would come by the shop to chat if I wasn't busy. Usually they would clean up the shop or wash parts for me but I would get as many tire kickers as everyone else here. Pick your brain but put no money in your pocket. Unfortunately, some people think you're a ***** if you don't give it away.
I thought about it for a quick minute and told her that didn't seem like a fair trade since int took me years to learn what I knew and had invested a lot of money in equipement and she was born with that "thing".
I never minded a young enthusiast who would come by the shop to chat if I wasn't busy. Usually they would clean up the shop or wash parts for me but I would get as many tire kickers as everyone else here. Pick your brain but put no money in your pocket. Unfortunately, some people think you're a ***** if you don't give it away.
This is oh-so true.
I know Erik has fixed multiple short blocks from other sponsors many, many times. Some of them are even people you wouldn't think....(no-one in this thread)
I know Erik has fixed multiple short blocks from other sponsors many, many times. Some of them are even people you wouldn't think....(no-one in this thread)
I completely agree with the original post. When making a large purchase I do want to shop around though. I'm not looking for the cheapest, I want the best value for my money. Unfortunately if I talk to several shops I can only purhase from one.
A good website can help. I'll awnser as many questions for myself as I can. I only post this because a couple of places I talked to before buying the motor in my sig. clearly didn't want to waste their time talking to me. Having purchased several motors over the years I've learned you DO NOT always get what you pay for.
A good website can help. I'll awnser as many questions for myself as I can. I only post this because a couple of places I talked to before buying the motor in my sig. clearly didn't want to waste their time talking to me. Having purchased several motors over the years I've learned you DO NOT always get what you pay for.
This situation happens to all of us.After being beat down for years by this I pretty much stopped giving Cam specs before purchase and spend limited time on the phone with people feeling out the parts/work.I'm sure we've lost potential customers but probly avoided alot of wasted time on the phone which pays for itself.
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Webb City, MO...out in the garage
I completely agree with the original post. When making a large purchase I do want to shop around though. I'm not looking for the cheapest, I want the best value for my money. Unfortunately if I talk to several shops I can only purhase from one.
A good website can help. I'll awnser as many questions for myself as I can. I only post this because a couple of places I talked to before buying the motor in my sig. clearly didn't want to waste their time talking to me. Having purchased several motors over the years I've learned you DO NOT always get what you pay for.
A good website can help. I'll awnser as many questions for myself as I can. I only post this because a couple of places I talked to before buying the motor in my sig. clearly didn't want to waste their time talking to me. Having purchased several motors over the years I've learned you DO NOT always get what you pay for.
websites are a must nowadays. if you browse through our sponsors, some of them have very nice, easy to navigate and informative sites, others have one or two pages with phone numbers and pictures of insane motors and say "call for more info." THOSE shops should expect tons of pointless, profitless phone calls. those nice fancy websites don't eliminate all the BS calls, but it's GOTTA cut them way back.
websites are a must nowadays. if you browse through our sponsors, some of them have very nice, easy to navigate and informative sites, others have one or two pages with phone numbers and pictures of insane motors and say "call for more info." THOSE shops should expect tons of pointless, profitless phone calls. those nice fancy websites don't eliminate all the BS calls, but it's GOTTA cut them way back.