Has anyone in here ever bought an engine from them? I know they are big supporters of the LTx community, but I can't say that i've ever seen one of their motors firsthand.

Anyway, if you have purchased a motor from them in the past whether it was a 355 or 383 or whatever, exactly how long did it take you to receive the goods?

I have a follow-up to this post when I receive some replies.

 

Try nelsonracingengines.com

 

I didnt end up with them, but did talk to them b4 I gave my engine to Speedinc. They seemed great and had a 3-4 week turn around in DEC and by far had the best price. I ended up giving to Speedincs builder that also did Z8s motor with a 4-6 week ETA. Its been 5 1/2 months and still no motor but I feel it he can build the fastest LTX on Earth its worth the wait. I should have it back next week.

 

Joelster, I've talked to Corey at length and bought some parts from him. He was telling me it was going to take several weeks (at least) if I had him do mine. They are in high demand, as is every good shop right now in race season.

That being said, I HONESTLY dont think you could find anyone better to build an engine. The level of their work, and attention to detail is top notch. I really mean that.

There's a big difference between slapping an engine together, and really assembling it with care.

Just look at Jpacks 355 that made stupid numbers. It's the attention to detail and a little unconventional but PROVEN racing knowledge that can yield those kinds of results.

Patterson racing in KS is another shop I would use.

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They are a great set of guys and will do their best to do what they can to make your engine perfect. They will go out of their way to make sure your engine gets to you on time. They are a busy shop but your taken care of if you go with them

 

Well, this thread isn't for me. It's for my friend John who I told to order an engine from Clayton Racing. My friend paid in full on November 24th.

Still no engine.............lots and lots of runaround emails........

This isn't some insane build either. Just a $1900 dollar 383. Cast crank, regular rods, and a decent piston. I feel partially to blame since I encouraged my friend to go with them. There was a hiccup in the middle of the build though that was my fault. My friend has a 350 in his car with an Edelbrock Performer RPM head/intake/cam package. He was going to swap all of his topend stuff onto the new 383, including the flat tappet cam and lifters. I told him that swapping a used flat tappet cam into a brand new shortblock is not a smart thing to do. I advised him to go with a roller cam. That might have held things up for a little while. Still no cam has been speced, and the motor hasn't been built. Going on 6 months now. The replies to the emails are always the same.....

"I will be assembling 383's next week"
"yours should be shipping soon...."
"beginning of next week...."
"I'm clearancing the block right now........."

 

Corey should chime in on this one then. I know they're busy but they should be a little more transparent than this.

I'm dealing with the same issue from a shop / friend in CO.

He does AWESOME work, and has gotten so busy it's starting to effect his customer service. Sucks.

 

I'm telling you Nelson racing engines in chatsworth

 

Dude, cant you ******* comprehend this thread is about someone who is ALREADY USING Clayton...

 

 

My bad maybe I should have read it all. You don't have to be a dick though. I'm not gonna cuss you out over the internet not my style.

 

I am working on his motor and about 12 other 383's right now, I am trying to get his finished up, there are two others I have to finish first, that were before him. When we set up the machines to go through blocks we do them all at once. Deck all, bore all, line hone all, etc. All the machine work is done, there is just one of me that puts these together. I'm behind right now and I'll be the first to admit that. Instead of coming on here and getting on me, If he has a problem I'd be glad to refund him his money.

 

I am having my second engine done by Clayton racing. Like posted by others with experience with them, second to none and not a slap it together and out the door shop. These guys and their work are best of the best. I highly doubt you will will find a better machine shop or knowledge.

With that said, I as well am in the group waiting on my 396. I am on the other hand waiting on a crank that isn't available anywhere in the country. Every outlet has been sourced to locate one. Yes there are lesser cranks available and I have the option to use one but I will not sacrifice nor will the Claytons just to get mine out the door.

As Corey stated it is a batch set up machinery to do engines. This is the busy season. They pass on savings to their customers based on machining similar blocks. Had they set up for small block one day then set up for big blocks the next day, their prices would be a lot more than they are.

I assure you that when your engine arrives and the results you will get from it will far exceed your expectations. For the price paid, waiting a bit more for it is a no brainer. Contact any shop and see how long they are out on delivery. Better yet contact any vendor and try and locate a scat or callies 3.75 or 3.875 forged crank anywhere in the country. Yes they say in stock online but calling them will shed some light there are none. Between venders and Corey getting a bit behind yes there is a delay. Anyway you look at it the Claytons will make it right. There is no need to be worried he is on it.

 

Seems most shops are running way behind. I was hoping to have my engine done by now and I have someone waiting to buy my 355 that moves the end of this month. Nothing I can do about it and Im not pulling the 355 until I have the 383 in my hands. Sucks for everyone.

 

Corey, he's been sending you emails for months now. This isn't some blind attack on you. He ordered it WAYYYYYYYY in advance so that he could have his car ready for springtime. Here's a sample one that he forwarded to me:


Feb 24th? You said it was "about finished machining". Just last week you said you were just about to clearance the bottom for the stroker crank.

 

I've heard enough disappointing customer service/turn-around stories about Tom Nelson too. Anyone in demand gets back-logged - how they address the lack of service sets the really great guys from the just the good ones. I'm not saying that anyone is doing this, but the lower dollar builds are simply going to take a back-seat to the high dollar (read: high demand, high priority) builds. This happens in any industry.

I wish the shops would just be honest - if my build is a lower priority, but I still want them to do it, tell me that it will be three months instead of telling me what I want to hear (more like three weeks). My recent work at an honest local shop eliminated a lot of the frustration - they went longer than they said, but did a little extra and did it right. It was late, and I was happy.

 

Bolded part is so true. I would have never made this post but the constant b.s. emails and excuses were just getting ridiculous. It was as though every time John would send an email they would reply back with "it's just about done" or "should have it shipped out to you next week", when in reality they hadn't even started on it. If they would have just sent John an email saying, "John we are swamped right now, it might be a while, what do you want to do?", he wouldn't be in the situation he is in right now. The email in Feb sealed the deal. He went into the garage and yanked his 350 out and took it all apart thinking his 383 would be there soon.

I have no doubt that they do top notch work. I've never questioned that at all. I specifically told my friend to order it nice and early so we could have it running and installed sometime in March/April before the salt even washed off of the roads. My plan was to place an order for a 396 with them for myself, to get ready for the shootout. That ain't gonna happen. I have since purchased another motor elsewhere.

 

last year when i had my 385 built, i was told it would take 3 weeks. no problem. it ended up taking 3 months. i would of not gave a **** because i knew it was race season. all he had to say is its gonna take 3 months. Now with that being said it seems like all of us have dealt with some sort of similar situation. Its to be expected by me now.

 

Also waiting on mine. Ive talked to Corey, he says hes had some family issues. I feel your pain though. Im 10 weeks past my ultimate deadline for getting my car on the road. I have less than a month now before Carlisle and the way its looking i wont have a car. As stated above Coreys products are second to none and some of the best names in the LT1 industry will tell you that.

 

Waiting since Nov!! holy ****!
"If he has a problem I'd be glad to refund him his money." Epic Passing of the buck...
clearly he don't give two ***** about you or your long over due motor. I'm willing to bet it would be a hassle over a complete refund.

One shouldn't take on more than they can reasonably handle.
I dont have the patience for someone to play around with my money that long !!!(!Road TRIP!)!!? At this point a refund isnt the answer or would it satisfy anyone thats been bent over that long ...******* mains outta be four bolt and diamond encrusted free ...
if this kina wait is normal screw all yall shops, ill join UTI or WyoTech and learn to build my own lol
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