Home/Garage fully-built engine builders. Who else does it?

[laserspeeddemon]

I'm going to add another bit of wisdom here. DO NOT TRUST any shop. No matter how good you think they are. I recently feel victim to a poor assembly or machine work on my bottom end. Talking to an ex-employee of the shop he said. This shop pumps out dozens of 4G63s a year, you'd be that 1 in a million, if it's the shop fault. Well guess what, I was that one in a million.

Even if the bottom end is 100% completely assembled, take it to at least another performance shop. Have them tear down and blueprint the engine. I would personally take it to two shops. Or I would blueprint it myself and then I take it to a shop. I would reassemble myself and remeasure using plastigauge. To double check the work. But platigauge won't show you out of round bores.

I am buying my own set of dial bore gauges, digital calipers and micrometers.

Always recheck machine shop's work...

This is what I mean.

 

[NHerron]

I agree, Sean. I been following your recent thread and that's a damn shame what happened

I'm not good with haggling at machine shops but my first impression of the first one I had work done at was not a good one

I had them recondition some Eagle rods for me along with machining the block. Started with the rods. Somehow, when I got them back, I found the wrist pin area totally blued out and hairline cracks. When questioned on it (and presented before pictures), they lied straight up and blamed it on me (even though they still paid for a new rod )

After that, I measured every damn thing and I let them KNOW I was too

I guess I'm happy with the first impression I got, it taught me to double check and not take someones word for it (my personal lesson)

 

[xlMcMlx DsM]

Lots of good info here! I helped a friend build a 383ci stroker engine with forged internals, as well as a 1.8L out of a Saturn. When cleaning parts, use Lacquer Thinner. It doesn't leave behind any residue. Take your time, as said many times above. I have high anxiety and like to rush things, but I gotta step back every couple minutes and then go back again and I usually catch something I missed.

 

[turboglenn]

I do all my own builds right here at home, mosttimes i try and put a set of saw horses up inside some where and put a plate of aluminum or board across them to work off of. Never had a failure based on the assembly or machining since i found my new machinist (god, he makesliving in omaha worth while..when he says "you can take ithomeand assemble it" you can do just that and not even worry..all bearings and everything are labeled though as he measures everything and sizes it all up ahread of time no matter who's assembling it (you or him) it just takes him like an extra couple of days because he's so busy so i assmeble everything i get fromhim..............

I agree not to trust any shop, but this guy is now a personal friend, we go to each other's cookouts, BS for no reasona and other friend shit, but i wouldn't put the trust i put in him in the hands of ANY Other machine shop out there period... well maybe bogusSVO, he's maticulous, i can tell from talking to him i'd trust his word and work!

 

[huafist]

I'm going to add another bit of wisdom here. DO NOT TRUST any shop. No matter how good you think they are. I recently feel victim to a poor assembly or machine work on my bottom end. Talking to an ex-employee of the shop he said. This shop pumps out dozens of 4G63s a year, you'd be that 1 in a million, if it's the shop fault. Well guess what, I was that one in a million.

Even if the bottom end is 100% completely assembled, take it to at least another performance shop. Have them tear down and blueprint the engine. I would personally take it to two shops. Or I would blueprint it myself and then I take it to a shop. I would reassemble myself and remeasure using plastigauge. To double check the work. But platigauge won't show you out of round bores.

I am buying my own set of dial bore gauges, digital calipers and micrometers.



This is what I mean.

I agree. When I take engine components into the machine shop for work, I tell them EXACTLY what I want done, to the half thousandth, and I make sure that the machinist knows that I'm going to double check everything before I leave the shop with it. I carry a set of mics and a bore gauge with me when I go. It's very very difficult to find a competent shop these days.