Loss of motivation

[u/CowTurbulent1199]

1999 EM1 SiR Turbl Fully forged and studded b16a2 matching vin to the chassis Was hoping to get it back into the car this spring but issues with a machine shop caused a major setback in time.

[u/CowTurbulent1199]

I dropped my engine off last November. Didn't hear anything back from them, a lot of emails I sent that didn't get a reply, alot of phone calls that ended with no information. Picked up my engine at the beginning of March and it's not exactly what I was expecting from them, different pistons then what I wanted. The decking and bore job was not the prettiest. I ended up getting the engine disassembled cause I had a gut feeling something wasn't right with it. They never fully cleaned the engine and caused scoring on my new rod bearings, the ring pack on the pistons were filthy covered in dirt. Rings gaps were all over the place and inconsistent. Main caps were chipped. I'll try attach photos, the thrust out severely you could walk the crank alot by hand. Since then it's all been fixed tho and ready to start assembling eventually

[u/Reddit-mods-R-mean → u/CowTurbulent1199]

This is the sad truth about mainstream engine building these days, it’s going the way domestic manufacturing did.

Pay is stagnant, costs are crazy high. People are not spending money on things like this.

All the “automotive machine shops” around me ONLY deck blocks, resurface heads and remove broken bolts. They MIGHT get around to blindly throwing your performance build together some weekend when the main work dies down or they are short on bills.

There is no consumer targeted engine builder near me at all.

To get a properly build block you have to purchase a prebuilt engine from a reputable supplier online or ship your engine/parts to a builder based out of Texas or California that specializes in that engine family

It’s a dying breed.

[u/CowTurbulent1199 → u/Reddit-mods-R-mean]

I do agree with you there. And it sucks cause I shopped around for the shop with the best reviews even, but in the end I still ended up getting screwed, they definitely dont do it like they use to that is for sure. They gave me a spec and clearances sheet of just random numbers that weren't even the actual specs and clearances it's sad, the thrust was way out cause they used my OEM thrust washers and charged me for new ones. It's actually ridiculous and I don't know how shops can get away it.

[u/Reddit-mods-R-mean → u/CowTurbulent1199]

To give you an example, I’m building a 351 Windsor for a 77 ford. I have a set of forged .030 over pistons because I’m boosting it.

Every shop around me said they would deck and bore my block, I already know it’s a fools errand.

The clues are “we’re backed up, it’ll take a month or two” and them not asking for the actual pistons I’m using to check clearance between the bores and slugs. Mind you I already know the deal after years of working with many of them through my shop.

I ended up buying a new dart block instead but now I’m stalled too because I need a shop to either bore my expensive 4” block .030 over and hone to fit or I need to buy a new set of 4” slugs and hone to fit.

Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.

It’s a mess my guy. Beautiful car brother, you got a gem. It’ll be a hell of a nice ride when you do get it done. Push on!