[DeTomaso] A new engine in my future?

Christopher Kimball chrisvkimball at msn.com
Fri Aug 28 12:10:34 EDT 2009


Just be sure the engine builder doesn't wrk with any mechanic named "Randy."

Chris

> Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:13:46 -0400
> From: boyd411 at gmail.com
> To: morganuci at gmail.com
> CC: detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] A new engine in my future?
> 
> I have been researching this topic for some time and regardless of your
> ultimate choice I would strongly recommend that you steer clear of any
> engine builder that does not provide a "run in period" ( if there are going
> to be problems you want them to be identified before you install the engine.
> And I think even more important an engine with out a dyno sheet ( and allot
> of builders provide a dyno sheet of a comparable build<in other words they
> have built ten identical engines and you get a dyno sheet they ran on the
> first engine NOT THE ENGINE YOU BOUGHT. Without a dyno sheet on your exact
> engine you are buying a promise. Even a dyno sheet is worthless if you don't
> trust the builder because it's simple to hand you a sheet and say it goes
> with your engine.. I personally would not buy an engine with out it being
> run in and set up on a dyno and with a sheet that documents the engines
> performance for the exact engine I am buying not a similar build even though
> they will say "we have built loads of theses" There are always defective
> parts , builder error, and fraud as possible issues to contend with . Cavet
> emptor! The lowest price is very rarely the best deal. I would also try to
> find a builder that is as close as possible to your location  There is
> nothing as nice as resolving problems in person and nothing as frustrating
> as trying to resolve an engine problem with a builder that is located
> hundreds of miles ( or more) away. Also besides relying on someones ebay
> points I would google there business name with search words specifically
> looking for problems .
> 
> Boyd
> 
> P.S. RED ALERT!!!!!!
>  This guy does business under several different names :This is not a good
> sign. Just google "Tuff Dawg Engine reviews"
> Tuff Dawg You know,
> 
>  Phoenix Engine Rebuilders
> (www.phoenixengine.com)
> 
> They also sell in Ebay under: phoenixmusclecar
> http://stores.ebay.com/Phoenix-Engine-Crate-Turn-Key
>  He has listings for corvette owners , Bronco owners, Jeep owners ETC. You
> get the idea.
> I just did a quick check and there were way too many dissatisfied customers
> for my liking. Even the best builder will have some complaints because you
> can't please everyone. From just this one sit it seemed like every other
> person had some sort of complaint and some had catastrophic failures within
> a few hundred miles!!  I woul pass on this guy.
> http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136059&referrerid=15729
> A quote from one of his corvette customers.
> 'I bought a 350 motor from Phoenixmusclecar on eBay. It was a total piece of
> sh!t. Was advertised to have 380hp with 400lb of torque. It was more like
> 200hp with maybe 250lb or torque. With-in a thousand miles on the motor it
> blew a headgasket & bent a rod. I pulled the motor and disassembled it to
> find out it had 305 heads with the absolutely cheapest rods, crank and cam
> known to man kind. I concluded that I paid $3000 for a nice carb and water
> pump, which is all that I reused on my new 383 that I built my self. I built
> my 383 for $5500 with all high quality parts that is estimated to have 490hp
> with 510lb of torque. You could build yourself a quality 400hp motor for
> $2500 to $3000 with the motor you have. Do yourself a favor and built it
> yourself or find a local guy that is reputable. I never did get any of my
> money back because I installed it after the warranty.
> Quote: Getting ripped off across the entire country “priceless” '
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 9:00 PM, Tim Morgan <morganuci at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > My 73's existing engine is somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 HP.
> > Recently, it was making a strange noise, and the oil smells of gasoline and
> > there are a lot of metal filings on the oil drain plug.  Assuming it's
> > toast, that leaves me with a few choices:
> >
> >   1. Rebuild my existing engine
> >   2. Buy a new block, transfer everything else (heads etc.) from my old
> >   engine
> >   3. Buy a crate motor
> >
> > I'm leaning towards #3 because it seems like the fastest and easiest
> > choice.  I also want to end up with a better, more powerful motor than I
> > had, as long as I'm doing this, and buying a crate motor gets me a bunch of
> > new, hi performance parts all in one package.  Then the question is,
> > Windsor, Cleveland, or something else?  I'd like to stick with Cleveland
> > for
> > a number of reasons, including being able to reuse a lot of what I already
> > have, such as my fuel injection system.  But of course, Clevelands are much
> > less plentiful than Windsors.
> >
> > So, I was looking at this particular engine:
> > http://www.tuffdawgengines.com/ford_351C_445hp.htm.  It goes for $5195 as
> > described.  He will install my intake manifold (sorry, I don't know what
> > model it is, but it has the fuel injectors installed in it) in place of his
> > normal manifold.  His price includes testing, balancing, shipping, etc., as
> > in the description, but not breaking it in or dyno testing it.
> >
> > Is there an alternative that I should look at?  He has 100% positive
> > feedback on eBay (on 19 transactions in the last 12 months), but does
> > anyone
> > have experience with Tuff Dawg engines, good or bad (you can write to me
> > individually rather than post if you prefer)?  I'm in the greater Seattle
> > (Issaquah) area.
> >
> > Also, what cam or cam specs would be good for a fuel injected Cleveland for
> > street use?  He thought that the optimum would be different than with a
> > carb.
> >
> > Tim
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