Well I finally got some time to take a pile of parts to Terry Walters Engines in Roanoke to build a new shortblock. Called to make sure they have time for me and listened to their message - ugh. As of January, 2023, they only take commercial business work and big commercial diesel engine work. I suppose I might talk Terry into taking another engine project, but I'm not optimistic. Great folks and it was nice working with them over the last 15 years. Lookin' for another shop now...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Oh no.

Sorry to hear that.

Call them and see if you can talk them into your stuff.
If not then see who they recommend if anyone.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

Almost all the good smaller shops are going out of business. The guy that I take mine to is 75 years old? How long he will be around is anyone's guess.

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Anymore machine shop is a tough way to make a living. Hope you can find a good one Lou.

I have one now that is a 3 generation family business thst pretty much only does race stuff. Hopefully they keep sticking around.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I thought I had a good one until they charged me $300 for just the machine work on a cast iron single cyl 12hp Kohler. Almost double what they charged me for the last one only a few years ago same extent of work, I got the parts both times.

Good news for today. I called Bill Richardson at Ram Racing Engines and he has availability. He is in Lynchburg, VA, so 1.5 hrs drive. Mopar only guy. I plan to bring an engine or two over to him in the next week. Seems like a great guy.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Awesomeness!

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Bill Richardson is an incredible hack...I'd stay far away from him. He has no business being in the business...unless you like paying someone to damage your parts.

Interesting, Greg. Can you elaborate on what experiences you have? Feel free to respond by PM, of course.

Bill was recommended by Cameron Tilley in Sydney, Australia, who is a good friend of mine and a very successful Mopar road racer. Cameron has used Bill for Mopar engines work in the past.

Thanks very much,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

It's a long story full of his bad behavior, but in 1995 I has a very original Street Hemi (426). I was moving from Chicago back to Texas and decided to use RAM to go through it in order to keep my project on time. Sent the block/heads. I wanted a Crower crank/lightweight 7.400 rods...Bill said he would order them 'to help him keep his discount'. He also sold me on half-filling the block...I was against it but he insisted so OK. In hindsight, I realize he was learning on my dime.

Anyway, after months of delay and broken promises/excuses, he finally had the engine done. On its first dyno run, he called me and said it had dropped a valve and badly damaged the new JE piston and beat up the chamber...turns out he had not checked the valve-to-cyl clearance and it was clipping the top of the cylinder. More delay and more money. So finally it's done. I drive to Nashville to meet him to pick it up...I had mentioned I had a nice running 318 and he said he wanted it as a rebuildable core and would pay me for it. So I took it in the truck. When I got there, he said he didn't have any need for it but would take it for free...of course, I couldn't take both engines back (small truck) so I gave it to him. WTF

Turns out Bill had ordered the crank wrong...he ordered it with a Top Fuel flange instead of the normal flange used on millions of Mopars. So it had no crank register and wouldn't connect to any Mopar flywheel or flexplate. Sweet. I wound up making an adapter for the flange which also meant I had to use a spacer between the engine block and trans.

So the Hemi gets installed and immediately a constant oil leak that was hard to find...it would idle fine but when you drove the car it leaked all over the headers. Finally found that Bill had used a gasket on the oil pump sitting ON TOP of the O-ring seal used by the Milodon pump...so under high RPM pressure the oil would squirt out. Rookie mistake.

Bill also liked lots of orange RTV. Lots. So after a few hundred easy miles, a chunk of it came loose inside and found it's way into a rod journal and chewed up the bearings, which scalded the Crower crank and wiped out two rods. Gosh. I also found two of the nuts used on the lifter valley head studs lying in the lifter valley, loose. I guess Bill didn't own a torque wrench.

The red paint Bill had insisted he use inside the lifter valley, by this point, was all coming off so the oil looked like red gravy.

While the engine is out, I noticed the block - which had been a low mileage, standard bore block - had a long horizontal crack running all the way down the outside....maybe 10" long .....exactly along the top edge of where he had filled it. On talking to others, I learned that the block filler will expand - like frozen water - if you don't do the job properly.

Both the red paint and hard block were 'sold' to me by Bill with lots of assurances that he knew what it took to get these treatments done properly. Turns out he was incompetent....

So....I went from a very clean original 426 Hemi to a cracked block, damaged head engine with over $12K in receipts for damaged/useless parts. All within under 500 miles. This was back in 1995 when $12K was still a lot of money.

Bill is long on swagger, very short on competence.

Greg,
Thanks very much for your detailed response. Surprising based on other things I've heard, but, wow. I will keep this in mind.
How are your projects going these days?
Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Going good Lou...but not doing a lot on cars other than keeping them running as needed. The clutchflite Valiant (225) still is running and in one piece. Probably has 3 or 4000 miles on the current setup and starts and runs like...well, a Slant Six...no fuss, no troubles!

Very cool. Would love to see that C-F Valiant sometime...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I think Greg has some bits of documentation on here about that transmission somewhere.

Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack