believe engine builder???

OK I need some major help guys....

I met a guy on this board that is willing to build me a 500 Hp 383. He is an engine builder in Migchigan, and I live in Boston. He says he can get it to me for 6300. I have his work phone #, his house phone # and address, oh and of course the address of the shop.

Would you guys trust this?
How would you secure a legit transaction?
Would you expect a written contract or something?

I have no idea what to do. The deal is great, I mean the engine is fully forged and has all great parts, he emailed me a list of parts too. He is even willing to give me his social security # if i want.

Do I trust him??

Need your imput guys, I am 21 and building my first car. I don't know how these things work

thx for the help

i would.. if he was going to **** u over, he wouldnt have giving u anything at all..... u can always sue him if the motor is crap

Do a search on his username, and see what comes up.

Does he actually work in or own a shop, or is he just building motors in his garage?

If he has a business behind him to back up the name, things are probably legit. Ask him for references if he's got 'em.

- Justin

Dude for that kind of money you can get you a nice crate engine with a 2 Year/Unlimited Mileage Warranty, From edelbrock.. That way you have no worries.... look in to it...

Dude for that kind of money you can get you a nice crate engine with a 2 Year/Unlimited Mileage Warranty, From edelbrock.. That way you have no worries.... look in to it...
LOL

My cousin started building a 383 for a guy LAST YEAR. They used all Edelbrock parts. Heads, intake, carb, etc. They had a local shop machine the block and everything. The total cost was quite a bit more than Edelbrock sells their crate 383 for.

:confused:

I don't get some people

edelbrock motors are way way more expensive, not to mention that they don't offer a 383 500 HP all forged motor.

Thanks for the idea's guys.

He owns the shop and is tryingto make a name for himslef.

Af for the price, he sent me a parts list, I went to summit and added it all up. comes up to being aorund 5500, and word on the street is that it costs about 1300 for assembly and shipping, so 6300 for a FULLY forged internal motor, roller cammed and turnkey is damn good.

check out speedomotive, golen, musclecarmotors, engine factory, and so on. none of these guys can touch that price.

Is the name a secret because he isn't a vendor or is it just that you don't want to say.

If he is a vendor then you can make a post asking about him.
You might just want to go to the Regional Forums (bottom of forum list) for Michigan and ask about the guy.

I got burnt pretty bad buy a builder out of Michigain that went out of business so you might want to get as much info as you can about him and the shop he owns.

What car is this going into?

You can have a crazy powerful motor, but it won't make much sence if the rest of your car is stock. I would take that money and put it in a variety of mods on every part of the car.

I am FULLY aware of the "rest of the car" thought. I thank you for the thought, but yes the rest of the car is not stock, not a single thing. If you want you can check out my site in my profile. If not i will give u a little list....


Moser 12 bolt
sphon adj. tq arm
tube k-member
tube a-arms
tube adj trailing arms
tube adj. panhard bar
15 gallon fuel cell
6 point roll cage
5 point harnesses
Tenzo R seats
custom made (by me) autometer phantom guages panel
custom rear hatch cover.
rims-- ZR1 17X9.5" up front 275's, 17X11" rear 335's
dropped springs
KYB AGX adj shocks
relocated batery
all new painless wiring
fully dynomated interior front and fatmatted rear.every little bit

the list of stuff goes on.....so yeah the restof the car is ready for a 500 HP motor. :)

(gonna have soon)
Tremec 6 speed


Oh the car is gonna be a very fun street car, and a strip car every now and then. But mainly street.

over 100 pics on my site in my profile

Oh, third gen! By all means go ahead with the 383. It would be great if you could get some assurance though. Try to work out a warranty of some kind so you don't lose all that money if something serious were to go wrong. Keep us updated.

Nice car!

haha, yeah its a third gen, I guess i should have said that earlier. thx for checking it out.

As for the motor, me and the builder are working out something now. I have 2 other threads posted on thirdgen.org about this.

I have his # and his house address, the # of the shop and the address. I don't know what else to get to help me feel reasured, any ideas?

I am like 90% sure he is legit, I have talked to him over the phone and on AIM all the time. Maybe I can get refrences.

Maybe I can get refrences.

Sure you could, if you'd give us his NAME! :cool:

Is it Victory Racing? Stenod?

Oh sorry guys.

His name is Matt and his buisness name is

Matthew Race Engines
1141 colfax benton harbor MI 49022

I really hope this helps. I have talked to him on the phone and over AIM. I am thinking of having him write up a little contract that he can sighn and send to me, so that I have at least some kind of physical evidence.

Anyone hear of him, or his place. THX

i would.. if he was going to **** u over, he wouldnt have giving u anything at all..... u can always sue him if the motor is crap

do you realize how many little legalities need to apply to have a chance at any legal rights? also understand that you are out of state, even if you won in court you would have so many little fees in order to have him served here that by the time your all said and done you would be quite upset. i had the same problem with tpis, it would have cost me more money to serve them then i won so i was basically out the money. i wouldn't do it.

however, on another note. i'm assuming your going carb and not efi as there is no way you could build a 500 crank let alone rwhp motor turnkey for $6,300. either way if it is legit then it's definately a decent price but i'd be careful. there has to be someone in your area that knows how to do what you want. it's well worth spending a few extra pennies in case there is a problem. building a motor is extremely expensive for such power and to do it right, if anything goes wrong the chance that your out of state makes it much harder to do anything about it.

good luck.

^^^ Good points.

Dennis, how far do you live from the guy doing the work?

Man You could build one for less than that.Theres a company called larrys performance shop.I believe he has an add in chevy hi performance.You can get a balanced short block 383 is like $1500 or so and a 400 stroked out to 415 for like $1600 i think.Get that . slap a really nice set of heads on it.might not be exactly 500 horses. but you should be in the 400 area. throw a small shot of nos and run cirlces around that 6500 price he gave you.

I'd like to know what kind of parts this guy is using, I am building a 580-620 hp 377 roller motor and I'm up to 6600 in parts alone. If this is a 500 hp 383 I'm going to guess that this is not a roller motor, be warned if you get a motor that has a solid cam and normal lifters and rockers you will be tuning it up all the time, not very good for a street car.

Yes it is a roller motor. Full roller. custom push rods cuz the block was not roller b 4. (1979 truck block) Assembled trick flow heads (Aluminum), and a forged eagle bottom end (rods, crank and pistons). Edelbrock Victor jr single plane, and a 750 holly double pumper. no valve covers. I beliesve the cam is a comp cam.

I do not have the part #s in front of me, cuz i am at work. If you want them I can tell you them later. I have looked all the parts up on summit, and they add up to about 5500 bucks or so, from carb to pan. The deal is great cuz he is trying to make a name for himself on these forums.

The guy gets all his parts for a lot cheaper than an everyday customeer like you and me, cuz he is an official summit distributor. So that might be how you are spending more.

i am sure your heads are better too, Lynk, if you are making that much power.

So yeah, I guess that asnwers most of the Q's.

Sounds like a great deal, but with machining the block + parts I can't imagine the guy is making a penny on the deal. I would be wary and try to get some kind of warranty out of the guy.

Definately sounds like he wouldn't make much on the deal unless he gets a great deal on parts. Possible he's trying to get his name out there by offering sweet deals, etc. He could be a genius builder but if I've never seen his work, his work in action at the track and on the street, then I'd never pay him for engine work.

Goodluck!

I would say the same thing, about seeing the track runs and stuff like that, but the neerest track is over an hour away, and really not too accesible to me right now.

I know it seems like a great deal and that the guy is gonna be making almost nothing off me. It is true, I talk to him on the phone, on AIM and have a contract/warranty that has his signature on it and all. All the precautions have been taken. He in fact is trying to get his name out there by offering great deals. I hope you guys buy from him, he is really trying to get his name out there. esspecially on thirdgen.org. I will be buying the motor next week, (Thurday sending the $). As soon as i get it, I will post pics and tell you how it runs. I am totally confidednt that this motor will be awsome and be able to hold up to a nice 200 shot :)