engine at machine shop!
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 299
From: Clinton, MA
engine at machine shop!
I just dropped my block, heads, cam, and oil pan at the machine shop (Golens Engine Service http://golensengineservice.com). It is conveniently located on Hanscom AFB which is where I work. The extra security since 9/11 is supposedly hurting their business (but they look busy to me) and they are moving off the base in about 3 months.
I had pulled the motor during the last Dyno Day, and finally completed the teardown this past weekend.
Now for the goodies: Eagle 4340 3.75" crank, Eagle H-beam 5.7" rods, JE/SRP 31cc dish pistons, conversion to straight 4 bolt mains, bore .030" over, balancing, clearancing for 383, yada yada for $3700. I will be assembling the motor myself.
I am the coolant loss guy with the GTP heads - the heads will be even more thoroughly checked out this time (when I first bought them I think Quest Racing did everything but pressure check them). They will be checked for flatness, milled if necessary, pressure checked, and the springs and valves will be checked. The combustion chamber size will be measured. I will have them flowed. I might sell them if the compression ratio cannot be lowered enough and buy a set of AFR heads. (They quoted me $550 to have the chambers CNC'ed on my heads - not worth it IMO).
I am hoping to get this thing on the road sans blower this fall and get the fuel system up and running (no FMU). I am also thinking about trying to put the MAF on the pressure side....
Joe
I had pulled the motor during the last Dyno Day, and finally completed the teardown this past weekend.
Now for the goodies: Eagle 4340 3.75" crank, Eagle H-beam 5.7" rods, JE/SRP 31cc dish pistons, conversion to straight 4 bolt mains, bore .030" over, balancing, clearancing for 383, yada yada for $3700. I will be assembling the motor myself.
I am the coolant loss guy with the GTP heads - the heads will be even more thoroughly checked out this time (when I first bought them I think Quest Racing did everything but pressure check them). They will be checked for flatness, milled if necessary, pressure checked, and the springs and valves will be checked. The combustion chamber size will be measured. I will have them flowed. I might sell them if the compression ratio cannot be lowered enough and buy a set of AFR heads. (They quoted me $550 to have the chambers CNC'ed on my heads - not worth it IMO).
I am hoping to get this thing on the road sans blower this fall and get the fuel system up and running (no FMU). I am also thinking about trying to put the MAF on the pressure side....
Joe
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 299
From: Clinton, MA
I did ask for opinions about them a couple of months back. Not too many people with machine shop recommendations of any kind, let alone conveniently located. It seemed to me more of the feedback was positive than not. I'll be sure to post my experiences with them in this forum.
To those of you who have done this before, how's the price look?
To those of you who have done this before, how's the price look?
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 300
From: Hudson,MA currently Worcester, MA
My opinion, (you know opinion are like *****les everyone got them)
They are going to do all the machining and balancing and clearancing but you going to assemble it.
Why??
Lets say there is a problem with the work that they do, you'll never get that back because they can say you assembled it wrong.
Are they going to give you balancing sheets and clearancing sheets for everything they do?
I don't know what topic you posted in asking about machine shops but there were plenty of people warning about Goldens engines, lots of bad luck with them from what i hear.
Rob
They are going to do all the machining and balancing and clearancing but you going to assemble it.
Why??
Lets say there is a problem with the work that they do, you'll never get that back because they can say you assembled it wrong.
Are they going to give you balancing sheets and clearancing sheets for everything they do?
I don't know what topic you posted in asking about machine shops but there were plenty of people warning about Goldens engines, lots of bad luck with them from what i hear.
Rob
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 299
From: Clinton, MA
Rob,
Yeah, I've thought about having them assemble it. On one hand I want to learn and on the other is the point you make. If they are going to screw me they can probably find some way to do it. They are supposed to balance everything and hang the rings on the pistons and the pistons on the rods.... Measure all the clearances. I can doublecheck all that crap. Was the bad things you heard resulting from bad machine work, or from slovenly assembly?
When I asked for machine shop opinions it was in my 1st reply to a thread I started in May about building a 383. So I can see how some might have missed it.
Joe
Yeah, I've thought about having them assemble it. On one hand I want to learn and on the other is the point you make. If they are going to screw me they can probably find some way to do it. They are supposed to balance everything and hang the rings on the pistons and the pistons on the rods.... Measure all the clearances. I can doublecheck all that crap. Was the bad things you heard resulting from bad machine work, or from slovenly assembly?
When I asked for machine shop opinions it was in my 1st reply to a thread I started in May about building a 383. So I can see how some might have missed it.
Joe
Registered User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 647
From: Brockton, Ma
I haven't had any problems with the 383 I bought from Golen in February. It's been running for a couple of weeks now. Most of the things I've heard about Golen are he said she said. Anyway, that's my first hand account of dealing with Golen. Anybody else have a first hand experience with them?
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