rcdash

iTrader: (18)

Please don't tell me you are blaming yourself. Or others are. If I asked for engine parts to be powder coated and my builder told me "ok" and went ahead and installed them, and then was told (however nicely) it was my fault for powder coating them, I'd be a wee bit upset.

So to put it another way, what would you have done differently in hindsight?

I know you might not want to assign blame where you feel perhaps an honest mistake or oversight was made, perhaps one that involved a decision on your part. But you are not the professional car builder.

Anyway, I hope others aren't put off building their cars for boost by what has transpired here. If you anticipate failure can/will happen on occasion, you just need to be certain you've got someone that is double checking every decision and will stand behind all aspects of the build regardless of what happens. I hope you are taken care of Cass. It was made very clear to me that if I pushed certain limits I would be on my own. I never crossed that line. I was given a warning and a choice in those instances. Were you?

ttg35fort

iTrader: (2)

Chris, I'm sorry to hear all this. Were the valves stock size or already oversized? If they were stock, maybe you can go to oversized valves and salvage the heads? I know, the money drain just keeps getting deeper and deeper, and I feel for you because I am there too (although my issue was completely my fault, so it makes it just a bit easier to digest).

If you decide to push on (I hope you do, but completely understand if you don't), talk to Sharif at FP, Sam at GTM, and Kyle at Import Parts Pro about a new short block and head work (I put the companies in alphabetical order because I respect each of these guys greatly and each of them has helped me alot!). IMO, between these resources, you might be able to get back up and running without too much financial damage, and know that you have a strong motor.

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

I already had the full Ferrera valvetrain with the 1mm oversized valves. So much money and effort put into those.... WASTED!! The initail valve job from the previous owner of the motor was poor quality and the valves were sunk deep in the head. I had Headgames go through and re-do the complete heads, but the valves were shortened to make them all uniform, so now they are useless without having all the headwork (appx $3K) done over as well.

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

I hear you, and do not feel that I did anything to cause the failure, but Frank is working with me to resolve this issue in any direction I choose to go. I do not feel that the failure was Frank's issue either, just and very bad sequence of events that ended in the worst possible result.

I was clear that I was doing some things that I had never seen before, but certainly did not do anything that I thought would cause this result. If I had just never ridden in jtgli's car or ever bought that used built motor....

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

Justice is evaluating the condition of the block and internals to see if anything can be saved/re-used. The manor in which the block failed caused such damage and failure that forensics are a waste of time and money. I know the cause of the fail already andhave zero interest in playing the blame game to see if I can push this off on Frank.

Like the saying goes, "you gotta pay to play", I just need to man up and decide if I've had enough and push back from the table or sit down, strap in, shut up and ask for seconds (thirds really). I figure it this way, I was trying to join an exclusive club - 600+whp and instead ended up joining another club - 3rd motor in FI.

Now that I know the extent of the damage I can start looking at the real $$$$ it will cost to re-build and make a decision on what I want to do. Right now, I just miss my car and hate it to death at the same time. The amount of money I have spent on this car is already stupid so I just don't know how stupid I want to be now. I could have bought a used 911 for what I have put into this car right now.

eltness350

iTrader: (58)

i feel for u bud....i had to wait two years to finish mine for it only to fail a month later.....i gave in and im tryin it again.....i wish u luck in whatever u decide

Jay'Z

iTrader: (118)

Dust yourself off and try again..

rcdash

iTrader: (18)

You're taking the adage of "pay to play" to the extreme Cass. It's a double edged sword and shops gotta pay to play also. It's not about blame. It's about customer service and delivering what was promised - a product and/or service for an agreed upon price. You didn't hire a subcontractor. You took your car to a shop. (I hope) Anyway, I don't feel you should have to be eating any of the rebuild costs, at all - well except for time lost, but maybe I have been spoiled. I'll shut up now.

Jay'Z

iTrader: (118)

I agree with RCdash but, I highly doubt they will eat that blown engine... Its like pulling shark teeth to get a shop to eat anything let alone an entirely new engine/built internals/tt kit.. Maybe Im lost but doesnt the shop have insurance for things like this??????

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

I hear what you guys are saying, but the variables make it harder. The car was not at Hill's when it failed, it was with the tuner, plus I had the car for 5 days prior to taking it to the tuner. I am a realist and I can see all sides here, if I were younger and blew my entire life savings on this build I can see that I would be much more devistated and would be making nasty threads and posts to put pressure on the builder to fix everything on his dime.

I am able to understand that throwing a shop under the bus to get my desired result may suit me now, but I will still need a good mechanic after I'm done and will then just be another shops nightmare customer. Not to mention the damage it would do to my karma. I have no idea on the insurance issue Jay.

I could re-build for much less money if I chose to give up my stock longblock to get started right now, but I need to weigh money vs time to choose the best option. I could throw the turbos on my stock block and be on the road in 2 weeks if I really wanted to and that would save expense and down time now, but I really wanted a built motor and it would cost much more $$$$ for the motor and turbo swap next year.

The hardest part is putting more money into a car I haven't driven in just under 5 months. I forget how much fun it was to drive. I got my R1 out today while it was nice and was able to get my speed fix in just fine. Although my friend that just got an 06 Vette keeps sending me pics of him around town , I was really loking forward to embarrassing him on the street this summer.

VR3

installing your stock block with the TT kit and tune to 400whp for the rest of the year will really give you thorough time to think about the options you have and plan ahead instead of a react build. b/c a complete rebuild at this point may have your car ready by start of fall or winter.

superchargedg

iTrader: (4)

Damn Cass this has just ruined my day(and yours of course)i really dont know what to say and probably shouldnt have posted.I just hope for you that everything will turn out for the best..........and whats wrong with a measly 400rwhp.
















Im just kidding.

djamps

iTrader: (1)

Nothing wrong with stock boost ... do it...just do it!!

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

I spoke with Tim at SFR last night and learned something new. I can use a rev-up motor like a DE if I don't plug in the extra cam sensors. I can either use the stock rev-up cams or drop in DE spec upgraded cams. This may be the solution I am looking for since I need a full longblock for re-build.

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

There is nothing wrong or small with 400whp, its just that I had a perfectly functioning F/I car before I started this lunacy and I would feel slightly (more like very) cheated if I spent the better part of $20K building motors and the net result was 60-70whp. Plus all the work and money put into the turbo upgrades (twice now) would be a complete waste, I could have just used the stock APS turbos.

rcdash

iTrader: (18)

Why aren't you using your stock longblock and rebuilding that? At this point, why not?

And I hear you on making some tough choices. I had the oil filter blow off and dump my oil at the airstrip event because of the cheap, generic sandwich adapter I provided to Forged to have them install. If the motor had been ruined, I would have accepted fault even though they took the part and installed it. I can see you are in a similar spot. I just got lucky and I was able to save the motor by shutting down in under 10 secs because everyone was screaming at me (I didn't have a clue with my helmet on).

Take your stock block, drop it off, and let one shop do everything. That'd be my recommendation. Good luck.

RudeG_v2.0

iTrader: (1)

<p></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b> +1</b></p><p>I agree 100%</p>

djamps

iTrader: (1)

That's what I did. No finger pointing if/when sh*t hits the fan.

thefireboy

Just to let you know Cass is not going to be responsable for the entire rebuild cost, Hill's Garage is going to take care of him.
and what happened to cass's motor i dont think any engine builder would have thought that the series of events that happened to make his engine fail would have ever happen.. and its hard to notice a problem when you cant see the problem. or if you have never seen the problem before..
Cass is in good hands, Frank HIll is one of the best period.

rcdash

iTrader: (18)

^^ that's good to hear. We'll miss you at ZdayZ Cass, but there's always next year. Of course, if you can hitch a ride down, I'm sure a number of us would be willing to let you ride shotgun so you can get your speed fix in. (You're not too heavy are you?) j/k j/k Come on down if you can.