Gentlemen,

This is a question for the folks who had a short block or long block assembled at a shop from scratch.

What is a reasonable amount of time to wait before expecting an engine to be assembled? I know it's vague but lets say you drop off a disassembled long block and want to get rods, pistons, cams, bearings, balancing, machine work etc done...basically a full long block assembled done. What is reasonable amount of time to wait before it's completed or one starts calling the shop and ask for the engine?

month? two months? three? four and a half?

 

Sounds like a loaded question, but I am going to say 4 weeks based on my experience with Dynosty, with all parts ordered in advance (no waiting for cams, etc).

 

Rcdash,

I bought your old engine from you last year. I dropped the engine off at a shop on October and paid for new pistons and bearings and it's still not completed. I'm just tired of waiting and of getting excuses from the shop. Just wanted to get a feel for how long some of the members here had to wait. i thought that four and a half months was way too long.

 

30 days……

And never pay for it up front.

 

What are the excuses they are giving you?

 

Oh no

They clearly have it on the back burner. At the same time, you want it done right, not rushed... so a little face to face communication may be in order.

 

Have they started on it yet...disassembly,cleaning?

 

30 days or less... Balancing is usually done within a three day turnaround for most places.

 

sorry for the late reply.
I was told in November that my build was next on their list. Was told the same in December, in Jan I was told that it went to the machine shop to get balanced and that they were waiting on the bearings. Early this month I got that the weather hindered shipping and still waiting on bearings. I called today and was told next week. Meanwhile on their webpage I see build after build after build..Very frustrating.

I dropped the whole engine to them already disassembled on October 15 of last year. I just needed the engine assembled and that's it. I was planning on dropping the engine in myself before my kid was born but too late, he was born last week and I am losing motivation.

 

Oh yeah, I paid 1200 up front for pistons and bearings.

 

I have short blocks assembled by the machine shop. I assemble the long block from there. If I drop off the block, pistons (w rings and pins), rods, and crank, I get it back in about 5-6 weeks. I let him order the bearings since he is the one measuring to see what bearings to order. This is dealing with a very reputable and meticulous machine shop who does tons of race engines for various builders in the chicago area. Cost is around $1400 back to me for labor / machine work and bearings + assembly. I assume this is a rather high price to pay for the work, and I drive 90 minutes to his shop for this. But, on the other hand, I have never had a problem from any short block he put together for me... several going on 10 years now.

 

5-6 weeks is still a lot better than 4.5 months.

 

Which shop is this?

 

I rather not say who it is yet. They did finally contact me last Thursday though. Lets see what happens.

 

GTM took 1.5 yrs on my stroker long block....flew out to LA after 1 tr..only had SHORT block completed and DIDN'T ceramic coat all internals as paid for...after1.5 y3s, discovered block wasn't clearances for stroker..

DONT DO BUSINESS WITH GTM... their days are over..

Outright THIEF, LIAR, AZZHOL OWNER SAM COKSOKERZAWAHARA.

 

I bet you parts are on another car right now, shops do shady stuff like that all the time

 

I waited 12 wks for my last motor, and they gave it back to me unassembled.

whatever the time frame is, should be discussed up front. My situation, they told me 2 wks up front. some shops are busier than others, some 6 months is a short wait, others shorter. noone can answer this question for you if you never discussed the time frame with the shop

 

It's not always malicious though. I've seen once good and reputable shops get in a vicious cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul once they start experiencing financial hardships. Quick/easy bolt-on stuff can continue to get churned out while more labor intensive builds get postponed and pushed back as those customers' monies are used to put out other fires. It's an unfortunate situation that frustrates customers and tarnishes a shop's reputation.

Not saying this is the case with OP's shop (especially since we don't know which shop it is). But it is something I have seen (and experienced) within the VQ community almost as much as the shady VQ bubble shops that blatantly ripped people off.

 

Good luck dude. Keep us posted. I can tell you my car has been down for 10 mos mainly because I was deciding on direction and wanted to wait for my next build. Clear communication is key, but I am building from the ground up in about 8-10 weeks and I was in line after some other large builds stacked up.

 

I have waited a year and a half to get a couple of pipes from GTM.

And now waiting for 3-4 months to get a ball joint set from a vendor. Its true, we are stuck with the worst shops in this community.