jdm767

Greetings all!

Here's the quick: I need to find someone (shop) that is trustworthy and good at building an LS engine for my '03 Z06.

Here's the long (why): I bought this car from a forum member last year. It had been modified by Lingenfelter. The timing chain broke twice while with the previous owner. The first time it was rebuilt by GM, the second time by Lingenfelter. When I learned of this, I withdrew from the sale. I was assured by the member that the engine was "fine" now and in fact had run 12,000 miles since Lingenfelter rebuilt it.

I bought the car.

While driving it back from Michigan to Connecticut, the timing chain broke again and the engine was lost.

Three weeks later the car arrived at a Forum members shop in NY who held out to be the best of the best. I was told to expect to have the car in 6 - 8 weeks with a new motor etc etc etc... That was in April.

I took delivery of the car in November. It seemed to be running great!

I drove it about 1,000 miles.

Over the winter I had another shop here in CT put in a front tow hook and look over the car. They noted that it was pinging under load while at lower RPM's. They scoped the engine and found odd scratching in the combustion chamber. Not really bad, but definitely odd.

We all agreed that the pining needed to be addressed so the car was sent to a local shop that tunes on the dyno (sadly, they do not build engines...)

I got some disturbing news as soon as they connected to the car - the builder (in NY) had LOCKED my ECU! Worse yet, he disabled ALL of the sensors! He did this without my knowledge and certainly without my permission.

(Told you - it's a long tale!)

We asked for the code to unlock the ECU and he refused to give it to us.

Since he wasn't going to cooperate, the only decision we could make was to buy a new ECU and work from there.

Before putting in the new ECU, the car was dynoed and made a very nice 400hp at the wheels and the torque curve was a virtual 45 degree line until it peaked at about 6,000 rpm!

The ECU was changed and the car dynoed again. Only this time, catastrophe...

I'm told that at about 3,000 RPM as they were in the "learning" phase for the new ECU, the rear main seal blew out. Over pressure in the crankcase...

The money pit struck again...

After much discussion and taking quite an earful from my wife, it was decided to pull the motor and have it rebuilt. That was 5 weeks ago! We were "promised" three weeks by the builder, but here we sit at 5 weeks with no progress at all.

The tale gets worse as in the process of separating the drive line from the body we found many safety issues bad coilovers, worn out ball joints, damaged NEW ARH headers...).

So, does anyone know of a reputable shop that builds great engines and stands behind their own work? It would be really great if they were here in the Northeast... but at this point, I guess I don't get to be too choosy...

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If nothing else, I do appreciate your time!

If you would like to know who the shop is that hurt me and my car so much, PM me. I don't like to air such things in public.

Vetteman Jack

What a nightmare you are going through with your car - and it does sound like a money pit so far. Hope you can finally get things sorted out and enjoy the car. Try contacting one or more of the forum vendors listed in the tuners area on the right side of your screen.

grantv

Horrible! Sorry to hear, and can't offer anything other than:
-A free bump so you can get assistance
-A request to post the name. Just the fact that they won't unlock the code for you is enough IMO.

RomanNYC

http://www.thevettedoctors.com/ thank me later

jdm767

Thank you now!

I just spoke to Dennis... I appreciate the referral!

Jeff

RomanNYC

Houlie

http://www.sd-concepts.com/

Bill Curlee

MAN,,, WHAT AN ORDEAL!

IM AFRAID to recommend any shops as it may be the shop you had trouble with.

PLEASE PM ME and I will provide you my number and we can talk:

Bill Curlee

laurent_zo6

I would call Rick Kim at his shop (www.rktperformance.com). Top mechanic. i won't let anyone else work on my '02Z. He has clients from all over the United States.

I’m Z one

Can you buy a GMPP short block or a LS6 crate motor from GMPP?

I hear Scroggy Dickens are good source for that.

Good luck either way

C5 Pete

This right here is a good idea, unless of course, you want more then OEM power.

Don't limit yourself to the northeast. There are good builders all across this country that can build you exactly what you'd like. Shipping is neglible in a situation like this.

Good luck.

NemesisC5

Schwanke Engines

apex26

Isn't it quite unusual for a Lingenfelter motor to grenade? Wondering, assuming you don't want a new GM motor, if Lingenfelter would work with you on a replacement, or if it's just too crazy expensive.

danm1

I'm sorry to hear of your situation, that really sucks. Here's what I can tell you, I've heard great things about East Coast Supercharging in New Jersey, as a matter of fact, my 02 Z is there now for cam and headers. They do all sorts of Engine mods for LS engines, primary Vettes, and they dyno tune there too, I'll let you know how it goes with me.

IMXCITD

So sorry to hear about this disaster! I wish you all the best getting your Z back on the road.