Looking for anyone in Vet land that may have done business with this engine builder. All the printed info looks good but would rather hear it from some experts. The 489 we are looking at produces from 550 to 650 HP with 575 ft. lbs. of push. Everything is new and supposedly 10:1 compression with prices in the seven grand range. This will be for the 72 I am currently building and hopefully be compatible with air and auto tranny. They are located in Stanfield NC and build engines for a lot of the nascar dudes. Looking to be comfortable in the drivers seat and still be able to strike fear in the heart of any blue oval operator.
Thanks,
Norm

 

Check out this thread and then check with the buyer to see if it has been resolved:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1780881

 

And this one;

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1784011

 

I love the response on this forum. You guys are on top of things. Has anyone had a good experience with this group?
Norm

 

I think this thread was a positive review of them.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1610024

 

Yes, that was a very interesting thread and it covered several topics of concern. Seems to be a plus and minus to anything these days. I am about six hours away so my trip in September will be a serious fact finding mission. Thanks to all that replied.
Norm

 

Yes,but that thread was at the start of the year.
It seems lately T&L have started to go downhill.
Heres another more recent thread.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1769824

 

That one scares the hell out of me. Thought I was on to something really good. Should have bought from them a year ago when the chance of getting a deal was still a possibility. Looks like a trip back to my chevy dealer for a ZZ502 crate motor. At least they are local and I can kick some butt if they screw me.

 

Early on T&L built good engines for a fair price (maybe they still do), but lately it seems that their fame has overwhelmed them. It now looks like they are out of the NASCAR business & strictly building advanced street engines. I did see one forum where a supposed supplier was complaining about no contact & lack of payment, but it was the only one, so take that with a grain of salt. I'd tell them that you need the engine by such & such date & that you are going to schedule your vacation around seeing your engine on the dyno, might help.

 

Will need to give this one some serious thought. Maybe a face to face meeting would resolve some of my concerns. A drive to NC is not a big deal from where I live.
Thanks to all,
Norm

 

They built me a good engine. In fact, it is a really nice engine for the money. That said, I have one little warranty problem that is not with thier build but a PS pump that they sold me that leaks. I have called about it on numerous occasions and they promise to send me a new one but it hasn't happened. The parts guy who is no longer there said he would send me a new one as soon as the Owner released their next order. I don't know what is going on there but the inablility to send replacement parts, substituting different brand parts( others on the board), and incomplete shipments makes me suspicious of financial troubles. Maybe they get this thing worked out and all is OK but I would not be comfortable buying from them today.

 

You might want to do that & let us know what you see. The reports used to be that the place was orderly & clean. I would like to know if that has changed.

 

Here's a couple of more threads I started that precede the other two mentioned. Both started by me, these plus the other two pretty much document my history with T&L. As I look back at these threads it's funny how my optimism heads south. The price for what I got was fair. However I was pretty much expecting a motor(in a timely fashion) that would drop in and shred some tires. Not the case.... Anyway if you have any more questions feel free to IM me. I'll send you my phone number and we can chat. Did I mention it took a month to get a refund for parts not delivered?

Here's the initial disapointment:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1748806

And yet more disappointment:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1754433

So in closing.... don't do it. I got my motor before Clive did. And in less time and I was PIS$#D. I can only imagine what Clive went through. Since then more folks have come out of the wookwork with similar issues. I wish that I would have just saved my money and gone with someone like the engine shop or something. I'm sure they at least pick up the phone and return calls. Still no return call from T&L regarding my motor despite 7 calls to them. I give up. I wash my hands of them. Here's another thread that someone else just started.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1784011

When I started searching the buzz about them was great. Not so much anymore.... good luck in your search.
-CR

Forgot this one!! If you want to see what I got here's yet another link with the blueprint and dyno sheets I got from them:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1768727

 

You have PM. This one is new, complete, dyno tuned and ready to roll,

 

Thanks to all. Glad I asked the question before spending a ton of money only to buy a lot of grief. Thinking maybe I should go back to an old friend, Stuart Matthews, and have him build me another motor. Maybe the locals ain't so bad after all. My luck with engines is like rolling dice. A lot of times I come up with crap. My last ZZ350 crate engine blew up in less than six months. Kicked a rod and piston out the side of the block. As usual, this forum is an information highway.
Thanks,
Norm

 

Hey, I thought I would let you know I also had a poor experience with T&L. I ordered my engine (#1479) the first week of March and after calling daily to hear excuse after excuse or no answer, received it the first week of June (not the 6-8 weeks they told me) I got the 408 with forged internals. Took me about 2 weeks to get it installed, and once I did I had a loud knock that sounded like it was coming from the lower end. I called T&L and requested they look it over to see what they could find. It shipped back to them the 1st week of July and it is still there. I talked to Lloyd about 3 weeks ago and he told me they couldn't find anything wrong. I asked him to ship it back to me and it was supposed to go out by last Friday. I was not able to get ahold of anyone until yesterday when a guy named Ed answered the phone. I can tell you he is a lot more responsive than Lloyd was and actually called me back when he said he would. He told me they will ship my engine next week. Based on all the excuses I have heard from them (dog died, receptionist sick, dyno guy sick, vacations, shipper didn't show,etc.) I am a little more than skeptical, but at least someone is now answering the phones. If I had this all to do over again I would not order from T&L, I would go with a GM crate or one of the Blueprint engines from Jegs....