Two options for my L-88 replica, a LS3/550hp or a 496/650hp.
Still have a few months before the final decision but does anyone run a 496 from Vortec Pro or any other vender? Is it worth the extra weight for 100hp? Anyone else have coments about why they went 496 and with which vendor or home built. Thanks

http://www.vortecproperformance.com/

 

Do a search on Shouldn't be Here or Arothm. Or just VortecPro. Great engines.

JIM

 

VortecPro builds a strong reliable mill.

 

I have searched the forums for the 496 Vortec Pro motor and others and found some posts on this engine but looking for more than one or two that have the motor. Do either of you have a VortecPro 496 and what data are you basing your comments on? Staying with a used block and old iron heads does not get my blood boiling but the cost and HP of these motors does. Last I am trying to lay out the pro's and cons of these particular power plants going into my project since I have been leaning twds the LS3.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...ica-kinda.html

 

Go to chevelles.com and post in the performance section.

More guys running Vortecpros than you can count, seriously
Think when you see enough testimonials about the service and amount of power/$ you may give him a shot.

There is one gentleman here with a dark green C3 I believe has one.
If Im not mistaken its an honest 10 sec ride and sounds very mild.

Dont own one myself so no horse in the race.
Lots of post similar to this. Nice power for what it is.
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360671

 

Here is a link to the profile of the forum member that Jim mentioned above. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...5-ajrothm.html
His VortecPro powered car will run mid 10's and gets driven to and from the track.
I've seen & heard the car in person and you would never expect it to be so quick.

 

I wrote an article on Alan's green C-3 in the August 2011 issue of Auto Enthusiast magazine. If you run to CVS you might still find one on the stands.

I've been to Mark Jones' shop and seen his work as well as been around Alan's car. For the $$$ it's hard to beat his success.

If you want to build with all new parts he can surely handle that also.

Another resource is Mike Lewis at Lewis Racing Engines. *Wolfplace" on all the Forums. I know him and his work very well also.

http://www.lewisracingengines.com/

Both these guys ship motors regularly across the country and the world.


JIM

 

Ditto everything Jim said.

You can't hardly build them yourself for his prices.

 

Jim I read the article and that got me thinking about the 496. Still my motor of choice is Franks LS3/550hp Carb or FI motor from Prodigy. I appreciate the comments still an iron motor with used block and heads not so sure.

 

It's just a matter of preference and what you like. The LS motors are killer. Great power, light weight etc. Unless you do some building you're going to get stocker parts internally vs. forged stuff.

A 496 based on a used block, machined by someone who know what they are doing is not a problem. It's the machine work that makes it live. Same with the heads. Iron GM heads are like tanks. Back in those days they didn't have to add coolant sealant at the factory to seal all the porosity like they do on all new ones.

And of course...mild mannered 650HP is a lot of fun compared to 550 not so smooth HP. Cubes are cubes.
Heck, once you buy the crank...you're only the price of a better block away from a 540,555,572,582 if you want it.

Again all up to you...just depends on what flips your switch when you pop the hood.


JIM

 

Thanks Jim, cubes are cubes and when I was in my late teens I had a 396 Chevelle and a 69 396/375 Camaro and the difference between that car and my friends 302 Camaro was a totally different approach to getting to the HP and torque. I have received some negative feedback on Mark Jones but will research it some more. I certainly would like to top it off a big block with new heads at a minimum.

 

A 550 HP LS based motor will be much smoother than a 650 HP BBC.

Do a search on vortecpro username and you will find he has been kicked off several car forums.

 

Only if its because of the computer controlled fuel injection, which can also be added to a BBC.
Using more cubic inches to make your horsepower means that it can be built milder to make the same power.

The reason Mark has less than warm welcomes at some forums, from what I've seen, is that he doesnt kiss the asses of the forum gods.
Some guys dont like to be told they arent a smart as they think they are.
I havent seen anyone saying that he sold them a piece of crap engine.

 

EXACTLY RIGHT!!

Mark Jones speaks his opinion, doesnt kiss anyone's *** or take critism well from uninformed know it alls....

Mark had a problem with an engine that he sold to a fella here in Texas....There was really no problem with the engine as it was shipped, just the owner was a total idiot and didnt want to listen and follow directions on the install and tuning....He made a lot of mistakes and messed up a lot of stuff resulting in pounding out freeze plugs from improper water circulation(dead heading it).... The guy was daily driving this car with this big block and having these issues he created....Mark tried to help him, offered him a bunch of advice and help on parts etc...but the owner continued to bash Mark at any given opportunity on every website he could get on to..... Finally Mark told him to **** off after 6 months or so. After that, the owner and one of his buddies made a plight to go to every website they could log onto and slander him, his business and family...

So between those to A holes, those are probably the negative comments you are finding. Often times posting as alias.


As for my VortecPro 496", it has been WELL documented here at CF and at Team Chevelles about my thoughts/success of this engine. Not to mention I have no less then 10 videos on youtube of the car at the track, on the street, cruising with the AC in the middle of summer etc etc... Just search youtube for ajrothm and check out my channel...

As for your choice between LSx and 496", I can't help you. There are pros and cons to both.... You really cant go wrong with either...but they are two different beasts, different combos and will require different gearing/converters etc. You can probably make the same HP with the LSx as you can a 496 but the torque will not be anywhere close to the 496....dont even kid yourself into thinking that.... You will need more converter, more gear to match the performance of the 496. Not to mention if you run fuel injection on the LSx, then ofcourse its gonna be smoother running and be better on fuel. So you are not even comparing apples to apples. Put a carb on the Lsx or put FI on the 496 and I bet there will not be as much difference as you would think....

As for mine, it idles very smooth, its a small 238* hyd roller, I run around Houston in 100* temps with the AC blasting and it will idle all day long. I can easily drive this car every day.

The ONLY issue I have with my engine/car is the fuel economy, I won't lie...it sux....it sux ***.... I average 9 mpg around town for the most part with AC on and not really even running the car hard..... On the high way it gets about 10 mpg(70 mph), sometimes 11mpg (65 mph) with 3.36 gears, no OD . Future plans are a 200R4 OD.

I also like the LSx platform, I currently own a G8 with the 6.0 and love it. They make great power and great on fuel. Can't beat them. But if your really wanting to go fast (low 10s or faster), you will spend major $$ on an LSx to make that power, then their economy benefits deminish. Not to mention when you pop the hood, they look like everything else now days....... But man when you pop the hood and see that big ole rat motor in there......

Pick your poison...

 

My youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ajrothm?feature=mhee

Check out the in-car vids, listen to idle quality and look how I drive this thing....

I am sure I drive my car more then 95 % of the owners here at C3 and I DAMN SURE drive it harder..... I think I have more then proven the quality of VortecPro's engines with "old used" parts.... (block/heads)



Here is a street video if youre wondering about driveability of a 496 with a mild hyd roller cam...
http://www.youtube.com/user/ajrothm?...24/FYqBMqTgUwU

 

Thanks for the comments and I have seen some of your videos and the engine seems to run extremly hard and idles well. I would like to get up with you to discuss further, my home email is kmherrmann@comcast.net. Thanks Kevin

 

That is a complete lie........
Alan were you there?
Did you discuss the issue with me.?
Did you see the engine for yourself?
Did you work on the engine?
THE ANSWER IS NO, SO YOU HAVE COMPLETELY LIED AND MADE UP YOUR STATEMENTS......

We are not some complete novice that know nothing, we have been dealing with engines for years, and it was the first time and last time I will ever buy an engine long distance....... Even when we wanted to open the motor up and see what was wrong, Vortecpro cried bloody murder and threaten to void the warranty every time.....

You are only repeating what Mark told you and and Mark Jones never saw the motor because he did not want it back... He crawfished hard.... I have proof.......

The engine leaked coolant out of the freeze plugs from possible core shift( not properly csonic checking) and poor craftmanship.... You made up excuse is ludacris.... When I told Vortecpro it was leaking, his exact word were "put some alumiseal on it" ...lol $5800 engine leaking after 1 month, no track time.... Then tell them about the used carb he sold me with the chipped Bowl.... Or the Dizzy that was not setup correctly or tuned....... Tell them about the Dyno sheets, when he called me and said "I did not put your dyno sheets in the crate, I can mail them to you" I said well man I really wanted my sheets, then he said I will fax them over and mail them to you..." He faxed one sheet that was coppied and pasted numbers, no time, no real uncorrected numbers on it only 1 sheet when it should have been at least 3-4 sheets.. So I called him and said " Man I need a better version than this, and he said I will mail them to you"... I never got them.....

Then I was suppose to get Crane Golds rockers, He put some knock offs on their...... I asked him about that, another excuse.......

Alan you yourself blew a headgasket on your motor and then accepted the blame....lol Then you burned up the top of your pistons.... Now funny samething happen to Sinster too... and other things have happend.... But what happend is the mods often delete the bad stuff on TC so people never know the truth.... I have never used any alias..... You sign in here as Ajrothm and Shouldn't be here on TC..... So I guess you have an alias? I have two names I have ever used Shonuff and Bozzhawg.... and thats it on the web..... they can check the IP's I don't troll.....

Mark Jones aka Vortecpro shill posts and tries to sell engines on the web, but the interesting thing is he does not and will not pay to be a sponsor or vendor on any site..... Why? because he will have to be held responsible to the rules and guidelines of the Autoforum or forum rules..... If he wants to sell engines here, all he has to do is call AutoGuide.com or Corvettes Forum vendor sales team and it can be done, but after 4 years of trying to sell engines on Auto forum sites he will not pay? I wonder why? He is not a sponsor on any site, but he post his dynos all over these sites to phish for business. And if you follow these sites it is the same guys responding everytime

All I got to say is check him out via the BBB, EL Paso County Clerk, Colorado State, and you will find nothing.. This guys sells his engines off a cellphone with no landline phone..... All I am saying is do your homework and find out who these guys really are before you buy an engine..... If you buy an engine long distance and something goes wrong are you going to ship a 650lb engine back across the country? In 95% of the cases an out of state builder will not take responsiblity..... NO MAN HAS EVER BUILT ANYTHING PERFECT.... AND YOU ARE FOOLISH TO BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING MAN MADE WILL BE PERFECT EVERYTIME...... It is very foolish to think so......


My question is, if he is such a great builder and great business, why did I not recieve my real dyno sheets? Why did I not recieve a written reciept... And when I asked him for a written reciept, he said "He does not give them out" but he told me this after I got the motor...... Why does he not provide a full blueprint of the tolerances, measurements of the motor.....

Alan quick question for you... did you recieve a written reciept? Did you recieve a written blueprint of the tolerances of your motor?

this is real talk Mods, you must protect your members from Shill Posting and guys trying to sell stuff on here without paying to be a vendor..... Guys are allowed to post and recomend guys for services, but when something goes wrong, then the mods are like settle that outside the forum and the negative or truth comments end up getting deleted.. So the system works for the sellers whether they are good or bad..... and that is the loop hole Vortecpro and others are captializing on selling products in interent forums ...
SHILL POSTING

http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/20...uly14b_09.html

Bozz

 

Well well well..... Guess who showed up to this party..... the said Texas fella....

Wow John, do you have some sort of thread detector or something?

Found your way here to CF also....add that to the list of sites I guess....almost 2 years later and the **** is still going on....

But in response to your post, YES, I blew a head gasket the first weekend I had the engine in the car....the reason for this was I dynoed the engine at Owens racing in Pearland Tx and set the timing to 31*.... When I put the engine in the car I did not re-check the timing.....As it turns out, Owens Racing used a MSD 7AL box, my box is a 6AL.....there was a 10* difference between the two boxes.....Therefore I was running 41* of timing, locked out, on pump gas....and beating the crap out of it..... So I fixed it myself in a weekend, set the timing at 31* and I have put 7000 miles on it since then, at least 30 passes at the strip and countless passes on the street, no issues....... That was a year and a half ago...... And I just cruise/race on....

 

You answered ever question but these:

Alan were you there?
Did you discuss the issue with me.?
Did you see the engine for yourself?
Did you work on the engine?
Did you recieve a written reciept when you bought your Vortecpro engine?
Did you recieve a written blueprint of the tolerances of your motor when you bought your Vortecpro engine?
Do you sign in here as Ajrothm and Shouldn't be here on TC?

Can you please answer these questions for me and we can squash this real quick......

Bozz

 

You answered ever question but these:

Alan were you there? NO

Did you discuss the issue with me.? NO

Did you see the engine for yourself? NO

Did you work on the engine? NO

Did you recieve a written reciept? NO

Did you recieve a written blueprint of the tolerances of your motor?NO


Do you sign in here as Ajrothm and Shouldn't be here on TC? YES

Can you please answer these questions for me and we can squash this real quick......

Bozz