When I first bought my vette the seller had put a Speedomotive 383 in it. I had test drove it and it seemed OK albeit a bit rough riding. I figured it was just the way vettes rode. I also had a mechanic to check it out and they said everything looked OK. I then went ahead and purchased the vette and drove around only on side streets for a couple weeks getting used to it - everything seemed OK. When I first took it on the highway, I was suprised at how extremely rough the ride was. I figured something had to be wrong. Took it back to a mechanic and had them check the alignment, tire balance, driveshaft, etc. and everything checked out OK. They were stumped. I did alot of research about strokers and engine balancing and did a bunch of digging through the previous owner's reciepts. What I discovered was Speedomotive had shipped the motor as being externally balanced to a 400 flexplate/balancer, when in fact, it was balanced with a 350 balancer/flexplate. The original owner's mechanic had installed it with the standard 400 flexplate/balancer and left it at that. Apparently the previous owner never thought anything of it and never got it checked out. I put the appropriate flexplate/balancer on and all the engine vibration problems were gone. I contacted Speedomotive about this and all they had to say was "Oh, sorry." I ended up throwing a rod on that motor about 2 months later although it probably wasn't related to the balancing problem. Anyways, that's my experience w/ Speedomotive

 

A good mechanic should see what balancer it is... A 350 balancer is by far not as big as a 400 balancer... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:. I'm nowhere near being an expert, but I can tell you if a balancer is a 327, 350 or 400 balancer... However - this doesn't justify the wrong information that Speedomotive provided...
When I bought my engine at AR Racing - I also ordered the correct flywheel!!!

:cheers:

Olivier



[Modified by GrandSportC3, 5:44 PM 10/29/2002]

 

Another testament to the value of this forum. I'll take the advice and keep looking. I have about a year before I am ready for the motor. I was initially going with the ZZ4 because I wanted something reliable. I guess I was having a testosterone moment thinking I could work 450hp into my budget :lol: I supose I could if I had the mechanical skills and knowledge to assemble my own ZZ4 short block with my choice of components. I would love to try it....but I am not sure I want to risk making a mistake with 3-4k worth of engine.

 

See now thats what I thought - although it is clear the targetmaster, acdelco and other base motors carry a bigger and better warrantee, but that listed above is absolutely worthless.

read it line by line.
Parts only - no labor - no dissassembly - and limited at that - Limited is the secret word in warranties - it in effect means we warrant what we want to on a case by case basis.

This means that if the rod bolt had a microscopic fault in it and broke then it might be covered - if it fails for any reason other than such a case it most likely is not covered.

Would be hard for them to prove but 'any competition' could include street racing and certainly does include any visits to the drag strip - visit the strip once - void the warrantee.

This is basically GM saying, even if the part fails and it looks like it should be covered, its up to us (GM) to decide to cover it if we want. And if the rod breaks causing the piston to fly into the aluminum head, cracking and detroying that head - Only the ROD is covered, because "that part and only that part" is the one that failed - thus if we want to we will give you a new $45 rod, but the $700 head is on your ticket.

I'm sorry, buying a GMPP crate motor based on its warrantee is flawed logic.


[Modified by fauxrs, 5:36 PM 10/29/2002]

 

It wasn't that the mechanic misidentified the balancer, he just installed the 400 as specified by speedomotive.

 

I found this at GMPP Online Catalog FAQ ... dunno if this includes crates, short blocks ... I could not find a similar FAQ regarding crates.

 

The way I understand it - the GM engines warranty is basically worth nothing... it excludes Racing and Labor..:( :( :(

That's another reason to go with a crate engine from AR Racing!!! I have my engine now for 4 months/3000 miles and it still runs perfect and is very strong... Why would anybody pay more money for less HP??? Just wondering...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

I don't see it as his fault... but he still could have noticed that the balancer was a 400 balancer and the flywheel a 350 flywheel... I don't think that such combinatin could ever balance fine.....

:cheers:

Olivier

 

I guess I wasn't clear. He installed a 400 balancer AND flexplate.

 

Chris you are being very kind to the rats that ripped you off you should take a spin down to Cali and make a house call :D

 

I bought a 383 short block from Wheller Motorsports in Jax, FL. Car Craft did a article on them during the summer. It has forged pistons and completly balanced with flex plate and balancer, shipping and taxes because I live in Florida=$1,699.00. I put it in my 73 Z-28 and will start it for the first time this coming Sat. I can't wait. Their web site is http://www.wmsonline.com/


[Modified by Paul 75 L82, 1:21 PM 10/30/2002]


[Modified by Paul 75 L82, 1:21 PM 10/30/2002]


[Modified by Paul 75 L82, 1:23 PM 10/30/2002]

 

Don't have any experence with Recon engine, but see that several places sell them NAPA, Summit and etc..

Looking on there web site it looks like they will give you $350.00 in labor cost (removal) if you encounter a problem.

Summit sells there 496 ci BB, looks like a lot of hp for little $

Maybe someone here has dealt with them and give more info.

 

I agree here. I had an expert put my speedomotive kit together, and they found that the main bearings were too big for the reground crank and I would have spun a bearing if I hadn't noticed it. Also, one of the connecting rods they gave me was bent. I would recommend looking elsewhere for kits.

 

A friend of mine bought a GM ZZ4 last year, and it promptly spun a bearing during break in. The dealer picked up the old engine, and delivered a brand new one with no hassles at all. I think, when dealing with GM, that it's important to work with a dealer that focuses on customer service. I would buy a GM crate without hesitation if it fit my needs, and I would feel very good about the warranty.

 

GM warranty covers parts AND labor. Took me a while to dig it up but I found it and linked the warranty info during a post but do not have the link anymore.
--------------------

Careful!! At work (www.thedynoshop.com) we just went through a warrenty issue with a ZZ4 with the hot cam. All GM parts. And the cam is recommended for that engine.

They declined to warrenty the engine because it had been "modified" and get this: the problem with the engine had NOTHING to do with the cam installation. It had a bad rear main bearing (thrust) that was making a squeeling sound.

I decided to build a 383 stroker 4-bolt main for my '76 rather than buy a ZZ4 :smash: :mad

 

Aggred, any time you change parts you void the warranty. Not sure what category the ZZ4 falls under, a service part or a performance part. Performance parts have no warranty as stated above.