I need to know if there are any mechanic shops in the St. Louis/Jefferson County area that could rebuild my C4 engine. Preferably not a dealer due to cost. Someone took the keys to my Vette, drove it 157 mph down the highway & blew a rod. They're in jail but my car is not driveable.

 

Without knowing year and condition tough to say is even worth the effort as assuming insurance company is paying for the rebuild just the cost of a crate engine and changing it could get close to a totaled car. There is an upside to having a dealer put in a GM crate engine and that is the warrantee that comes with it. If you have a small private rebuilder do the engine and another shop remove and replace and there is a problem the engine shop will say it is due to improper install and install shop will say it is due to engine builder. You end up in the middle of something that never gets settled without you spending more.

 

If the vette was stolen. I'm sure it was insured??? you cannot make a claim? to cover the engine repair / replacement.

 

Assuming you have insurance, I'd talk to your agent and see if it could be covered under theft portion of your insurance coverage.

 

A blown rod at 157 mph aint' gon'na be rebuildable; your lookin' at a crate engine, of which there are many reasonably priced engines out there with a warranty. Or a good(?) used engine, but no warranty. Either way you'll be money way ahead of attempting to rebuild your engine (which probably ain't rebuildable).

 

Insurance is not involved. He's in jail for trying to murder me. So I was told it needed to be rebuilt because of the rod, but you all are saying that can't be done? This just keeps getting better and better.

 

I'm sure I don't follow. How did he murder you? By carjacking and driving at 157? I got to say, I didn't think it would make it that far before blowing a rod. Regardless, he did take your car without permission so isn't that theft?

 

So what insurance do you carry on your car? If you have "full" coverage, that would include collision and comprehensive, and probably some sort of theft coverage. If you just have liability coverage, you are on your own for the repair costs.

Insurance companies won't care about this guy that's in jail or why he's there. And I would think that he probably is not going to be giving you any amount of money to fix the car.

As to the engine, a "blown rod" can cause all sorts of internal damage. The block can be broken, the crank can be broken or non-repairable. And you won't know what the overall condition the engine internals are in until the engine is removed and torn down.

You do have some options; a used engine won't cost a lot, but it would be difficult to tell what shape it's in. You could get a "short block" and add all of the bolt-on stuff from your engine. But that assumes there was no damage to the heads.

Another option would be a complete remanufactured engine from a reputable source. Our shop uses replacement engines from Jasper. They carry a 3-year, 100K mile warranty that is transferrable to the next owner of the car.

In any event, I think you are looking at anywhere from $1500 to as high as $4000 to get the car back on the road. The decision is to figure out if you want to cheap it out or get something that will work with no problems.

Or consider buying another car...

 

this is a very ODD story. UNknown year. (A)took the keys (B) now stolen (C) 157 (D) tried to murder (E) blown engine. fairly hard punch a ROD trough the block. or spin a bearing! speed is not the contributing factor!!!
Insurance is NOT involved???? it was reported.. if this guy is in Jail!!!

 

Odd story maybe...my life unfortunately. He took the Vette and blew the rod. Then brought the car back, put it in my garage and acted like he didn't do it. Someone told me what he'd done. I told him he would be paying to fix the car or else. He agreed, so no police report. He came up with a plan later to kill me and take both of my Vettes, and told me he would do this. I was locked in my house and he was trying to break in. I called the police. When the police arrived he was stomping in my head in my dining room and after the police dragged him outside, they said I had passed away. Air Evac got me back flying to the hospital. Because I didn't make a police report on him at the time of taking the car, I figured it's too late. The police said he is known for these things. So far this medical claim is in excess of $122,000. I have 2 broken eye sockets, a broken nose and crushed fingers. I'm trying to just get this car repaired at a reasonable price so I can sell to help pay for my out of pocket medical expense. The prosecuting attorney says I will not get money from him because he will hopefully go to prison. I guess I could call my insurance company and tell them what happened, but I don't need anymore black clouds hanging over me. Also, it is a 1985 coupe automatic.

 

Get yourself a call to the insurance company, get a gun AND gun classes. You try break into my house and I will exercise castle doctrine rules and put holes in you. 911 can come either come pick your corpse up or investigate my murder.

Lesson learned. Regardless of what you promise me tomorrow, it isn't worth a dime today. You blow my car, I call the cops.

 

That story sounds wild enough to make a movie about , there champ . You might want to try and peddle that straight to Hollywood studios . As far as your car goes , just put it on ebay as is , and that will be your best bet . Good luck champ

 

You got a report turn it in to your insurance dont shoot yoursef in the foot too
Google victims of violent crimes sometimes they offer financial aid to situations like these you may be surprised. Rough night

Someone you know no?