TransAm2002

Well, lets hear the offer. You know that I will no longer bring the car over to you, so pay to have it rebuilt at another quality shop and that works for me or take the broken one back return my money and we are all set. Pretty cut and dry. I thought you wanted to sue me now from your private message for "slander?"



Once again, I did not spray it on the motor tune, I have been using N20 for 12 years, I am not a newbie. We can go back and forth all day.

94-vette

Can't wait for the reply to this one!

TransAm2002

Driver side head.


Little video while I pulled the heads off in my garage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgLZZqityG0


Plugs tomorrow with ring gaps.

BLOWNBLUEZ06

Take good, close up, detailed pictures in case you need them.

Or save the parts for your display.

Vega$Vette

The question I have to the OP is ....

If the motor was eating oil and coolant from the start why did you think it would be OK to wait a year and beat on it for 7000 miles?

Now maybe it's just me but if it it was mine I would have babied it until the issues were resolved.

So far a small claims all LPE has to do is show the Judge the track Video to win the case.

I know guys that have been happy with LPE and others not so happy. I decided long ago I would not take my car to them for anything and I would have never used Blow up Gill at NPE either.

But honestly I don't know of any shop in the country that will guarantee a motor used on the track and/or being hit with Nitrous. If they are make sure you get it in writing.

Only one very good shop in Vegas I know of for high performance work and tuning. PM if you want the info.

Best of luck getting it up and going again

FRCTony

If my new motor was eating oil and coolant it would be dealt with immediately...

TransAm2002

Only reason I kept driving I was told "if is breaks we will pull it out and fix it, no big deal." Being that I was a great customer/friend to this place never thought it would be an issue. I was wrong.

Here are the stats from the shop that the motor is at now.

#1 piston top ring is lifting, 2nd ring stuck on piston

Moly is coming off 4 other top rings

Ring end gaps are top .025 2nd .028

Top ring is down .180

.125 bewtween 1st and 2nd ring

BLOWNBLUEZ06

I'm no professional engine builder, but from what I've always read and been told the ring gaps should be, I don't see how your rings could have touched ends with those gaps. Unless Moly rings grow more than others do, the search for the cause of your problem just got more complicated.

TransAm2002

I do agree and have been told the end gaps look ok. Once again, I never said my motor was completely bad. I do know that the pistons are definetely not the ones we talked about and with the top ring down only .180 I have seached everywhere on the part # I was given and the pistons used are only specified for small nitrous applications. They also say the top ring down = .210” to .250” which also makes me think they might not even be the ones he gave me the part number for.

When I did this build I also had the shop install a stand alone in the car for the big nitrous. That is they only reason for the stand alone. I have a racetronix set up in the tank with the harness for more voltage that would handle a 150-200 shot.

Here are the plugs after 1000 miles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll-hi5hUj2o

ajg1915

Just curious, what method are using to measure the ring gap ?

Are checking them by putting the rings into each cylinder and measuring the gaps ?

TransAm2002

I don't know, I will ask tomorrow.

TransAm2002

Well, I asked about how he checked and really did not understand it. What I got out of it was he uses a digital gauge.

Anyway, I took it to another professional here in town and he says there is ring butting. He even showed the butting to me and showed me the bearings, explained his finding and all. He said there was a definate problem from day one.

ajg1915

I always like to check them by sliding them into the bore of each cylinder.

Anyway, if the rings were butting, you now have your reason for the engine damage that you suffered.

Still doesn't explain all of the oil consumption and smoking issues.

Vega$Vette

Only way to tell is to put the rings in the holes and measure. Can not really tell by just looking at the rings on the pistons.

cobill1972

TransAm2002

He pulled the rings off the pistons and explained the wear of the rings and looked at the ends. They are shiney where they were rubbing and were butting. I am not a motor builder (wish I was) I can only go off of what these people are telling me.

Slow Z06

GL with the new build bro. Hoping mine will be wrapped up in the next few weeks. Cant get me a clutch till maybe the 15th though.

Vega$Vette

Shiney is not proof positive you had ring butting.

Stick it in the cylinder and measure the gap. Then you'll know for sure instead of going off what people are telling you.

LEP

You butted a 25 thousands top ring and a 28 thousands 2nd ring on the motor? I don't think so.
Ring end gaps are top .025 2nd .028



Are offer is still on the table to repair your DETONATED engine, even after 11 months of hard use.. and all the slandering post.


Please call our office for an appointment.


Garth
LEP
702 227-6579

LEP

Here is some reading for you from a local forum. Please remember guy's there is always 2 sides to a story.

This is what we know is fact
1. Brandon and Brian went to go race each other.
2. Both cars got 100 at the same rebel at the same time.
3. Both cars reported problems after the race.
4. Both cars were dropped off on Friday at LEP to find out what happened.
5. Both cars were looked at and checked that day.
6. Brandon's first, the car had 3 wet not firing plugs with the gap beat closed on two. Further testing(bore scope)resulted with the conclusion that the car,for whatever reason had engine damage and would need to come apart to further diagnosis.
7. Brian's car was next to be check out on that day. The removal of brian's plugs reveled that the electrode straps were completely gone off two plugs and one other plug was fouled out. After looking down the cylinder with bore scope the tops of two pistons looked like the surface of the moon. Shiny with pits. The compression test resulted in 20 lbs difference between the cylinders. Conclusion on brians car is, yes you can drive it and yes it does run good after the new plugs BUT your engine has received damage that is irreversible and will show it's face in the future.
As a note, Brain soon took the car to another shop for a second opinon, they leaked it down, compression tested it again, dyno the car and check the tune for air fuels, all to no avail as LEP's tune was quote 'right on' however the other shop never did a visual inspect of the piston with the bore scope. Hence the talk about a shortblock in the future.
8. We have two lifts at LEP that can facilitate engine removal, both which were tied up. As we all know Brandon was told two to three weeks then we could get it in and have a gander.( let's not say it's over a month now because it has been at HBR for a week) three weeks plus a week is a month.
9. Brandon did not find our time frame to be acceptable so he took the car eles where.
10. LEP would have liked to be the first at the (crime scene)
In the diagnosis of what happened but we were not. With that I pose this question.
Car ( A ) engine was damaged as stated above and smoked, please choose from the following what could have been the cause after 11 months of racing on the street and track with nitrous use.
A. Smoking was caused by valve seals that were never replaced per customers request stating the heads are only x amount old. Then both cars received bad gas at the rebel.
B. Customer car had additional problems.
C. Customer lied and used nitrous on engine tune causing engine damage
D. The shop who built it never got the chance to check the engine and the car for further problems and cannot come to a definitive conclusion.

LEP has done loads of work for Brandon, from cleaning up other peoples NOS installs to heads, cams, halfshafts, rear suspension, and short block.
Is it possible that.... Both cars got bad gas from the rebel? Is it possible that.... the smoke could have been from valve seals? Is it possible they used the nitrous that was in the cars and ready to use, bottles full and fuel pressurized in the stand alone? Is it possible Brandon's car had other problems causing damage to engine? Remember is it possible....? Is it possible LEP don't care about their customers and want to have dissatisfied clients or comebacks and redoes?
The whole point is yes all those things are possible, some more than others, but we at Leading Edge Performance never got the chance to see and touch and follow-up with our end because of the customers impatience.
P.S how were the results of that fuel test? Did you even send it off?

Now you all have some more BS drama to discuss.
Our offer is still on the table to repair your DETONATED engine, even after 11 months of hard use.. and all the slandering post.


Please call our office for an appointment.


Garth
LEP
702 227-6579