TransAm2002

So I had a motor built by Leading Edge Performance here in Las Vegas I have since put about 6K-7K miles on it. The motor has smoked from day one and it ate coolant as well. It also went through a quart of oil for every oil change. I wanted a leak down done, but they just never got to it. It was supposed to be a built 383 for a 400 shot direct port, I only planned to hit it with a 250 at the most, but I wanted it over built. Well, about a month ago I was racing a friend ON THE MOTOR, I hit 4th gear, let out, and hear what sounded like rocks go out of the exhaust. The car still ran and I drove it home. I drove it to the shop the next day because I was planning on having a tune done for the 200 shot. Well, they checked it out and said it melted a piston so I had it towed home. They said they had no room for my car and it would be 2-3 weeks before they could get to it. I decided I would pull it apart and turns out that #5 and #7 were broken.

I found some things wrong with the car as I tore it down. Evap was not hooked up and no egr gaskets on the headers. Anyway, so I finally had the short block pulled out and took it to a very good motor builder here in town. They tore it down. He said, "So far the crank, rods and most everything looks good, but the moly rings and pistons seem to have got alot of heat." I asked moly??? Well, should have had a total seal steel top ring in it and 2nd napier. As of right now looks like a Plasma moly. The real kicker is my custom nitrous pistons. They are off the shelf Diamond #11504, I called today and the shop told me. lol They are suggested for small nitrous applications. I wanted a built motor for a 400 shot and got a 150-200 piston. Here they are.

The shop keeps blaming gas and that I was spraying nitrous. I also was told another 3-4K to fix it. The car had been sprayed on a 150 shot a total of about 7 times racing and about another 7 times tuning it. The car has not been sprayed since February of this year because my clutch could not take it.

I am pissed to say the least. I have been a great customer/friend to this place and this is what I get.

0Philip@HPE

Let me know how/if things get resolved and if you want, when you are ready we can try to get you moving in the right direction with a setup that will last.

tommie

another good reason to work on your car yourself....

~Josh

Small claims court.

TransAm2002

Thinking about it.

Zosickness

Well, hope you get it fixed soon. Good luck with everything

Slow Z06

Hate to hear this stuff man. I got a similar thing going on but mine did not have catastrophic failure. Even standard rings were found. GL and keep us posted.

jkz06

I've been in the same position and the problem is by the time you get done with court and all the other b.s. it will cost you as much as it would to just pay for the new motor. Also getting a judge to side with you when they say you were spraying nitrous and you say you weren't is a long shot. Good luck I wish you the best but if I can give you any advice I would find a good shop to build you a new motor and move on.

Z06wanted

well that suxs for you. Try and keep your head up and do your home work on the short block and the vendor.

396375

I really feel for ya man.Things like this really suck and are hard to swallow.I don't know of a lot of shops that will cover any motor that has been raced,especially with NOS.Don't get me wrong.Some stand up shops would cover you if it's obvious they screwed up.Most shops only warranty stock motors and if you bring in one that has detonated they probably wouldn't cover you.That motor detonated bad.I think even if you had the pistons you wanted it still would have broke IMHO.
If you take them to court you will need a lot of proof they created the problem.You'll also need a certified mechanic with you to back you up.That certified mechanic would have needed to pull the motor apart.You would also need some kind of warranty paper work from the shop that built it.Lick your wounds,move on and find a reputable shop.Ask to see everything before it goes together and find out why it detonated.The only good part is it could have been worse.Just my $.02.
Good luck.

BLOWNBLUEZ06

Well, if you want a pick-me-up, think of it this way: At least you didn't invest it. You can't drive stocks and they wouldn't be any fun if you did. Having invested it in the stock market, you would have surely lost more and that's one loss Obama doesn't care about since your loss is "too small".

That's we call this a hobby and not an investment. Once you gitter back together, you'll be smiling again.

Hopefully you don't hesitate to let a judge decide who's right on this one. Either way, make sure you document everything just in case.

slowtealz28

That sucks to hear man. A lot of people think that because you forge a motor it's not gonna blow or its gonna last xxx,xxx miles. The truth of the matter is if you have detonation and/or knock it's gonna take something out. Theres a good chance it was the bad gas which caused the detonation.

Now the fact that the shop charged you for "A" parts and charged you for "B" parts is ROBBERY at its finest. That just makes me sick. If you have a printout of the receipt and keep the parts as proof you should have a civil case. Best of luck with it. Usually a shop will step up and help you out with the rebuild pricing when another shop screws you over like that. Best of luck with everything and keep us posted.

stainless40cal

Do you have a recipt stating what was done to the motor and what internals will used?

If you do or not either way you can own their *** in court, they did not provide the parts that the said they did. No matter how much nitrous you sprayed, no matter how many times you raced, the parts you were told that were going into the motor are not there. Take pictures of everything and take your mechanic with you, its PATHETIC that shops are doing this DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT

94-vette

Are you partyboyz06 from Youtube?

sycamaro67

Yes he is partyboyz06. And everything he said in his paragraph is true.

94-vette

Thought so! And had a pretty damn quick ride too!

robert miller

Bret, you man are also just to the point man. Man hate to hear again stuff like this from a shop are a vendor on here. I hate to see a shop tell someone yes you buy are do this and you will have this out of it. Then after 7,k to 10,k dollars later it dont do half of what you were told. Are this kind of stuff happenss to you.

mdaniel

1) Race motors don't generally have warranties, especially not after 6,000 - 7,000 miles.

2) It doesn't sound like the motor was well built to begin with (consuming oil), unless that's still par for the course with a stroker.

3) I'd seriously consider adding a can of Torco when you fill up as added insurance, especially given the crappy 91 or 92 octane fuel you get in NV.

TransAm2002

1. I agree....but I did not wait 6-7K miles I wanted the thing looked at from the beginning.

2.Your right....was not built right.

3. Either that or a few gallons of 100.

BLOWNBLUEZ06

I would side with the shop if the motor were built with the parts as promised.

With the broken ringlands, I'll have to blame that on the tune. Either back it down on the timing or bump the octane.