need engine replaced - recommendations plz
 

I posted earlier in General before I knew for sure.
OK, it is seized up. I am in chandler az and it is covered by my insurance (with deductible) . I am seriously considering taking it to Freeway Chevrolet in Tempe , which farmers says is a preferred vendor, unless someone has a better recommendation.

2000 coupe

find out what the insurance will cover. there are still a few new ls1 crate motors floating around

they may only pay for a used engine, really need to know what they will do before you motor shop

see how much insurance will cover and go to a performance shop... you can probably walk out of there with a built or better motor for the same price the dealer would charge for a factory replacement

:iagree: Even if you go with a new crate motor, etc, I would NOT recommend a dealer, any dealer, for the work. A Corvette specialty shop would be much better choice. You've got an excellent one right there on University Dr. next door to you in Tempe.


www.xtrememotorsportsracing.com/

Go by and sit down with Randy (who is also an active forum member) and discuss with him what you would like to do. I have dealt with Randy and he is fair and honest, plus these folks have a lot of good, specific, Corvette experience. It's what they do.

HTH

You can also talk with Joe at Cordes Performance Racing in Mesa. Plenty of fast Corvettes coming out of that shop, they installed my A&A supercharger.

I would certainly check out the performance shops before committing to a dealership. You will have the ability to potentially customize your build vs strictly plug-n-play. Even if it is plug-n-play, I'd trust a performance shop over a dealership for an engine swap.

As stated we are local to you and specialize in corvettes, we would love to work with you and ensure its done 100% perfectly. Please feel free to call, pm, email, or swing by and talk with is.
480-359-5914
Joe@cordesperformanceracing.com
1716 w Broadway Rd #103 mesa az 85202
Www.facebook.com/cordesperformanceracing
Www.cordesperformanceracing.com

+1 for Joe @ CPR, he's done some work for me and I wouldn't hesitate to take my car back to him! :thumbs:

check out this guy John,,,,his web site: http://www.wildcatvetteparts.com/

Hard to say, without knowing a little more of 'the financials' of this. What will the insurance pay, and for what will they pay?
Can your old motor block be used? etc?

If I were in your shoes, and could make the financial part work; I'd stroke the old motor with forged parts into a 383 ci. And then SuperCharge that with A&A.

Hope you let us know, what the insurance company will do, to work with you on this.
Best of luck to you, whatever you choose, or are allowed to choose.

Don

You're lucky if a dealership doesn't grab an old 5.3 block laying around, and charge you for a crate motor.

If my engine was stock and a stock engine was going back in, I'd definitely go to a dealer. Too many of these Corvette specialty places come and go.

Too many hack mechanics working at a dealership that makes a business out of overcharging people for routine maintenance and simple repairs. A performance shop generally deals with clients with higher expectations and standards in a highly competitive market. Not to mention, for the price of a new crate motor and dealership markup on labor, it's easy to get a far superior build for less or equal money from an independent performance shop.

Hack mechanics work at Corvette specialty shops. Rarely do you get the guy with his name on the door actually working on your car. I don't care to argue about it but I strongly disagree with your opinion.

couldn't disagree more

dealer techs are trained to repair things to factory stock

"performance shops" blow up cars, tell the uneducated stories and are not what a lot of people want. 90%+ of threads about people having their car screwed up on here and elsewhere are from "specialty shops" not dealers

OP asked for recommendation, his options are the dealership and whatever your suggestion is, which youve failed to mention. Do you have any ideas? A few locals have thrown out some ideas, do you have any?

Good thing my name is on the building and I actually work on the cars too :) also all 3 of my other tech's have been around for a long time. 1 is from a dealership, worked at another performance shop before joining us, another has basically the same background, and the 3rd is one we trained from the ground up and locally has the an amazing reputation. I understand your comments were generalized but check us out on here, google, camaro5, our local forums, etc. We stand behind everything we do.

Read my first post again. :thumbs:

I saw this guy at Carlisle a couple of weeks ago...had loads of C5 stuff

Decision has been made, dealership it is. I dont care to argue about it so Ill just agree with you.