[size:23pt][/size]In April 2014 I contacted MM to build an engine. Told them I wanted a big CI pump gas engine. After talking to the owner (Mike Ware) he sold me on a 1000 hp 622 w/PSO heads and a Callies crank. Told me most racers don't want a big CI pump gas engine and he has personally wanted to do one but never had the time. We agreed on a price and I was told I would have it by June.

July comes around, no engine. Am told all machine work is done, just waiting to be assembled. August....no engine. Tells me "This isn't a simple 500 hp 451 that I could have a less experienced person assemble and that he (Mike Ware) was personally going to assemble it."

Early Dec I get a picture of short block. Late Dec am told heads need pushrod tubes. 3 weeks later get picture of engine on dyno minus intake,only to discover intake and spacers need epoxied. Engine comes off dyno. 2 weeks later back on dyno and after initial startup am told its over oiling top end and it filled vacuum pump puke tank with oil. I personally think it also sucked the pan dry. Their fix was have pushrods made with restricters. Engine comes back off dyno. 2 weeks later back on dyno and HP numbers are low. Checked cylinder pressure and it only has 140 psi cylinder pressure. Said he was being conservative with compression.....uh huh. Now have to mill heads. Engine comes back off dyno. Back on dyno for the 3rd time after heads get milled and now has 150 psi. Mid March Sends me email saying its ready.

Once I get it first thing I notice is they put a Powerbond balancer on a 1000 horse engine with a Callies crank. Also has wrong oil pump cover. 4 weeks later they send correct pump cover and I buy proper balancer. Once I get it running engine gets to 150 degrees and only has 15-20 psi oil pressure at 1200rpm. That's cause they didn't bush lifter bores and why it over oiled the top end. I shut it down for 1/2 hour, restart it and hear all kinds of clatter under valve cover. Pull cover and find exhaust valve locked up in the guide. I contact them and am told it was good when it left there, I said no it wasn't. Then they told me send it back and they will fix all issues for free. Im thinking I was just told it was good when it left, now they are going to fix all issues for free???? Told them they had their chance and f-ed it up. And How could an engine with 150 psi cyl pressure make 1000hp??? If Mike is so proud and sure of his engine he could buy it back. Said they cant do that. ...Personally Im tired of sinking cash into this and am going to part it out. Im scared to run it for fear it'll grenade itself and destroy bottom end. Never even made it on the trailer. Already got some one local interested in heads.

Others on here warned me about MM, but I trusted them and got shafted.

Edit....The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten

Best Machine would have made a monster for you with good post sale advise and or problem solving. Plus, their engines for the most part come out of the shop alive and ready to rumble, not on sick leave.
I always had a shaky feeling about MM just on visual and hear say at the various shows I've seen them at.

Hope they come correct at least and or buy it back being that it was an experiment on their part anyway.

I have been in contact with Best Machine and found it very enlightening. I should have used them from the get go. Obviously MM never has built a wedge headed World block with PSO heads. If they had they would have known about restricting the oil and heads needing push rod tubes. Im scared to think what else is scabbed together in the bottom end. I will check clearances when i start tearing down for parting it out.

X2 for Best Machine! They said what do you want I told them and they made it happen!
http://youtu.be/plwEN1dnv_8

Plus, BEST knows quite a lot about the PSO heads. IIRC, they built a few engines with PSO's already.

Muscle Motors is a flat out joke. I honestly don't understand anybody spending a dime with them.
Chuck Senatore used to run/ own? It years ago and did great work. Unfortunately he is long gone.
I can personally vouch for Best Machine, they built a bulletproof motor for me with never an issue from day one.
MM I wouldn't have build a lawnmower engine. They did a 30 minute" shine job" on Eddie heads for a good friend of mine few years ago and charged him for a stage two port. Car was a dog. Had them done by a professional and the car ran like it should( 12.5 to 1 408 in a Demon)

A 1000 hp pump gas engine is way off the charts in terms of what engine builders usually build. I would say that your experience is exactly what I'd expect would happen if someone called up an engine builder and told them to build a 1000 hp pump gas engine.

Muscle Motors has a King Krate 622 that makes 915 hp on pump gas so they know how to build these things. Sounds like you pushed the envelope a bit by asking for 1000 hp. Anytime you push the boundary you have to accept the R&D aspect of the project. And R&D projects rarely stay on schedule or budget.

Pump gas is a "very flexible" request. To me pump gas is 93-94 but others look at it differently.

Engine should live regardless of power expectations IMO.

Andy, I did not ask them to build me a 1000hp engine. That's what they said they could build. So I trusted them to do what they said. Their King Crate does not have the PSO heads.

I read the OP again...... He didn't say he " pushed the envelope" he said he wanted a big inch pump gas mill....... " he sold me on a 1000 horse PSO headed engine"

I for one can't let you slide misquoting what the OP said, not to mention the quality issues that have nothing to do with horsepower level... But poor machining, thought, and knowledge. Oiling issues, low cylinder pressure, promising and not delivering... Heard this tons of times from this place.... As I am sure you have.
Try again Andy... Sorry dude.

Man, I really feel for ya. Been there, too. My 1st 440, hyd roller, ported eddy heads, all 1st class parts & custom paint. Loaded it up from the engine builder's shop & took it to Mallory's dyno & produced some good numbers. Was really stoked until a friend pointed out the bolt hole in the
curved bell housing mount on the block was sheared off at the hole.
Builder says block was that way when we brought it in...
Then my bro spent a ton on a roller cammed 472 Hemi that was ready to dyno & he had a gut feeling it wasn't up to snuff after a valve tip sheared off on his 440 built by the same guy that did his Hemi. Shipped the Hemi to Arruzza & John documented enough stuff that said it wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes on the dyno. No cam button & tons of other bonehead mistakes.
John built him a killer, reliable 518 that'll fry the tires at 50.
Muscle Motors should never have taken your money if they knew they couldn't deliver or never did one before with those heads. I can imagine the bill was huge & now you've got to eat it or trust these boneheads to make it right. I'd ship it to Best & have them assess the motor & see what they can do to. Best wishes in whatever happens.

I can totally sympathize with the OP here. I'm still fing around with the Predators I have that were supposed to be done by so called pros, after many 10's of thousands of dollars. I thank the friends that helped me after the fact, but I would have been much better off ordering a GM design. I wish you good friends and better luck!

I am sorry to read this but I think you are acting too quickly to part it out. Take a break and really weigh out your options. I've been where you are, it's not fun

I agree on shipping it to Best or any shop with a very good rep building BB Mopar motors. Either way, parting it or fixing it, is not going to be cheap, but you have the basics for about as much hp as can be had on pumpgas. If you part it out, the huge loss will leave you with no big motor, and you might wind up spending the same as this one to get a decent motor done.

I agree, it shouldn't cost that much to have it re-assembled and engineered to it's potential. You will be sorry if you don't finish this project. Might as well see it through and lesson learned. The guys at Best Machine should be a good choice. If you have a local engine builder by you that has a good reputation, I would consider that too. That way you can keep an eye on the progress.

I would bring the Motor to Best Machine and have them fix it,they built me a 588 B1 PSO that made 1215 hp I have run a 7.43 @185 in a 2500 lb Daytona slipping the clutch.i run a lenco which takes power,ithink with a glide the car would go 7.35.Pete and chuck can solve your problems.good luck.

I would love to have Best go thru it. But my cash is tapped out right now. Still paying on the loan i got last April for it. Im sure Best Machine would like to see the heads since MM copied their design, and prob made them worse. So for now its either part it out or set it in the corner and look at it. It ran 30 min....That works out to $733 a minute.

I think if you part it out you'll regret it. You'll be stuck wondering "what if?"

A 1000 hp pump gas engine is an R&D project, especially a Mopar wedge one. You might be able to find a few engine builders who build BB Chevy based pump gas engines that make 1000 hp, but I doubt that there are very many (if any) Mopar (NA) wedge engines that make 1000 hp on pump gas.

I wouldn't attempt to build a 1000 hp pump gas Mopar wedge myself and I've been designing and building Mopar bb wedge motors for over 30 years. I'm surprised it only cost you $22K. My 514 dyno mule makes 930 hp with 15:1 compression and cost more than $25K. Making more horsepower with less compression on a smaller budget is hard to imagine.

If someone asked me to build them a NA Mopar wedge that made 1000 hp on pump gas I'd ask them for $30K down payment and tell them to call back in a year to see how close I was. I'm not sure it is even possible since you would need something on the order of 600 inches that make 1.7 hp/inch. It isn't easy to make 1.7 hp/inch on pump gas in a big engine. 1.7 hp/inch for a 440 is 750 hp. Not very many 750 hp 440 pump gas engines running around.

I'm building a pump gas 470 engine at the moment using some really good parts and I'm shooting for 675 hp or 1.44 hp/inch. I just can't see a reasonable way to get to 1.7 hp/inch with pump gas.