I saw this shop sells crate engines and was wondering if anyone has done business with them. Their pricing seems fair for a fully rebuilt 383 dyno tested with warranty.

I have asked them some questions in an e-mail this morning about build time and shipping costs but no response yet.

Thank you for your thoughts on this.
Stu

http://www.cmengines.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Thank you!

you are more than welcome, their website looks good, the warranty again looks OK ??? But with my customers experiences with internet engines, Google CM engines and it may be your best reference. Proceed with caution IMO.
They may be a stand up outfit or another nightmare, Don't know ?

Cheap or "reasonably" priced is not always good. Does Summit or jeg's offer anything comparable ?? They have very good support after the sale.
EDIT!!!
Now if you can find someone to came and fix my garage doors locally, correctly and CHEAP LOL Uhh I only have about 8,

When do you need this engine?

No real hurry, just getting some ideas on cost and shipping. I found a really good place called Larry's Power engine building that sounded great but is about $3000 more then C.M.E. so i wanted to see if there is any big reason for the lower cost?

Isn't there a shop local that could rebuild what you have ? Once you add shipping, and possibly a core charge, that is getting pricey for a 383?

What heads, what pistons ?

How does the warranty work when you are 3000 miles from the builder?

No real hurry, just getting some ideas on cost and shipping. I found a really good place called Larry's Power engine building that sounded great but is about $3000 more then C.M.E. so i wanted to see if there is any big reason for the lower cost?
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I have a guy up in the NW that does my motors. He stands by his work. I know he has several 383 cores laying around.

Also, is Baily Brothers in Vallejo still in business? Back in the day they built some pretty good stuff.

Yes John, one of my best friends runs the local engine building shop just a mile from my house, and yes i am looking elsewhere as I dont want to lose a friend over this. I have noticed EVERY machine shop within my area has terrible reviews or takes so long to build the motor that's it's unreasonable OR only wants to do GM, or FORD engines OR only wants to build race engines! I have been on this hunt for years now.




I am in the market for a mostly stock rebuild of my own 383 or a new motor. Something rock solid that runs on pump gas and will take me all over the country being as reliable as possible. The car will never hit the race track!


Since i don't have a garage to store the car while it is out i need something ready to drop in so my buddy can do it at his shop. So that's why i am looking for a crate type motor.

Stu I'd sure think you could find someone local for a reliable rebuild but yes you'd want to find a mopar head if possible just for all the little nuances our engines have that the furd/chebby boys may not have run into. For that kind of money I could come out there & build one for you and you could show me how to sharpen drill bits, I still ain't got the hang of it & even got a drill doctor the 750 the good one & still things ain't right!

There just are not any shops i would trust out in my area, not even my friend's shop after all the horror stories i have been hearing lately.

yeah it is the same here as far as the general public goes (& alot of it is deserved). its no wonder we mechanics have an overall rep of being crooks and incompetent

How far is OU812/Brian from you, he is at least in Cali?

You should be able to get a 383 core for next to nothing, but really all you need is the Short block/rotating assembly and a set of CLOSED chamber heads.

Do you have a list of the parts that CME will use, building a 383 is tricky because parts selection pretty much sucks.

If I wasn't 3000 miles away I could screw something together for you. I have a 69 383HP sitting on an engine stand that needs a new home.

I wish i could just have my own 383 matching numbers engine rebuilt but i have no where to store the car for how many months it would take to have the motor rebuilt. Even if i had my friend do it he told me to expect at least 6 months to get it done. How these guys stay in business i have no idea. Sure Jegs and Summit can ship a crate 383 tomorrow to my door, but it would be a GM 383!! How ironic is that!!

Stu,

I had a short block assembled years ago at shop near you. It was owned by the brother of friend of mine. He charged me an arm and a leg, but was done in a reasonable time.

When I got the motor home I noticed that one of the pistons was in backwards. I called him and he wanted to argue about it. I had to take it back to SSF. Once there he still wanted to argue even though the evidence was right in front of him. He finally grabbed a cylinder head core to line up with the piston tops and finally saw it. Then he said "OH"

The fixed it, but I sure wasn't happy.

There is a good shop up here in Sac. If I can get one of the cars out of my shop I might be able to help you with the storage thing.

M

Larry's is the shop that does all my machining. He is not cheap but the work is top quality done by experienced guys on top-of-the-line equipment. That being said it is a LONGGG way to ship and IMO there are equally good shops on the west coast that could do similar quality work without the high cost of shipping. I have 100% faith in Gary's work but at some point that distance just doesn't make sense.

[/quote]

How far is OU812/Brian from you, he is at least in Cali?

[/quote]

You know you wanted to go to Palm Springs for a vacation! Brian built my engine as well. Very knowledgeable, reasonable and a really good guy. Can even break it in/dyno for you if you want. Should be easy to get him a core to start the process

http://www.immengines.com/

I agree. The 383 is a more difficult build (on a budget) than the 400 and 440 because there just is not a good selection of off the shelf parts (mainly pistons). Because of the short stroke, there is also a big tradeoff between low end torque and peak HP. To minimize the tradeoff, the cam and compression ratio need to better optimized for the fuel used compared to a longer stroke engine (unless you just throw a high stall converter in it to stay out of the lower RPMs?)

Was that Baca's machine shop that did the work??

Isn't AndyF & the shop he is affiliated with close by

Nope

These guys closed a couple of years ago

Ok good as Baca's is my buddys shop.

No

I actually have Larry's building a 440 stroker for me right now. I would agree they have a very nice facility and I believe they have a good reputation. I call Gary to get updates and he'll have you pay as you go. I know they're very busy, so I would talk to him and find out what the lead time would be. I do have a 383 block in my garage, and I would drop it off to them to check it out for you. It's a bare block that has some machine work, I think it's .030" over, not absolutely sure.
I agree it's a long way. I was going to use another engine shop in Michigan until I saw the pile-on here. There were some other things that steered me away from them. I like the fact that Larry's is a site sponsor and it's close enough that I can get in the car and go there. My build should be done by the end of June. It would have been sooner, but I'm swamped at work. They understood and were fine with my scheduling conflict.
They do other makes, I think the subarus are their bread and butter. I would check out their facebook page to see the shop and some of the work they do.

Here is the reply from CME to my questions. Sounds like i need to get them a core too which i would have to pay for the charge as i dont want to give up my matching number's block.

We understand what you want. I recommend our “Daily Driver” ‘good vacuum’ 383/383 horsepower “LOPEY” idle “High Performance Pump Gas” Complete, Balanced, Blueprinted, and Dyno Tested engine at $4996.00. See the enclosed spec sheet. Our “High Performance Pump Gas” Complete Balanced, Blueprinted and Dyno Tested engines are complete from intake to oil pan. Please see the second picture on the Home page of our website. Each and every engine is completely “broken-in” and thoroughly tested during a several hour dyno session. They are painted the OEM color or color requested. Cylinder heads are “bowl blended, port matched” and cc’d. No detail is overlooked. The horsepower figures advertised are guaranteed and the actual dyno sheet from the dyno printer is supplied, Not a file copy! Also we can tune your carburetor and distributor during dyno testing for trouble free operation. This can be critical to the drivability of the vehicle. However, we recommend a new ‘Quick Fuel Technologies’ SS780 carburetor at our special price of $495.00 and a MSD “Ready To Run” distributor at $425.00. These items will be tuned and set to the engine. The engine will then be ready to drop in and drive. This engine and other versions are listed on our website at www.cmengines.com under the “Dyno Tested Performance Engines” drop down.


Total shipping “Round Trip” which is picking up your old core and shipping the remanufactured unit to you is $195.00. We handle the paperwork and send the truck.

Let me know when you are ready to place your order.

You can call me at 803-275-2549, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Thanks again,
Ritchie

Ritchie Barnett, Sales Manager
Joe Friar, Sales
John Clark, Production Manager
Mike Saye, President
Quoted prices good for 30 days
Note: Performance engines and parts may not be "Street" legal in all locations.





“CHRYSLER 383 BIG BLOCK"

383 HORSEPOWER

HIGH PERFORMANCE PUMP GAS CRATE ENGINE



CAROLINA MACHINE ENGINES uses the highest Quality brand products including: ACL, Bullet, Clevite, Cloyes, Comp Cams, Dana, Eagle, Elgin, Federal Mogul, Felpro, Hastings, Lunati, Manley, Melling, Perfect Circle, Pioneer, Probe, RHS, Scat, Speed Pro and Victor Reinz.

This engine begins with seasoned and thoroughly inspected premium OE heads, rods, crankshaft and sonic tested block. All internal parts are new high quality parts. The short block is equipped with hypereutectic pistons, moly rings, brass expansion plugs, and premium bearings.

The longblock is further equipped with pocket blended and port matched heads, multi angle performance “SERDI” valve job, performance valves, pushrods, valve springs, rocker arms, timing set, hydraulic lifters, and our special camshaft with around .480" lift and 270 degrees duration.

It is expertly machined, balanced, blueprinted, plate honed, line honed, and decked. It has been assembled by a highly capable technician and spin tested to check oil pressure, compression and oil circulation!

Added to the complete version are oil pan, oil pump, oil pump screen, timing cover, harmonic balancer, polished aluminum valve covers, dual plane performance aluminum intake manifold, oil filter, oil filter adapter, dipstick, and spark plugs.

To remove the possibility of “New Engine Bugs”, our complete versions are then dynamometer tested and “broken-in” with the proper carburetor, a performance distributor and quality headers and mufflers. The actual Dyno sheet from the dyno printer, not a copy or generic, is provided with the engine. A final crankcase pressure test and oil filter internal inspection is performed.

When used with the recommended carburetor, ignition and exhaust system, this engine will produce 383 horsepower at around 5200 RPM and around 425 foot-pounds of torque at about 3700 RPM.

It will have approximately 9.5 to 1 compression ratio and will have a “Lopey”, noticeable idle. Also, it will have good manifold vacuum (14-16").This engine is very streetable and is the maximum in compression, camshaft, etc recommended for everyday street use. It can use, although not recommended, 87 octane gasoline if the ignition timing curve is correct. Also it is okay with the stock torque converter and exhaust system, however we recommended quality headers and a 1600 to 2400 RPM stall torque converter to realize the maximum performance potential of the engine.

A 12 Month - 12,000 Mile written warranty is supplied with the engine. A 36 Month optional warranty is available.

“We consider this engine to be a daily driver.”

Stu, 5K for a DAILY DRIVER 383 engine, I might be out of line here but that's outrageous. that's an insane amt of money. I am getting ready to buy a decent 400/727 for $200 & when cleaned/painted it'll look like new & will likely outlast me

I have been looking for years and talking to all kinds of shops and machinists.

The cheapest i found was a place about 100 miles north of me that sells re-manufacturered engines and they could make one for about $2500 but it will reuse any parts from my old engine that they feel are still good any any new stuff will be of the low cost brands. So far no matter which way i go it's about $5K to $7K for a motor build and dynoed with high quality parts and workmanship. Not having a garage to store the car also means i need a fast R&R of not more than a few days.

Alright bro, it just seemed (to me) like alot of dough for what you are getting, but there are extenuating circumstances (time/space)

You can't compare a used, junkyard engine/trans with a fresh rebuilt AND dynotuned engine.

My buddy I did one for 2 years ago was crying when his got over $3500 ... it's not 1970 anymore.

Stu I don't like what I see from CME ... first thing is the piston choice ... junk KB pistons ... see the thread about a 383 that is currently running.

They don't tell you what heads cores they are going to use, so unless you supply them with something it sounds like you are going to end up with open chamber iron junk. For what they think they are going to charge you for redoing those heads they could buy a set of alum heads , like sidewinders , that are ready to go and you end up with something that flows better ... more HP ... and is more pump gas friendly.

I don't think $5K is out of line for a fully assembled and dyno tested and tuned engine with a warranty?
Yes, you could duplicate this for around $3,500? in parts and machine work, but you still need to assemble the engine or pay someone to assemble it, and dyno testing can be $500+, and you would not have any warranty?

I don't know anything about the shop or quality of work they do, which is a big factor. I would ask if they replace the rod bolts and resize the rods after, and what brand/quality of bolts used? Also, ask if they install hardened exhaust seats in the heads for unleaded fuel.
If you decide to use them or another shop that dyno tunes the engine, make sure the tune is done with the carb and ignition you will be using in the car.

Hey Stu,
The convenience of a "turn-key" crate type engine is attractive when your time and working space is limited. The money spent buys you that convenience. I'm sure that you know this, sorry if I am being redundant.
There have been many fast and reliable cars on the road with stock based iron heads but with the release of the new crop of aluminum heads, it makes sense to go aluminum. Better flow, less weight and they are just as reliable as iron.
A guy building engines in his garage usually only pays for parts and machine work since none the assembly costs exist. Sure, you can build it cheaper if YOU build it. I've built several engines, made a few mistakes and learned from them. My 440 based 493 would probably cost me $ $6500 or more in parts plus engine block machine work if I were to build another one today.

If this is a one time deal, you may want to take into account the costs of all the special assembly tools and consumables (thread lockers, assembly lube, shop towels, de-greaser, RTV, hand cleaner, etc) will cost you too.

Aluminum heads are a good upgrade now that they are affordable.
Rebuilding stock iron heads with new valve guides, valves, hardened seats, and other machine work usually costs around 1/2 the cost of new set of aluminum heads.

Now that's the sort of feedback i was looking for thank you John!

silly question ?
if one goes to a more common displacement, IE: 440 how do the prices compare ?? just asking as the 383 is possibly a bit pricier due to the parts cost

The 440 means a different intake and distributor due to the raised deck height.

Thank you and that's why i want to stick to a 383, plus i just like the engine!

Intake and distributor are not even and issue in the big picture, especially if you are buying a complete engine that has been run .. it'll already have those parts on it .

You have the oval air grabber air cleaner , I think??? , that's your bigger concern because it'll hit the hood with a 440 if it's a 383 unit and/or the 440 has an aftermarket intake.

Difference is basically the price of the core, machining and parts cost the same.

Yes John i have the air grabber.