Anyone know if Mopar can get aftermarket rb blocks again?

Local parts counter guy thinks he can order one, just have to pay up front...I'm not crazy about paying this particular dealer if it's not likely to show up.

Pay in advance for a service part at the dealership?? That doesn't make any sense. I've never heard of a parts department that wants money in advance for over the counter parts. What would be the point of that? The service department can always return parts if they don't sell.

Zero chance I'd pay a car dealer upfront money for a block that might not even exist.

Do it only if you want a valid reason to write in monthly and gripe because MP is holding your money. If I was going to do that I'd at least want to be griping about not receiving a Keith Black block.

R.

Summit's listing GIII blocks for 3845, free shipping. Estimated ship date 1/31/2018. Price boggles my mind.

The dealer may be able to "order" it......... It actually ever showing up?........ Less likely.

MP doesn't seem to be interested in supporting the earlier platforms.

What part number?

P5153944AB and P5153860AB

944AB.... shows 12 of them on back order. Supplier in shipment 0. good thing it isn't "NS1" which would mean it's never coming back.

860AB.... shows 7 on back order, same status.

Don't put money down. Tell them to order one and call you asap as soon as any are shown in the pipeline. Fat chance you'll ever get that call, but it would be interesting to see if the backorder status number got up there pretty high. I actually find it interesting that they haven't killed it yet.

I'm not in parts, but have access to dealer connect and can figure a few things out

FCA cares so much about Chrysler’s heritage that they turned the Walter P Chrysler museum into Maserati’s new headquarters. That along with the demise of the Viper should be a good indicator as to how much FCA cares about sourcing a B, RB, Hemi or LA engine blocks for what may be less than 2% of the automotive performance aftermarket.

I've been trying to find the caliper bolts for a Viper and it seems that Chrysler has killed the part number and there are zero in stock. So that means that Viper guys can't repair their cars if they lose a caliper bolt or one gets damaged. So if Chrysler doesn't care about supporting the Viper then I doubt they are going to bother with a block for an engine that they killed 40 years ago.

What is the part number?

The head guy over Mopar Service and Parts is clueless (and some of his recent predecessors were too ) about the performance parts program. He has a good script writer when you see him talk about performance - that's it.

This started in the late 90's when we had a female Sr. VP over MSP that openly stated that no young people wanted to see the old cars - that they were in to rice rockets, sliding around corners and polishing their oscars.

By and large what we have left is a bunch of youngsters that have never spent time working on a car or truck, no interest in anything that burns gas or diesel fuel.

(I always worried about our engineering group that had to repeat "right to tight and left to loosen".)

Many of these new people are higjly educated but can't think through a problem. Get them in a meeting with problems to solve and they seize up like a top fueler with no oil.

Even if they get a sharp guy to run the program the surrounding individuals will slow or halt any progress.

The other thing is we always fought for budget - so if you have a program to manage do you want to give up coin for something you don't believe in - someone's program you see no value in?

Edit - top of the house mismanagement started in the late 90's - before that the program managers were again - clueless. It went to hell in a hand basket when Brian Schram retired, Maxwell died, Hoover left - on and on. The program was great when real racers were involved - not the posers we have now.

I haven't considered Mopar as a source for Mopar parts for years.

They dropped the ball on performance stuff ages ago.

Tony don't care. They can't relate to the American muscle car/drag racing thing. If they did give a damn, someone else would be running Indy right now.

And there doesn't appear to be anyone in the aftermarket able to pick up the opportunity (headache) and run with it.

Do look through the 2018 Mopar Performance catalog. What's not there speaks volumes.

And Rocket Racing and Performance has new cast iron 455 blocks in stock, thick cylinder walls, beefy bearing bulkheads and all. Not cheap at $5,000.

R.

It's pretty bad when the Olds guys have better parts availability than a BB Mopar.

Ain't that the truth. I'd suspect the mopar guys outnumber the Olds guys 40:1 or better and yet they get a block.

How many guys on here would pay 5k for a good iron block, even if it could be in their driveway next week? Real question, not being a wiseguy.

Probably not many. 5G's is still a lot of money for anyone. But once you get to that power level that a $5000 block is required those kind of guys can afford one anyway. I have pieced my Mega block 528" Hemi together with the best parts I can afford over the last several years. From carbs to pan & dyno'd I have less than 17G's into my whole engine. Would I pay 5G's for another block to build another one. Not any time soon. LOL.

Evidently the Olds guys will pay it. Unless the people making them are fixing to lose their ass and didn't research the market.


I'm also under no delusion that Chrysler guys are the cheapest screws out there (for the most part as I well aware of what I spent, and I know personally others who have went beyond the call of duty to R&D some of this stuff out of their own pocket) as is evidenced by the fact guys still build 400 plus CID small blocks and put heads on them that have the base architecture for an engine developed over 50 years ago.

God forbid you have to run a an offset rocker and lifter, even though the Chevy guys have been doing it since the early 1980's that I know of.

Guys won't pay 5000.00 for a GOOD block but they will spend 1500.00 on a 35 year old piece of JUNK that is going to break sooner or later if you beat on it.

...and takes $5000 worth of stuff with it, and maybe the whole car. Not me.

I prefer the $2K and change I paid for my R3 brand new on the crate at work... toward the end of my build they still showed an identical block (P4876671AD) in warehouse. I had some extra $$ and ordered it, but the number was spit back and the availability went to -1. Either somebody pulled the trigger a bit before me, or they discovered they were out in their count.

So true.....and it isn't only the Olds crowd. The Pontiac folks have plenty to choose from in the block department, too.

Over the last couple years, 2 of my Pontiac friends have ordered and received very useable race blocks. They came in short order and were competiively priced...especially considering the market.


F'ing SICKENING.

I know plenty of Ford/GM/etc racers who band-aid crap together and (try to) run it.

I'm sure most of us know the guys who run used up scrap just to try and make another pass. The A-hole who oils down the track holding everyone up, etc etc. It's not just mopar people. You know the schmucks I'm talking about: welded heads, welded blocks, f**kers would, and sometimes have, tried to weld pistons just so they could make another pass. They're idiots, true, but they are "racers."

Olds MUST have an aftermarket block because those stupid factory blocks have freaking windows in the main web. They can't even pretend to themselves that they can hold power.

I think that's the real problem, false hope. We can convince ourselves that a 400 block will be enough, or aluminum main caps will be enough, or whatever. And for some guys, it's true. But there's not enough guys who want to make "real power" and KNOW that they have to buy a good block to sustain the market, at least not for wedge stuff. And since fuel stuff is all/mostly solid billet block now, we can't piggyback off the fueler guys. S/F...Ken M

Heck, they even make an aftermarket 409 block, in aluminum.

I think it's also compounded by the amount of people moving to late model drivetrains.

Few...nothing has changed from 10 years ago when an ebay listing of an all new 540 Mega Block shortblock (built for truck pulling with Callies crank, o-ringed block) couldn't get any bids (other than mine) over $4500. Parts were easier find 10 years ago, but it was a steal even back then. The MoPar crowd frugalness is legendary.

There are Mopar guys willing to pay for good parts. I suspect its plenty more than the number of Olds guys willing to pony up $5K for a cast iron block. I think some here loose perspective that Moparts is only a very small percentage of the Mopar racers out there. While there are plenty who are tight with tier money there are also plenty that will spend money to build HP...

Guys, I pose the question one more time.....

Because casting problems have wrecked many aftermarket block plans, why isn't someone producing a WELDED steel block?

Even though most people think cast iron is more rigid than steel, it just isn't so. Only CGI and Nodular Iron are as rigid as good old 1020, or any other steel for that matter.

Main bearing bulkheads are mainly plates, cylinders are pipe, the externals like sides are formed plates. Maybe it's a better risk to weld a block together out of parts than try to get one cast. Hydroturbines are welded together out of parts, for example.

R.

Im in. Love to try it. Thought of this many times when I didn’t have a lot of the resources I have now. Just need more time to play with stuff like this.

This guy made a 4 cylinder http://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-to-build-your-own-sheetmetal-engine/ , Just have to weld 2 of them in a V right?

And this is the reason many are moving to the G3 platform.
Stock block will hold 99% of what guys here can throw at it.
For the one percenters there is the billet G3.
I love my W9 R3 but I have nothing to replace it with if it breaks.
Matt

I agree with the sentiments on the G3 deal. It appears to be a platform easily able to handle what most people here will throw at it. I have not done one personally but have been toying with the idea. I am interested to see what is available and the NA HP potential of the platform for sure.

Wow the Aardema welded block engine is exactly what I was talking about. Throw a 5-axis CNC machine into the mix and it is thoroughly doable.

If you want pushrods, move the camshaft up like the GIII so they are out of the way of the rotating stuff. The cam and lifters could be in a separate block machined out of a billet so every lifter is precisely located.

He used a channel to base the engine around, that was a new idea for me. But everything else is about how I imagined it.

BTW, this is not a new idea. The first Crosley car had an engine that was furnace-brazed out of pieces. It, however, was not a success and after a little while the block was replaced with cast iron.

R.

We have two customer Mopar Wedge Mega blocks here that are windowed. With the shortage of supply & demand for good aftermarket blocks I have been thinking about making him some sort of low ball offer to try to buy them as is, repair them, re-sleeve them and re-use them someday? I have no idea what they might be worth blown up. Any ideas?

Ad me to the list of guys with a broken Mega Block..Bought a car and it was in the car when purchased. Well it windowed itself a few passes later..Pre World block with lifter bushings.

This is the good side the other side is missing about 11" of skirt

These are both worse than that side of your block. About the same size hole in both of these but it goes all the way down & took out the pan rails. One is on the driver side & the other block is the passenger side.

That block is BOTH sides. The other side is far worse missing about 11" of pan rail and skirt. Also took out 5 cylinders into the bottom water jacket on three of them. Anyone want it feel free to come and get it.

Part of it..It is actually broken across the next cross bolt up to the oil pump area

I will tell you guys HIMES CASTING REPAIR in Indy is the best I have ever used--guy is a master of the universe and honest as they come--I have had him fix worse than that --worth shipping to him or whatever
He worked for INDY in the way back days--he stayed busy all day every day welding up cast iron Hemi heads when we had no other choice--he fixed a matching numbers six pack block for me that had two jugs GONE up across the deck and number one main pulled out--It runs and lives today truly a miracle!
He used to work round the clock at INDY Heads when the NHRA was in town and Force and all the others would bring in the blocks they busted that day to have ready next morning--and they were always ready! That is before they could afford a dozen new units each wk end if needed
I would buy every broke Mega I could find and call HIMES
What is the alternative?????

What is an estimate of the cost of his repairs?

[quote=Al_Alguire]That block is BOTH sides. The other side is far worse missing about 11" of pan rail and skirt. Also took out 5 cylinders into the bottom water jacket on three of them. Anyone want it feel free to come and get it.

Part of it..It is actually broken across the next cross bolt up to the oil pump area


[/quote

I would take it for free for a mock up block and pay the shipping. Lol. Unfortunately, shipping would probably cost more than it would ever be worth.

but then there would be nothing to hold Al's mailbox up!

I don't think it would be economically viable to repair the damn thing. It is way worse on the inside than the outside. Then you do what, trust it to build a 1000hp build? I think not..

Jay it would be gone already but we are to lazy to lift it up and put it in the shop dumpster. Damn thing is 8 feet tall...Grrr...When we do some house remodeling we will load it in that dumpster..You have seen the mess that it is..

Al - do you think the actual block was the root cause of the failure?

No not a block problem at all....

I've tucked mine between two bushes against the wall. They're growing nicely and it will be there for the next owner whenever that happens

Us racers are all the same. It could be blown-up and busted into 3 pieces and we still hate to scrap it. I have a set of W2 heads that cracked still leaning against my shop wall. One of these days I'll knock one over and break my foot and I still probably won't throw it on the scrap pile.