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Quote:
Originally Posted by ModelA29
There are plenty of foundries still in the US that can pour a sand cast engine block and companies that can machine them. The problem wasn't they couldn't but that they were not able to compete with the ChiComs on price. With tariffs we may get more Made in the USA stickers on stuff.
Here a a few foundries that can do the job.
Quaker City Castings: A foundry that uses sand casting to create complex metal parts
RMC Sand Casting Foundry: A foundry that uses green sand casting, pre-coated resin sand casting, and furan resin sand casting
Northfield Manufacturing: A foundry that specializes in low-volume production
Sioux City Foundry: A foundry that has been operating for over 140 years
Lemfco, Inc. A gray iron casting foundry in Illinois
Taylor Fenn: A foundry that works with over 100 different grades of iron and steel
Clinch River Casting, Inc. A foundry that manufactures low to medium-run iron castings
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I think it's a bit more nuanced than just price. I've heard Terry speak to this several times. A significant issue was the size of the run. I'm quite sure that if Terry had been able to dangle a (say) 10,000 unit order in front of the foundries he contacted then the answer would have been quite different. But the foundries he contacted wanted megabucks to prepare the cores, then high unit prices because the volume was low. Another issue is capacity - for small orders foundries typically fulfill them in between other larger orders, and as such availability is questionable. Remember that any purchased product has a price point. I'm not sure the Burtz engine would be as desirable at twice or three times the cost.
I won't go on here, but if Terry or John think it is valuable to chime in I'm sure they will. In my opinion, having heard the background on his sourcing of the cast parts straight from him, I'm confident that it is defensible.