Recomendations for engine rebuilder

[Mongo]

Pardon me for the previous vague post. Let me try again.
Do folks have recommendations on a good engine rebuilder in the North Western US - thx for the tip in a previous reply.
I have read and have quite a lot of info on folks in the Midwest and east coast.
Also what are the top three or four - bang for the buck.things - folks do to improve an engine that would allow give an edge to driving 50 - 55 mph.

[1930artdeco]

Hi Mongo, where exactly are you located. I used Bill Barlow in Oregon and he did a great job.

Mike

[SDJason]

I could be wrong, but you might get a better response with a thread title of something like "recommend engine rebuilder near (insert name of city near wherever you're located)?"

Maybe I'm not up on the latest terminology, but I couldn't tell you were looking for an engine rebuilder from the title of "Mon"

[Mike V. Florida]

Without a location and since we have members from around the world, one has to ask which continent?

[Mongo]

Thx for the correction --it was pretty vague. I have edited the original post.

[700rpm]

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If you're anywhere within spitting distance of Bend, OR, Bill Barlow is the man to see.

[montanafordman]

Another good one for the Seattle area is Keith Clark. He is our local clubs guru and many of our members have had motors done by him with great reports, myself included. I have not yet fired mine up so I can't give a real review yet but he let me take a few peeks along the way while work was being done and I was impressed. Ask the right questions of your builder and talk to some people who have had work done by whichever builder you choose. Preferably talk to people who put real miles on their engine! You can get a lot of years on a poorly built engine and not know much better when you only drive a few blocks to the local ice cream parlor and back at 20mph. To me its more telling when you speak with people who put a couple thousand miles on a year to find out how the engine is doing, is it leaking, does it knock, etc. There are lots of good posts on what to look for and some respectable builders who post on here. Just remember- "Cheap, Fast, Good, PICK TWO!"

As for mods for pushing 50-55 your biggest hurdle is RPM. Revving that high for any prolonged period you risk damage to the engine so the safest thing would be to install an overdrive imho. A counterbalanced crank will also add longevity. High compression heads, B profile cams, and bigger carbs will give you more climbing power and a little more on the top end, respectively from what I understand. Others feel free to chime in.

[George Miller]

Also what are the top three or four - bang for the buck.things - folks do to improve an engine that would allow give an edge to driving 50 - 55 mph.

There are a lot of things you can do. But higher compression head and a new 330 cam from Bill Stipe would help a lot.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Mongo

Pardon me for the previous vague post. Let me try again.
Do folks have recommendations on a good engine rebuilder in the North Western US - thx for the tip in a previous reply.
I have read and have quite a lot of info on folks in the Midwest and east coast.
Also what are the top three or four - bang for the buck.things - folks do to improve an engine that would allow give an edge to driving 50 - 55 mph.

A stock engine will go 50 -55.

[Maclab58]

Antique engine rebuilding in Skokie Illinois does a great job. I have one of his inserted touring engines with a 6.0 head. It's an awesome runner! Rich does a great job!

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by Maclab58

Antique engine rebuilding in Skokie Illinois does a great job. I have one of his inserted touring engines with a 6.0 head. It's an awesome runner! Rich does a great job!

i second that and shipping is relatively cheap with rich as he has some good hookups so location is not really an issue. i have his standard insert long block with a 5.5 head....
website::::
http://antiqueenginerebuilding.com/index.html

[John LaVoy]

I concur with the Antique Engine call if he is close enough a good builder. We know of several of his engines in Model As, Scottie is running one in his Tudor and loves it.

[Fred K-OR]

Depending on what part of the Northwest, Frank Schurman in McMinnville, OR. 503-472-3200.

[Mongo]

Thx all for the input

[30coupeguy]

There are two in Spokane. If interested, I'll give you my thoughts
Burt

[Chris in WNC]

Ryan, how about REQUIRING a city & state below all avitars so we can respond appropriately to posts like this.

I would recommend James Rogers if Mongo is in the SE United States. If he is not, I'm probably wasting my time.....

[Skibb]

Originally Posted by Mongo

Pardon me for the previous vague post. Let me try again.
Do folks have recommendations on a good engine rebuilder in the North Western US - thx for the tip in a previous reply.
I have read and have quite a lot of info on folks in the Midwest and east coast.
Also what are the top three or four - bang for the buck.things - folks do to improve an engine that would allow give an edge to driving 50 - 55 mph.

Just had a new engine built with HC Head and Stipe B Cam which should get us to 50 mph. Certainly I'm not qualified to give advice as I'm a newbie. Someone will say, you should have done more. Well, more it was but don't want be saying until this restoration is back on the road. Our goal was to do 55 mph in a pinch on a freeway. Otherwise I like it slower. On the Blue Ridge Tour traveling on the freeway for and hour or less would have saved us hours of backward and back road slow driving.

[Skibb]

The specific cam mentioned above is the IB 330 which is for stock Model A engines. It was recommended by a couple of Ford Barn'ers. My "other" A didn't like to climb mountain roads on the Blue Ridge Tour. So that was a lesson learned. The high speed rear may have contributed but my feeling is that the engine builder used a tired old cam. Good luck.

[JJCunningham]

I would NOT recommend Antique Engine Rebuilding.

In July, I had to replace the engine in my grandmother’s Model A. I purchased the engine from Rich Falluca at Antique Engine Rebuilding in Illinois, and they sent me a new engine which lasted all of 200 miles before a 4-5 inch crack was revealed in the block causing radiator fluid to spray all over the street as I drove.

I was shocked to discover that the crack had been repaired with solder and then painted over! Upon further inspection, we found 2 more soldered cracks each failing, one, located in the valve chamber, was leaking coolant into the oil.

Thankfully, it was under warranty, so I had them ship me a new engine. When it arrived, I inspected it with at least 6 other members of the club, and found 3 cracks in the replacement block each with similar solder repairs and some along sealing surfaces that would have compromised the seals.

At this point I asked for a refund, which Antique Engine Rebuilding was willing to provide if I send him back both the engine blocks. Unfortunately, he had already sold my original engine, so I couldn't get that back. This left me stranded without a core to exchange or rebuild.
We eventually agreed to a full refund of the purchase price (not including labor costs, or the initial shipping costs), plus $300 to compensate me for my lost engine block. In return he would pay for the shipping. Rich Falluca stated in our agreement “I have offered to pay shipping to and from you. I also stated I will not pay additional services. Additional services are not the norm in business.” I understood this to refer to the labor costs and other expenses.
Unfortunately, Rich was saying that he would not pay the $249 it cost to ship the engine from the garage, instead of from a loading dock. I found this out when his refund check was short by $249. This means, Rich Falluca’s shoddy block work cost me $442 in shipping, $120 in parts, $850 in labor to install, adjust, and remove a faulty engine block, and now lastly, $249 to return the engines to him! That’s $1,661.00 spent on nothing – I don’t even have an engine block.
When Rich Falluca and I first talked on the phone he said that he didn't charge a core fee because all the model A folks he’d worked with have been honest and trustworthy people. Up until now, that has been my experience too. I've always been treated fairly by folks like Snyder's, Brattons, and Schwalm's and every member of the club who believe that a warranty is the foundational level of service, not the maximum.
Rich Falluca seems to believe otherwise, and unfortunately I’ve paid the price.
If you have an engine block rebuilt by them in the last year, I’d look it over carefully! If you purchased one of his rebuilt blocks, and haven’t installed it or run it yet, I’d make sure it won’t give you issues beyond the expiration of the warranty when you do eventually install it.
I’d like to think that this poor quality work is a fluke, and that the rest of his work is fantastic, however, after seeing two engines of his in a row – each leaving the shop with serious defects I’d be very careful!
For more photos, please visit https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/album.php?albumid=2866

[Skibb]

Had the same thing happen as JJ but my engine seized on startup on June 5th last summer. Plus a cracked block to boot. Ben Bohanan of Marysville, GA won't honor his warranty in any manner. It's a four thousand dollar fraud. Considering options.