Quote:
Originally Posted by blykins
Well, if we were never allowed to use used or second hand parts, then most race engines wouldn't get freshened up each season as it would cost too much.
Nothing wrong with using used parts and unfortunately there are only so many professional head porters that I trusted/trust. Since they were Keith's heads initially, it made sense to let him do the work.
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I didn't say anything about re-using parts on racing engines - But this HTM101/610HP guy stated that his engine was going south after a 4 mile drive in mixed traffic, where the RPMs never went above 4000...
I gather from that post that he was using your "racing engine" as a grocery-getter.
That's not a normal operating environment for a 700+HP carbureted engine (There is a reason that all the OEMs have moved to EFI and superchargers to make 600+HP reliably).
An engine should be designed to its target driving and operating environment. The customer is as responsible as the builder in making this determination.
I also don't have any criticisms about components machined by other builders- I've thrown assembled Brodix/Trick Flow/Edelbrock heads on any number of engines, without stopping to ask about whether Brodix/TFS/Edelbrock built them properly - That's a side-tangent anyway, since from what I read here, this engine didn't fail because of Keith's heads.
This engine crapped out due to cascading, uniform abrasive wear- But is that the builder's fault? Not necessarily- As many here have speculated, the cylinders may have washed; and that can be due to a bad tune, or running a carb'd engine with too much valve overlap at low RPM's for too long... many factors to take into account...
To me, this whole story is just another example of the same story I've heard 30+ times in my 30+ years working on cars (including 7+ years as a Powertrain Durability Tech for GM at their Desert Proving Ground)
High-strung, carb'd race engines don't belong on the street - Ask me what I think about any person who would go to an engine builder and ask for such an engine, so they can stuff it into a 2400 pound car, and go hit the weekend car-shows and open track days, and my reply will probably be "Fan-boy bench racer with more money than brains"
I'm just throwing 2 more cents into the well of public opinion... Isn't that what Internet forums are for?
Brent- I want to make sure that it's clear I'm not targetting any of my viewpoints at you as blame for this engine's demise - From what I read in these posts, you did what a reputable engine builder would/should do (dyno test, post dyno
oil analysis, etc), plus you offered to look at the engine under warranty- What else can you do? My only feedback to you regarding this topic is: "Know your customer" - Just because the customer is always right, does not mean the customer is always
correct 
- But that's free advice- Take it or leave it.
What I read from HTM101's posts that he expected your 700HP carbureted race engine to behave like a Ford Coyote on the street... and if so, then that was certainly an unfair expectation. JMHO