70vert
New Member
Cost, my car is already driveable, no room to work in garage
stonecoldtx: Hey, thanks for words of support, buddy. There are a few reasons why a cheaper engine builder across the country might appeal to somebody in the Great and Expensive State of California:
1. No room in my garage to work, and a neighborhood where I don't feel comfortable working out in the open - I try not to attract too much attention. There's not even room for a cherry picker in front of the car or anywhere to move it around once it's out. You TX guys probably have a little more room . . .
2. Labor to build an engine seems to be at more of a premium here, and the guys serving those customers seem to be building them for rich guys, hence the price. Guys like Keith Craft, DSS Racing, and T&L are in the Midwest and the South, where labor is cheaper and I imagine more regular Joes are buying basic and slightly modified engines, so the customer base is larger. Here, it's mostly rich guys buying engines from CA builders, or so it seems. My local Mustang shop owner (25-30 year veteran) is of the opinion that local engine builders are all very pricey.
3. T&L was a Mass-Flo approved engine builder. My plans have switched away from Mass-Flo to a F.A.S.T. EZ-EFI, but it was either them or a more expensive engine builder out here on the approved engine list.
4. No tax. On an all-AL stroker, that can add up. Shipping is less than the tax I'd pay.
5. Warranty on the whole thing, which they've now upped to 3 years on the custom builds waiting in the queue. Now, you can question how easy it will be to get that warranty fulfilled, and you might be right, but I can always swap back in the old 302 if the 408 needs warranty work and I'm waiting. And I plan to rebuild the old 302 myself, after paying for some local engine block work of course, and a 331 stroker kit. Don't have a home for that engine, but it will be a learning experience.
So there's the thought process. Critique it all you want. Maybe I'm living in the wrong state, and I should just move to Arkansas in Keith Craft's backyard to support my hobby/habit.
stonecoldtx: Hey, thanks for words of support, buddy. There are a few reasons why a cheaper engine builder across the country might appeal to somebody in the Great and Expensive State of California:
1. No room in my garage to work, and a neighborhood where I don't feel comfortable working out in the open - I try not to attract too much attention. There's not even room for a cherry picker in front of the car or anywhere to move it around once it's out. You TX guys probably have a little more room . . .
2. Labor to build an engine seems to be at more of a premium here, and the guys serving those customers seem to be building them for rich guys, hence the price. Guys like Keith Craft, DSS Racing, and T&L are in the Midwest and the South, where labor is cheaper and I imagine more regular Joes are buying basic and slightly modified engines, so the customer base is larger. Here, it's mostly rich guys buying engines from CA builders, or so it seems. My local Mustang shop owner (25-30 year veteran) is of the opinion that local engine builders are all very pricey.
3. T&L was a Mass-Flo approved engine builder. My plans have switched away from Mass-Flo to a F.A.S.T. EZ-EFI, but it was either them or a more expensive engine builder out here on the approved engine list.
4. No tax. On an all-AL stroker, that can add up. Shipping is less than the tax I'd pay.
5. Warranty on the whole thing, which they've now upped to 3 years on the custom builds waiting in the queue. Now, you can question how easy it will be to get that warranty fulfilled, and you might be right, but I can always swap back in the old 302 if the 408 needs warranty work and I'm waiting. And I plan to rebuild the old 302 myself, after paying for some local engine block work of course, and a 331 stroker kit. Don't have a home for that engine, but it will be a learning experience.
So there's the thought process. Critique it all you want. Maybe I'm living in the wrong state, and I should just move to Arkansas in Keith Craft's backyard to support my hobby/habit.