T&L or TandL engines experience? - crate engines w/warranty?

[electricgreen]

Well folks, it's E-day! It's at the hub, and we're going to pick it up tonight after I get out of work at 5. We'll be pulling an all nighter to get it in, so hopefully some time in the wee hours of the morning our neighbors will hate us! Will be back with an update then/when I wake up the next am if I'm too tired to post (after all this, not likely-I'll probably be bouncing off the walls).

Seems this is really a small time business-I *think* the girl that had been answering the phones is the owner's daughter. Everything I've heard about their engines is positive, it's just getting them that's the issue. We also didn't order wires, but they were on the invoice-I told her to leave them-one less thing for us to do! I hope the dyno vid & sheet are really with it, I'll scan the sheet and post it if it is (I don't know about hosting the vid though). I am afraid it's going to be blue though, even though we requested black (yellow car, black stripes-black and chrome engine bay is the look we're going for. simple & clean).

 

[BlwnGazkit]

You can host the vid at a free file host and then just post a link.

Good Luck!!!

 

[electricgreen]

Picked it up my lunch, husband just got home and opened the crate and called me at work. Guess what? IT"S BLUE!! We told the them at least 5-6 times it had to be black. The office girl said she was writing it in big, bold letters on the build ticket. *sigh*

 

[BlwnGazkit]

That's annoying to say the least... You gonna spray paint it or just live with Blue?

 

[70vert]

wrong color, lame

but maybe it was Henry Ford style - you can have any color you like as long as it's ford engine blue, lol. Maybe they were being thermodynamically correct and didn't want the black color to attract excess heat to the engine. Gonna go at it with a rattlecan of engine paint before you put it on?

Picked it up my lunch, husband just got home and opened the crate and called me at work. Guess what? IT"S BLUE!! We told the them at least 5-6 times it had to be black. The office girl said she was writing it in big, bold letters on the build ticket. *sigh*

 

[electricgreen]

Nope, left it blue, still trying to meet a deadline. We ordered it carb to pan. The carb (holley double pumper) didn't come with the female ends to screw the fuel rail into. We had a pulley hang up with the ford performance set up we bought and by the time we realized the ends werent in the carb it was too late to get them, so we haven't fired it yet. And the vid wasn't in the package it came with-it also had no info on break in-we know they ran it, just not sure if it was long enough to break in. They didn't even include info on what weight oil to run or octane rating (it said "pump gas")...

 

[DK832]

My buddy ordered a blue and got a black engine. Maybe they switched his and yours.... Guess not: his is a 408.

 

[4MuscleMachines]

I resent another question to them three times on eBay and never received a reply. My question was very basic, "is this engine in stock and ready to ship?"

I am surprised you even got them to answer the phone at all.
Just an FYI.

 

[audioz2u]

be very scared ive been waiting 20 weeks for my 347 stroker from tandl engines!! they are poor buisness men. ive been in contact with the north carolina justice of peace to fill out a report against them.

 

[10secgoal]

Think the OP is still waiting on his.

 

[70vert]

yeah, he is. 14 Months. Guys with higher engine numbers have gotten theirs already. I still think they build decent engines, but am tired of waiting. Filed a complaint with the DoJ. Will follow up with a BBB complaint and a Sheriff's office call. Aluminum blocks take a backseat from all my conversations with them, and the fact that mine is a different config from their 427 F-3 probably doesn't help any. People who have their engines are largely very happy with them, but I can't count myself in that group after 14 months and every man has his limits.

I am working with a local builder for a rebuild of my original 302 to a 331 so I have something in there. I would eventually like to take that out and put in my original T&L order and use that engine in a future project. Not that I have the money for all this, mind you. I joke with the local mustang shop that I have 2 engines for the price of 3. It's not a funny joke anymore . . .

 

[10secgoal]

I gotta ask why. You knew they were a problem. Were you hoping yours would be different ? Are they not willing to give your money back ? Have they bought the parts yet ? Maybe they could send you what you've paid for, there are others hat can build engines.

 

[70vert]

There are a lot of guys in Cobra forums, on Chevy forums, and on the forum the T&L Wait List created at tandl.freeforums.org • Index page - basically a support group for us in the wait list who have received engines and been happy with them. Not happy with the wait, mind you, but happy with the final product. I know there are a small percentage of screwups and bad builds, but it seems that's the exception. Long, rollercoaster-like wait, decent product.

Yeah, they won't refund because the parts are all bought and assembled. In fact, it's apparently been sitting since August waiting on EZ-EFI and dyno time according to countless phone calls with them. And I just started the complaint process with the Department of Justice yesterday and have a BBB complaint and a Sheriff's office call to make like many of the other guys on the forum. I waited a lot longer than some guys to file a complaint but I don't know what else to do at 14 months. I'll take the engine or a full refund. They refuse to ship me the engine unfinished, which I kind of respect.

I know their business with the regular NASCAR engines is more important, but they have to catch up on these custom engines they have been advertising and promising. They have a nice, professional shop according to people who visit them and a private investigator, but just can't deliver these custom ones to us with any speed or definite deadline.

 

[70vert]

Photographic evidence - It's a boy!

Hey all,
I talked to the owner, Lloyd, early this week, and he was going to try to dyno my engine before the end of this week. He's going in for a medical leave for about 2 weeks but my engine should be next after that. It's already set up on the dyno, as you can see. In any case, I finally got the pic I've been requesting so I have something to look forward to. Here's the beast:

Can't wait to see the numbers and eventually, how it actually feels in the car in a couple (?) months. The (intolerable, anxiety-ridden) wait is somewhat justified by the fact that Lloyd himself is doing most of the work. You don't get where he is today by developing bad engine building habits, that's for sure.

 

[70vert]

Here's the dyno video with a carb baseline - just shy of 540hp. We'll see how it compares with the EZ-EFI. I hope they can send me both dyno sheets, but I'm expecting the final one with EZ-EFI will be the one. Looks like I'm finally in the home stretch of a long, long road.

YouTube - 2102.wmv

 

[70vert]

The wait is finally over . . .

well, the OP FINALLY got his engine. I'm not going to dwell on the wait at this point - trying to let go of the past - but I do have the engine. My wait is finally over. The EZ-EFI had some issues at idle with the butterflies closing, and a replacement one is on the way that they will check out and ship back to me PROMPTLY (their emphasis) so I can place it on there.

One wild card I hadn't figured on was the Super Victor intake and the non-angled carb base. I'm going to need a drop base air cleaner - almost definitely an X-Stream - and maybe a small radius X-Stream at that. It's going to be a tight fit under the '70 hood.

The shop it's at now can weigh it and do the final dyno with the good EZ-EFI, so it will be interesting to see what the final weight and dyno numbers are.

 

[neverenough]

I ordered an engine from them in 06. It took 3 or 4 months to receive, not too bad considering. It lasted about 6 months and blew a head gasket. After breaking the engine down it was discovered that they had installed hydraulic roller lifters on a solid roller cam. I called and spoke with Lloyd and he advised that he did this all the time. The engine was still under warranty so he sent me all the typical parts for the rebuild free of charge. I am now running solid lifters and am thinking about going hydraulic.