think it thru! you get or tend to get what you pay for

[grumpyvette]

how many times have you looked for parts and found exactly what you were looking for but the price was a bit or a good deal more than you could afford, so you start saving up, and then a buddy points out an advertizement in some magazine or EBAY that has what appears to be exactly what your looking for or something so similar that its obvious at least to you that it can be substituted , and your thrilled to find the part advertized at only 20%-50% of the cost you were previously quoted?
THAT SHOULD BE A HUGE FLASHING MENTAL RED FLAG
theres a HUGE difference in a production O.E.M. block and a limited production RACE BLOCK with its thicker casting and higher quality alloy
if company ( A) wants to sell you a part and lists it at lets say $500 and company (B) lists what appears to be the same part at $100-$200 theres ALWAYS a reason and frequently its because the quality of the parts are NOT the same, its a cheap knock off import from some third world company or its used and probably DEFECTIVE
example
DART lists a high performance block here for about $1600-$2400
http://www.dartheads.com/products/engin ... locks.html
erson lists blocks for about $1800-$2200
http://www.pbm-erson.com/store.php?catId=774&parent=773
WORLD BLOCKS sell in the same cost range
http://www.flatlanderracing.com/

yet you'll occasionally see advertized, " NEW" not reconditioned,aftermarket bare chevy blocks, that are supposed to be similar quality, listed on EBAY for well under $800 ????

TURBOS?
CRANKS?
CONNECTING RODS?
INTAKES?
youll see similar deals.....think it thru, the cheap knock off parts seldom are made to the same tolerances or from the same materials



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[grumpyvette]

HEY GRUMPY?
my buddy's buying the wrong parts, for his car, I have repeatedly told him that he can,t just install a big cam and a huge carb on his stock 307 sbc and expect it to run correctly but he quotes some magazine article he read where those parts gained the engine 50 plus hp, how do I explain to him its not going to work out?"



I frequently see guys building engines or modifying their cars that don,t seem to have any understanding of basic theory or concepts or any idea why certain parts match or don,t match an application..
step back and take a few deep breaths, if theres one thing Ive learned over 45 plus years building cars and engines,its that,the truth is that even if you give excellent advice on a well known , and frequently tested,drive train and engine combo, few people will follow your advice.
its unfortunate but people seem to learn lessons from making mistakes, if he won,t take the time to at least ask why you are advising him to look into the potential problem , your unlikely to get anyplace, so let him learn the hard way, in the long run it may be a rather cheap lesson if its just a cam and carb that will need to be replaced,
Ive built or helped build dozens of cars and well over a 150 engines and most of those engines are still running years later, but almost every time Im asked for advice or post a well known combo , I find that few of the guys asking follow thru and buy and install all the components listed, because theres a very strong tendency to either use what they currently have or buy parts their buddy can get at a (DEAL OR GREAT PRICE)
now thats understandable and most of us work on a budget,
but if asked whats the best or whats a decent combo, and I listed a certain,displacement, rotating assembly,roller cam, part number, compression, ratio,cylinder heads, head port work, intake,part number,port work, carb size,header brand and part number, rear gear ratio, converter stall , transmission mods etc. and if the guy asking goes out and buys a random assortment of parts he got at bargain prices that (ARE JUST ABOUT THE SAME THING AS LISTED) hes NOT going to get the same results.


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