Building the Bottom End

dale.baker said:

I will make one suggestion having been there and done what you are contemplating (building a 2013 GT 500 from scratch). I would use someone with extensive experience with building the 5.8 engines for competition use. There are many great builders out there that do outstanding work that costs $150/hour to get work done. I used JDM Engineering because at the time they had a Cobra Jet that they sponsored, a racer named Don Freeze had run in the 8.30 range. Which was close to the world record back in 2015. I talked to Don personally and he took the time to answer all of my questions about JDM Engineering and their involvement with their race car. Both he and Jim Jr. told me at the time they had not lost a motor that Matt Kennedy had built for them. I trusted both Jim and Don's advice and had JDM build my complete motor and I drove it from Pittsburgh to Freehold to have Jim Sr. personally dyno tune the motor. Jim told me I would have 800RWHP when it was all said and done with the stock fuel system, and the car actually made 806RWHP. Bottom line is that you have to choose someone that you can communicate with and understands your goals for your car. And be there for you when questions arise or issues occur. Running 8.8 second quarter miles times with one of these cars is not unheard of but it will take more than just a motor to get you there. Transmission, rear end, suspension, tires, and your own God given ability to actually pilot a machine into the 8's will be key factors in your success. I purposely did not answer your question on the cost to build a short block as there are too many variable costs to consider. For instance $400 for a Cobra Jet crank vs. $5,000 for a Bryant Billet crank etc. Hope this helps.

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TT91Coupe said:

I would keep searching for the better, more economical shop. 7k for the bottom end. Competition Automotive in springlake N.C. Ask for Carl Messenger
I ended up sleeving mine and did a new crank. Less than 15k out the door.
Melvin

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Tezz500 said:

What part of VA Melvin?

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Tezz500 said:

What part of VA Melvin?

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