Alright, so I have an 03 termi that I was pretty much sold on until I did my due dilligence on the Aluminator. Long story short, this car only has 8k miles on it, owner blew a vacuum line of the blower and fried one of the banks of the stock motor - Hence the new Aluminator long block now in the car with roughly 2k miles on it.
Here's my concern: I would like to build this car into an all around performer that will be reliable enough to drive on a daily basis, if I choose to do so, competitive on a road coarse, and (a given) fun to blast down the quarter. The stock Romeo block is tried and true for a good 525-575 RWHP on a daily driven vehicle. I've not seen any long term results out of the Aluminator; in fact, all I've heard about is the problem with the crank pulley wearing a hole in the engine cover. I REALLY want this car, but I'd be beyond livid if I bought it, drove it for 5, 15 or even 30k miles, and wound up with a hole in my block...
Does anyone have more experience with this particular engine? I need to know if this is something I should absolutely not worry about, or if there is uncertainty about it. I really can't afford to spend (nor do I want to) this kind of money on a car if I don't know the engine in it is going to be strong or reliable enough to handle what I'm buying it for - Driving, racing, fun.
On a side note, I'm well aware that racing results in breaking parts... But unless you're careless, or have something unfortunate happen (like a vacuum line come off your blower) the engine should fail - I can deal with replacing clutches, shift forks, even a differential, but I don't want to replace an engine.
Your insight and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
I've made a poll, just to make it easier for me to see how many people are confident in this engine compared to how many have doubts.
Thank you
Here's my concern: I would like to build this car into an all around performer that will be reliable enough to drive on a daily basis, if I choose to do so, competitive on a road coarse, and (a given) fun to blast down the quarter. The stock Romeo block is tried and true for a good 525-575 RWHP on a daily driven vehicle. I've not seen any long term results out of the Aluminator; in fact, all I've heard about is the problem with the crank pulley wearing a hole in the engine cover. I REALLY want this car, but I'd be beyond livid if I bought it, drove it for 5, 15 or even 30k miles, and wound up with a hole in my block...
Does anyone have more experience with this particular engine? I need to know if this is something I should absolutely not worry about, or if there is uncertainty about it. I really can't afford to spend (nor do I want to) this kind of money on a car if I don't know the engine in it is going to be strong or reliable enough to handle what I'm buying it for - Driving, racing, fun.
On a side note, I'm well aware that racing results in breaking parts... But unless you're careless, or have something unfortunate happen (like a vacuum line come off your blower) the engine should fail - I can deal with replacing clutches, shift forks, even a differential, but I don't want to replace an engine.
Your insight and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
I've made a poll, just to make it easier for me to see how many people are confident in this engine compared to how many have doubts.
Thank you
