Pontiac Engine Builder in Texas????
 

My friend has a '68 Firebird and we're trying to find a local shop that knows Pontiacs to build up the 400. We don't need anything special really just a pretty much stock rebuild.

Does anyone know any shops in the Austin/San Antonio area?

ship it to Lee Atkinson ...in Seabrook, Tx
if you want his email...email me at [email protected] not sure he wants it posted..
otherwise , Maybe Thomas R in San A can help You out...I`ve got his email too..

Seabrook isn't too far from us. Is he pretty good?

Is thomas R a builder also?

Lee is excellent, a bonehead, but excellent builder....:D

sent ya an email....

Did Lee used to be in Lorena TX back in the 80's ?

of course he`s a bonehead, he invited both me and Danny to his wedding...we even sat at the same table! :D

Dont know ,didnt know him then....

Only shop here in Austin that I use currently is CHS (cylinder head shop).

They do good work IMHO,and they know pontiacs pretty damn well too.

In the past I've dealt with Dennis @ Precision Auto on Reinli st. here in Austin,but that was quite a while ago,so I have no idea what's going on over there these days.

Last I heard is they're doing a lot of imports and such.

Down in SA,you might wanna try Barney Moravits @ T & P automotive machine shop,just so long as you are'nt in too big a hurry.

:2cents:

Bret P.

Thanks guys I'll check these ones out

That std '67 400 block is gonna be a good motor !

Yeah, I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to see it stomp Thomas' '67 Coronet 440 auto. haha

To do my machine work, I use Houston Engine. He built my 511 and both of my other motors as well. I have used many machine shops in the area, and they are one of the best. :)

I'm still hoping for someone a little closer but thanks

So is it getting the SpeedPro forged piston upgrade on Tomahawk 5140 Steel I-beams and a balance job ?

Still not sure. If Kelsey wants to spend the extra money. She's probably more anxious just to get it back on the road.

Just make sure the cast pistons are for a 67-68 , then maybe you will get true flat tops versus those dual-patterned crappy ones.. (if staying cheap) and a K2801 cam from Summit .. All good !

Just stay the hell away from Jenke (Junky) Engines, That MF ripped me off. I was stationed in SA, while in the military. Moved to AZ before I found out he or one of his boys helped themselves to my Forged Pistons and Comp Cam.

Oh, that sucks!

OK, Thanks Larry

I wont use the current variety of cast pistons for the 400's,the only ones out there these days are the 8 relief variety (as mentioned,they're crap),I have'nt seen or heard of a true OE style '67-up four relief cast piston being available for the 400 engines in a good long time,any sets of those that I've come across were strictly NOS stuff.

As for the rods,you'd likely spend just as much to resize the OE cast rods and add some good bolts,as you would spend on the "budget" forged 5140 I beams from Ace @ PPR,and the forged rods are a much stronger rod as well.

I would also spring for good valvesprings,and all new valves.

Build it once,build it right,then drive it like you stole it.

:2cents:

Bret P.

Larry, didn't you say these heads were good to go?

Should we buy the rods and pistons and cam ahead of time so the shops won't do any mark up? Do most shops do mark up on parts?

Yeah , the heads are good to go. They are low mileage and the springs and seals have been replaced..

You can wait till you pick a shop before ordering.. They might want to measure the bores before you order pistons just in case.... I would go ahead and get the K2801 cam , lifters , roller chain , M54DS oil pump , gaskets etc...

Get some shop quotes for just block prep , crank grind, assembly . If you are supplying forged rods and pistons , the price should be less the cost of resizing the stock rods and no need to press off old pistons either..besure the test fit your cam..

Larry at Autin performance built my 400 and it runs VERY strong. Knows his pontiacs well.

PM me and I'll be happy to share some stories about the shop that installed it and the subsequent issues I've had with them.

Hi Dan,

My previous job kept me too tied up to be able to visit here much for the last few years. But I've now left that entire career, and (now in my 40's) have returned to school!

It is hard to screw up (but not impossible, unfortunately) a "stock" type rebuild. So you should not have TOO hard a time to find someone close to you to do an acceptable job. Before you change ANYTHING from "not exactly stock" though, come on here and ask opinions.

I've seen way too many people use some sort of "performance" or just "different" part, have problems, and THEN ask questions. Too good of a knowledge base here to not take advantage of it. Ask FIRST, then buy the part if you still think it is a good idea!

Send me an e-mail if you need/want advice or whatever.

For the first time in a LONG time, I have weekends off, and just may have time to sneak in a few builds every once in awhile :-)

Lee Atkinson
[email protected]
p.s. Bjorn & Danny, thanks for thinking of me!

Dang, where is the "edit" button!!

"Robert", that should have been Robert, instead of Dan....

Sorry for the confusion [doh!!]

Lee

Thanks Lee. I've been wondering, how hard is it to assemble one of these yourself? I've never done it before but I don't see why I couldn't

Robert,

Check out my info at http://www.hobracing.com/tech.asp (some other good links there, as well).

It is a project that I started, but have yet to have time to finish. It was meant to be sort of a compliment to Jim Hand's book, like and "intro to...".

Let me know how it goes!
Lee

Thanks for that link. I don't see why I can't assemble a motor.

What do you think? Go for it or have a professional do it?

And keep in mind this is just my friends' Firebird, it's not my star chief....haha JK

Man, the vast majority of the people that contact me for help, are people that paid a "professional" to build their motor. When it runs like crap or has problems, they end up finding me and I get to play "CSI: Gearhead". I've seen dipsticks wrapped around cranks, 500-mile bearings that had worn THROUGH the copper layer, 7.7:1 motors with cams that needed at least 9.5:1 to really run, 9.5:1 motors with cams that needed at least 12:1, 12.5:1 motors with cams made for 8.0:1, pushrods sticking THROUGH rocker arms, .... Doctors, lawyers, quarterbacks, exotic dancers, engine builders,... - they can be a "professional" and still not be worth a crap!

Absolutely ZERO black magic or voodoo in it. If you have basic mechanical abilities, can find a competent machinist, have access to the proper tools, and can follow directions (from the link) you can do it. Fill out the checklist (it is linked on the last page of the manual) as you go along, and you should not miss a step (that is why I laid it out that way).

"Professionals" typically charge extra for silly things, like cleaning out the oil passages, test fitting, measuring EVERY one of the ring gaps.... From reading your posts, I suspect you can successfully build this motor.

Now, do they/you REALLY want to keep it totally stock???? :-)

Lee

Thanks for that Lee. I'm fairly certain I can take my time and assemble it and have it run pretty good.

Non stock? We don't want thing thing to be faster than my Star Chief! ahah The car is my friend Kelsey's. She's had the car longer than I've had mine, it's her baby but I don't think she has a need for speed like we do. Plus even a stock 400 in that little firebird is going to haul enough ass for her. A stock 400 in her bird will probably be faster than my mild 389 in my star chief.

Ok, her dad's knows a guy who is going to do it. I'm kind of worried but the guy and her dad are doing some bartering so it's basically free.

I called a local machine shop who is supposed to be pretty good. He said to have it cleaned, checked for cracks, bored and new cam bearings put in it's going to be about $315 and he told me to bring in a new piston and the crank so he can check the tolerances before final hone and to see if the crank needs to be turned.

Do I need anything else at the machine shop? $315 sounds pretty cheap, I thought it would be more than that

Seabrook????? Dang that's close to Kemha? lol I used to live in that area

Right next door.....East of Webster, Clear Lake etc....