blueprint engine company

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Ronkh

Ronkh

Wax Waster
Anyone have any dealings with blueprint engines dot com?

My son bought a crate engine for his 75 vette. Been having problem after problem, now they won't replace engine and say they won't pay mechanic to do the "repairs" the authorized.

Thanks
 
Yep

He said they been "helpful" to a degree, but they have had them tear down engine 2 times so far to "fix" the problem. Not fixed..... Today he got another guy there on phone who said they won't pay mechanic now. I told him to get a replacement engine before the 2nd tear down.. He got this done a short while ago so he could have it for summer/show season and it looks like it'll be laid up all summer.

I'm about ready to do to them what I did to $VW$ (my audi s5 cab) when they pulled the same crap.
 
On another forum I'm on they posted to same question.

Here is my reply.

ronkh said:
Replying to your post.

ref#

There have been a series of problems with this engine. YOU took the call from my son's uncle the other day, and besides being nasty, never returned call when you promised.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever, that they should tear apart a "new" engine again while playing lets try this ......to repair a defective engine. He bought a NEW one, not used.

There is also no reason he should have to wait another 6+ weeks to get his car back on the road with a rebuilt.

The solution is simple:

Send him a new engine NOW, the old one will be placed in the crate and returned to you.

Pay the mechanic for the work you have authorized and has been done, and pay him for the removal and replacement of the NEW engine.

As you can see, I am on lots of auto forums, we are a family of gear heads and go to lots of shows, and have contact with lots of people with similar interests.

I trust that you will make this right NOW so he can enjoy his car for the season like he should be, instead of chasing problems that should not be happening.

If this problem gets further out of hand, I will post all correspondence here and on all the other forums that I am on. It does seem funny that I just did a google search of reviews on your company, and the first one was (paraphrased) DONT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS CO.
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reference # removed
 
Really sorry to hear. I hope they make it right. I can't imagine having to deal with that after buying a NEW motor.
 
mnehls86 said:
Really sorry to hear. I hope they make it right. I can't imagine having to deal with that after buying a NEW motor.
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I feel for him. He timed it so the car would be ready for show and season. Then this. He is in CT so season ain't really long and it's mid june already and car sits.
 
May I ask what the problem happens to be? Small block Chevy doesn't take a scientist to build or blueprint.
 
GearHead_1 said:
May I ask what the problem happens to be? Small block Chevy doesn't take a scientist to build or blueprint.
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loud knock

had them tear engine and retorque rockers

loud knock

had them replace rockers

loud knock

well maybe its the lifters

loud knock

well maybe it's the crank

you get the idea
 
A knock in a new motor, and having to tear it down twice? That's not right. How far did they have to tear it down? Are the heads off of it yet? Is the oil pan off of it? Could be a bearing cap somewhere in the rotating assy didn't get torqued or something along those lines. If that's the case and a rod or main journal is now out of shape, that knock isnt going anywhere.
 
matts13f150 said:
A knock in a new motor, and having to tear it down twice? That's not right. How far did they have to tear it down? Are the heads off of it yet? Is the oil pan off of it? Could be a bearing cap somewhere in the rotating assy didn't get torqued or something along those lines. If that's the case and a rod or main journal is now out of shape, that knock isnt going anywhere.
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That's sorta my point.

Replace the engine with a new one. No more BS playing whack a mole, trying this and that.

No more BS with take out the engine, send it to us, we will rebuild it and send it back. ETC

he bought a new engine, not a re-built.
 
They keep saying maybe it's this, so do this.

Ok, that didn't work try this........... on and on

well we can send ya parts, replace those and see if it works.

or tear out the engine, send it to us, we'll rebuild it, and send it back, then put it back in car again. oh yeah too bad ya can't use the car till it gets back, oh yeah, gotta go thru breaking in engine etc

more time
more $$$
more headache
 
Not fun. Hopefully it gets resolved. Might be at a cut your losses point, take the motor to a machine shop, have it gone through and just have whatever is wrong fixed. Does this place warranty the motors at all? Who actually builds their motors? For the new motors do you get to pick and choose your parts? Like, I want a Dart Little M block decked at this height, with these pistons, rods, crank etc... Or are they sold pre-built?
 
matts13f150 said:
Not fun. Hopefully it gets resolved. Might be at a cut your losses point, take the motor to a machine shop, have it gone through and just have whatever is wrong fixed. Does this place warranty the motors at all? Who actually builds their motors? For the new motors do you get to pick and choose your parts? Like, I want a Dart Little M block decked at this height, with these pistons, rods, crank etc... Or are they sold pre-built?
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Not really sure, but their reviews are very hit and miss (sorta like their engines I guess) but I am giving them the chance to make it right. If it doesn't get resolved VERY soon, it'll make my audi blitz seem like minor league.

Some of the older members should remember my $VW$


This is my kid they are screwing with :mad: I got lots of time to return the favor.
 
Can you tell if the knock is in the top part of the motor or the bottom ? If it is in the top, you could have a lobe on the camshaft or lifter that is wiped out. The first 30 minutes of running a new engine is the most critical time. This happens every now and then when breaking in a new engine. Normally it is recommended that you use a special additive or a special motor oil that is high in zinc during the break in process to eliminate this problem. Did they send you any special instructions for breaking the engine in ?

If the knock is in the bottom of the motor it very likely is a rod bearing or possibly a main bearing. This type of issue will only get worse and if left unattended will most certainly result in major engine failure. One of the first things I would do is drain the oil and get a strainer (paint strainer will work) and strain the oil and see if you notice any bright silver or copper particles in the oil and filter. If you notice these particles you can be pretty sure that you have wiped out a main or rod bearing. You will also normally notice a gradual loss in oil pressure as the clearances between the crank and bearings begin to steadily get larger.

Regardless of the problem; I would definitely demand that they send me another engine. No one should have to go through such a run around such as this after making a new purchase that is under warranty.
 
If it were me, I would have determined where the knock noise was coming from - its either the valve train, possibly the fuel pump rod that runs off the camshaft, or the bottom end - crankshaft mains or rod bearings..

One question - did you guys spin the distributor gear up with a drill to pressurize the oil pump first, before you started it ??? Verify the oil pressure with a manual (true oil pressure gauge) gauge before you started it ?

Any pushrods come out bent after you took the valve covers off and looked around there???

Ive seen and built a few small blocks and never had this issue at start up but I also went through and set the rockers to the prescribed nbr of turns on the lock nut, and then went back through after it fired up, ran and shut it off, and checked for any a little too loose...

Perhaps there were a few lifters that were not pressurized with oil from the pushrod tubes for awhile???

Next, would be a little concerned about what the camshaft lobes might be looking like..
Hopefully, they put a good camshaft assembly lube on all the lobes and lubed up the camshaft bearings, etc...

Geez, this cant be so hard to do!!! Sorry this had to happen to you guys...
Dan F
 
bswombaugh said:
Can you tell if the knock is in the top part of the motor or the bottom ? If it is in the top, you could have a lobe on the camshaft or lifter that is wiped out. The first 30 minutes of running a new engine is the most critical time. This happens every now and then when breaking in a new engine. Normally it is recommended that you use a special additive or a special motor oil that is high in zinc during the break in process to eliminate this problem. Did they send you any special instructions for breaking the engine in ?

If the knock is in the bottom of the motor it very likely is a rod bearing or possibly a main bearing. This type of issue will only get worse and if left unattended will most certainly result in major engine failure. One of the first things I would do is drain the oil and get a strainer (paint strainer will work) and strain the oil and see if you notice any bright silver or copper particles in the oil and filter. If you notice these particles you can be pretty sure that you have wiped out a main or rod bearing. You will also normally notice a gradual loss in oil pressure as the clearances between the crank and bearings begin to steadily get larger.

Regardless of the problem; I would definitely demand that they send me another engine. No one should have to go through such a run around such as this after making a new purchase that is under warranty.
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The latest "whack a mole" thing they think it might be is the cam, or a lifter or.........

This is really bugging me since the person I sent the pm to on the other forum has been staring at the pm and the thread for over 2.5 hours. and nothing

I thought my pm was strong, pointed but reasonable.

I'm sittin here losing patience.
 
As far as oil is concerned, it was sent with "break in oil" I believe 20-50 rotella, oil/filter changed at specified interval with I believe 5/30 (again specified)
 
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