I am driving a 1970 V-code Road Runner from New York to San Francisco, stuck in a blizzard in Wyoming at the moment, so my reply will be brief. I will not get into a pissing contrst.
Here are the facts:
In the spring of last year, we sold this guy a professionally rebuilt 72 340, 0.030" o/s, forged crank and pistons, that was done by a well known Mopar pro shop a while back. (The builder is deceased). It was a cammed-up, single-plane semi-drag motor, and he was aware of that. Big tube tti headers were part of the package but he declined them. Great for a 3,000 lb A-body, but he was insistent on putting it in a pig heavy 73 or 74 b-body. He had us change the intake manifold to a dual plane, which made the combo even worse, because it was a manifold that made no high RPM power, and a cam with no low end. But he hadda have a 340. OK, whatever.
When he came to pick it up he used a borescope to look at each cylinder wall and piston top. We read the numbers on the pistons and looked at the cylinder walls which were perfect - flawless, like jewelry. He agreed. You could see the crosshatch. The engine had been sealed tight and everything was coated with assembly oil.
So he decides to break it in with synthetic oil, and, no surprise, the rings don't seat. Then started a long email chain; he had this so-called engine builder pull it apart, and he sent me an e-mail, which I have, where he said everything looked perfect inside. I had given him many suggestions as to how to get the rings to seat, but never got a reply or response to any of those points. He also doesn't live all that far from me, but never showed me the car. Or even called.
Months later, actually over a year, he sends another email, now the cylinder walls are suddenly rusty. Huh? And the block needs to be sleeved? Even assuming everything he says is correct, why not 0.040" oversize? Got no response to that either - deaf ear syndrome.
Then he decides he wants a 360, which he has built by his buddy, but he uses a bunch of parts from the 340 he bought from us, including the connecting rods, heads, valve gear, manifold, etc etc. Without saying a word to me.
I am not saying he is a bad person; just that he has gotten a lot of really bad "advice and help". This started, I presume, when he was told a 340 was good for his application. I guess he has finally awakened to the smell of the coffee, and figured out that a 360 is far superior in a heavy car. Had it been mine, it would have had a 408 from day one.
So now it is a year and a half later. And he wants $1,000 back?
When pigs fly.
Rick
