Blueprint Engines 383 - My Bad Experience

[AusTx68]

Before I begin here is some history:

Arrival of my Blueprint Engine 383

Overheating Begins

At the moment Blueprint Engines aka Marshall Engines has my 383. At their request I shipped the motor back to them for inspection. Thas was following weeks of tech support provided by the company. The sysmptons were overheating with exhaust gas in the coolant. Heads checked good and assumed a crack in the block.

After a few weeks I heard back from the company. They say they tore down the motor and can't find the problem. For that reason my claim was denied and they want me to either buy a new motor or pay to have the broken one assemebled and returned to me. Needless to say I'm pissed. THEY can't find the problem now I get the shaft. How convenient is it for them to deny claims because they are too incompetent to find a problem. That doesn't sound right at all. At this point I'm considering my options..I will let everyone know how it turned out.

UPDATE: Blueprint Engines has reversed their decision to deny my claim and has shipped a completely new motor at no cost to me. Getting the claim reversed required a lot of back and forth dialog, photos, and involvment of BP executive management. In the end commmon sense prevailed. Thank you Blueprint Engines for realizing the mistake and making things right.

[Pyrotechnic]

Thing is, if the head gasket wasn't blown to the point of being burned, but just leaking enough to cause an issue they very well may not have seen it and just thought it was some sort of customer error causing the overheating.

Even if they did find a blown head gasket, it's not like it's a huge cost for them to fix it. Not like you sent them a grenaded bottom end or anything. Can't see why that would be such a big deal just for them to fix and leave a customer happy.

Doesn't make sense why they are trying to stiff you on this one, a customer stiffed out of this much money is going to talk, and at a very loud volume to a lot of people. That's very bad for business.

I would ask to speak to the company owner or someone higher up if you haven't already. I've been through a similar deal by a local builder, I hope by some miracle you get this all worked out.

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by Pyrotechnic

it's not like it's a huge cost for them to fix it. Not like you sent them a grenaded bottom end or anything. Can't see why that would be such a big deal just for them to fix and leave a customer happy.

Doesn't make sense why they are trying to stiff you on this one, a customer stiffed out of this much money is going to talk, and at a very loud volume to a lot of people. That's very bad for business.

Exactly, I had less than 1000 miles on it. I told the rep, "If you feel the block is good, go ahead and sell it to someone else." My point being, they have the means to refresh the block at minimal cost. All the parts are present and in good shape. As you said, it doesn't make sense.

Rather than do what's right, they created a bad customer experience.

[Clyde65]

I bet that motor was cheap like a Jasper engine either. They should do the right thing, I would ask them to reassemble and put it on the dyno and run it for an agreed period to see if it has the same issues. If it does, then they have an issue to deal with, if not, then you have a good engine and they have a happy customer and a real cheap fix, no matter what the issue WAZ, it's fixed and your happy.

[cdowns]

that is the reason why i suggest buying from a local GM dealership for a few dollars more in case of warrenty problems

[GhostTown]

Can you buy a modified 383 stroker from your local GM dealer all put together like that?

Sorry to hear about your engine. It sure looked like you were rounding the last corner on your build. To see it jerked out from under you like that really sucks!

[drunkbus]

Originally Posted by GhostTown

Can you buy a modified 383 stroker from your local GM dealer all put together like that?

Sorry to hear about your engine. It sure looked like you were rounding the last corner on your build. To see it jerked out from under you like that really sucks!

Yes you can they have a couple different options. http://www.gmhorsepower.com/ZZ-383.php

[GhostTown]

Originally Posted by drunkbus

Yes you can they have a couple different options. http://www.gmhorsepower.com/ZZ-383.php

Wow. Those don't match up very close price wise though.

Blue Print through Jegs: LINK

ZZ383 through Jegs: LINK + how much more for everything the Blue Print motor comes with?

What am I missing here?

[geezer#99]

Curious if your heads have been ported. I knew of a similiar problem. The heads had a port and polish job. The guy porting the heads got a little close to the water jacket. No crack just a pinhole that only showed up when the motor was fully warmed up. A pressure test showed nothing wrong. A sonic test revealed the bad porting job.
Check it out. A possibility!!

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Curious if your heads have been ported. I knew of a similiar problem. The heads had a port and polish job. The guy porting the heads got a little close to the water jacket. No crack just a pinhole that only showed up when the motor was fully warmed up. A pressure test showed nothing wrong. A sonic test revealed the bad porting job.
Check it out. A possibility!!

Heads are not ported/polished. Hey, shouldn't a hole show up in a pressure test? I thought that was the point.

[geezer#99]

No it didn't. When it got hot metal expanded enough to leak thru a pinhole.

[no moa]

Sorry about your bad luck, live and learn. I always do a BBB check before i buy something, its good practice. I will post this to a couple of my other forums, good info. Where are they located?

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by no moa

Sorry about your bad luck, live and learn. I always do a BBB check before i buy something, its good practice. I will post this to a couple of my other forums, good info. Where are they located?

They are in Kearney, Nebraska. The parent company is Marshall Engines Inc. They sell under the name 'Blueprint Engines' thru places like Summit and Jegs.

[Clyde65]

So what now? Do they just keep the motor and you are left holding the bill that you paid? or are they sending it back to you, shipping due?

Have you thought about having a local reputable machine shop look into the issue before you spend $1K's of more dollars?

[drunkbus]

Did you purchase the motor through Summit or Jeg's? If so I would contact them also. If nothing else maybe if they get enough complaints they will stop selling their junk.

[Clyde65]

I think your going about it right, I know your p1$$3d off, which anyone would be given the situation. I also would go the same route you are, but the waiting is hard. good luck man, I will be looking for a positive ( your part) outcome.

[GhostTown]

After reading your very first thread, I would have dropped 4k on one of their engines in a heart beat. Not now.

Hopefully this is corrected, and in the end you are a very happy guy.

[68gmsee]

Yeah, man. Sorry to hear you're having all these problems. At first I was thinking I would have done things a little different like taking the truck into a reputable speed shop before removing it again. But then I read where you found all those heli-coils.

Don't know how much you paid for the engine but helicoils tell me this engine has been through a few overtorquings or cross threadings. Probably put together with air tools by someone unfamiliar with the damage they can do sometimes.

Regardless, I'm still confused as to why the engine would run cool sometimes for extended periods and then overheat at others. In my experience a cracked head, block or leaking head gasket is usually pretty consistent in it's symptoms.

Recently I solved a slight overheating problem on my GMC by installing an overflow reservoir. For some reason, the engine didn't like to be even a few inches low on water -even with a new larger radiator.

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Regardless, I'm still confused as to why the engine would run cool sometimes for extended periods and then overheat at others. In my experience a cracked head, block or leaking head gasket is usually pretty consistent in it's symptoms.

With a thermostat in place the engine would initially start and run normal temp. As I started driving the combustion pressure entering the coolant would gradually cause an air bubble in the cooling system. Once that happened the temp would spike. When I removed the thermostat completely, the pressure had no where to get trapped. Instead it continued to build until the radiator cap released the pressure/coolant via the overflow hose. During testing I would take 5-10 miles drives then check the coolant level. Even after just 5 miles the coolant level would drop considerably.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by AusTx68

With a thermostat in place the engine would initially start and run normal temp. As I started driving the combustion pressure entering the coolant would gradually cause an air bubble in the cooling system. Once that happened the temp would spike....

Gotcha. Yeah, that definitely indicates a hot exhaust leak into the coolant system. As geezer#99 mentioned it's you can't always find these things with leak test equipment especially if the problem is occuring under high heat and pressure from the engine.

forgot this: I know it's a little late but here's a good you tube video on doing a coolant test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgxbPHX-W_M

[AusTx68]

Good news to report! Got a call today from Blueprint Engines. They reversed their earlier decision and have decided to honor the claim! A new 383 will ship to me today!! They still don't know what happened with the first motor but will do further testing. I'm just happy they saw the value in creating a good customer experience.

Earlier today, before the call, I sent photos of my truck to the Service Manger. He responded by saying "amazing looking truck" and said they were working towards a quick resolution. Quick indeed, they called just a few hrs later.

I will make sure to post photos once the new engine arrives! Thanks again to Blueprint Engines for making the right decision!

[BB72CHEVKT]

glad to hear of your good news

[tjsblazer]

I'm glad it sounds as though eventually you'll get a positive outcome. I am planning on installing a 383 crate motor in my 72 K5 this summer and have certainly ruled out Blueprint (they were kinda down my list to begin). Right now looking at United Racing Engines out of Arizona and Branger out of Kentucky although just starting to do my homework on them both. Hopefully your reinstall goes good for you, even with warranty replacement the hassle itself is a piss off.
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[skoffice]

I had a similar problem with a different company about 2 years ago. Coast High Performance. My buddy got a 406 shortblock for his Chevelle. We put it all together, got it fired up, and it had a slight knock on deceleration. Took it to my shop, tore it down, and they had forgotten a spiral lock in one of the wrist pins! They made him, pay to ship it back, pay to have the block honed and sleeved due to the scoring on the cyl. wall from the wrist pin sliding out and hitting it, and pay to ship it back to him. Their rep arrogantly said "Ha my assembler NEVER forgets a spiral lock. Thats not possible." Well he sure did! I was doing all the R&R and his dad was paying for all this BS since he was away at college and needed his vehicle back ASAP. But what a bunch of BS. I tell everyone to find a local reputable shop to deal with, even if it's 75 miles away. Because then you have someones door to bust down when the $hit hits the fan. Instead of an unnecessary $400 in incurred shippng costs and another month at minimum wondering "whats wrong with my engine and where is it?" It's a lot easier to make someone see whats going on in person than over a phone call. My friend's lesson was well learned.

[VA72C10]

Glad to hear they are standing up and doing what's right.