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!

[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!!

[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?

[72chevyk10]

Originally Posted by GhostTown

What am I missing here?

iron vs aluminum heads

and roller cam

[GhostTown]

Originally Posted by 72chevyk10

iron vs aluminum heads

and roller cam

Thanks.

[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.

[60ratrod]

Originally Posted by GhostTown

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?

also everything in a gmpp block/head/engine is brand new. blue print uses old "seasoned" blocks for their builds. a while back i was considering one of their engines, but now i think that i may avoid them. you would think that at the very least they would do an inspection tear down and free reassemble if nothing bad was found.

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by 60ratrod

also everything in a gmpp block/head/engine is brand new. blue print uses old "seasoned" blocks for their builds. a while back i was considering one of their engines, but now i think that i may avoid them. you would think that at the very least they would do an inspection tear down and free reassemble if nothing bad was found.

When searching for a crate motor I didn't put much value into all the parts being new. The additional price tag didn't seem worth it when compared to the offerings of Marshall Engines. In the end that decision will cost me double. I could have gotten a very nice GMPP motor for less than this decision will cost me. Btw, those "seasoned" blocks that are supposedly hand picked are less than stellar. Mine had helicoils all over it including in the nose of the crankshaft. They became apparent when I started removing my accessories for return shipping. I especially remember the crankshaft helicoil unwinding when unbolteding the pulley. I was pissed to see a helicoil in what was advertised as a new crank. Makes me wonder if they are reusing parts from returned engines.

And as you said, if nothing is found bad why not reassemble the motor for free? Especially since it was there decision to have me return the motor for inspection. It doens't make sense. How much are they really losing??

Anyone considering purchasing from Blueprint Engines aka Marshall Engines should learn from my experience. In the end a warranty has no value if they will not honor it. One more thing, I just checked their Better Business Bureau rating. They have an 'F' rating which is the worst BBB can issue. Crap.

[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?

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by 60ratrod

also everything in a gmpp block/head/engine is brand new. blue print uses old "seasoned" blocks for their builds. a while back i was considering one of their engines, but now i think that i may avoid them. you would think that at the very least they would do an inspection tear down and free reassemble if nothing bad was found.

I wouldn't just assume that a new block is better than a seasoned one, at least when it comes to a GM cast. My understanding is that GM now casts offshore and the metal content in the casting is not to the same standard.

[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.

[60ratrod]

Originally Posted by tjsblazer

I wouldn't just assume that a new block is better than a seasoned one, at least when it comes to a GM cast. My understanding is that GM now casts offshore and the metal content in the casting is not to the same standard.

That wasn't what i was getting at. Its the final product quality i was getting at and why gmpp costs more due to brand new castings
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[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by 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?

My claim is still open so there's hope I can get this resolved in a manner that is fair. I will definetely let everyone know the final outcome. They called me this morning to let me know a second inspection team would check the motor. Hopefully this second inspection will identify the error and my motor will be warrantied.

At this point they have the motor. If they do nothing and send it back I will definetely get it checked. Then I will report them to the Texas Attorney General and take them to court. How this ends is completely up to them. It's silly really..if this post gets 100 hits and 10 of those people choose not to buy their Product, that's over $40k in sales revenue lost. Their cost to make this right is a fraction of what they could lose thanks to the power of the Internet!

Originally Posted by 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.

I got it from Summit. They will hear from me if this goes badly.

[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.