Jasper engine rebuilds?

[1SG.Rob]

My '69 C10 396 was leaking coolant. Took it to my mechanic and inspection showed that the rear freeze plugs were bad. Found a lot of other things going bad on the engine and it looks like a full rebuild might be my best option. Mechanic said that he uses Jasper for rebuilds and recommended that option. Quick online research on Jasper is, uh, not encouraging. Do any of you all have first hand experience or knowledge with Jasper? What are your thoughts? Thanks!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Go with a GM crate engine from Jegs or Summit. Probably the same price, or less, than the rebuilt one.

[1SG.Rob]

OK, that's also an option. Right now all the numbers match, how much does that really matter? Basically how much does a new engine vs. original rebuilt impact the value of the truck?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Dang it, I completely read the "396" wrong. For some reason I saw 350.

I'd get it rebuilt, but I'd join a local club (even just a facebook page of one) and ask where people prefer to get their engines rebuilt locally. You could even check with Wes (classic heartbeat) and he may be able to at least point you in the right direction. He about 100 miles from you, but likely "knows people."

http://www.classicheartbeat.com/

[Coley]

In my opinion...this all boils down to you and your budget.
You will get every opinion from 'live with it' to 'spend $10,000' on it here.
So....do you have a budget on this?...if so, what is the maximum amount you are prepared to spend to resolve the current problem?
Is your truck an all original 'high dollar' vehicle?
Are you ok, if the engine is not original?

Here is what I would consider...noting that I am not you and its just my quick take on this....
I would pull the original engine, prep it and store it and keep it available for a leisurely, budgeted rebuild some later day. (if you decide to sell the truck you will have the original 396 available as high quality 'bait' for the new buyer)

Then...if I had a tight budget...I would watch for a quality, used 454 and detail that up as the original 396, no one would have to know and they basically look identical and 'drop right in'....and you would probably really enjoy the power/torque difference.
You can pick up a good, used (compression tested) 454 for a lot less money than a rebuild or replacement on your own....just make sure you know its condition when you buy it.
Note: I've seen a lot of low mileage big blocks pulled from wrecked motor homes lately and the guys usually aren't asking an arm and a leg for them...and a lot of them have the TH400's still attached. Now these aren't 'high performance 450hp '454's but they are still big torque big blocks that will easily get a pick up rolling out quickly....and I would thoroughly check any candidate out with a compression test, etc.

That used engine, although obviously not new....would easily give you a few more years worth of fun, driving and entertainment...and in the meantime you could form a plan regarding your original 396 and what you want to do with it.

(note: I just did a quick search on Seattle's craigslist...its full of them for reference sake)

My two bits.

All Good
Coley

[1SG.Rob]

Far out man, thanks. I am already calling around the local area for quotes and such, it looks like I found a good shop that sounds better than Jasper. I will contact Wes also, I have already been in touch with him for other things. Thanks again!

[boogieman1]

I have a friend that tried 3 Jasper rebuilds and he had major problems with 2 of them. I don't remember all the details right off hand but remember some of the choice words he had to say about them.

[toolboxchev]

Words speak to a 1000 people out here. Even those had good rebuilds from them won't be heard.

I can say and will the same about Napa, problem is they control a percent of the parts market, not much else can be done. They have some (25% rating in my experience.) good reference, parts, advice.

Lot more people these days going with the warranty and new manufacture despite its point of origin.

My blood still burns blue

[Wrenchbender Ret]

When I had a shop the only reman I would sell was Jaspers. I had good luck with them & there warranty is excellent. I would use the Goodwrench engine when possible but went to Jaspers for one that wasn't covered by the Goodwrench program. The other rebuilders almost put me out of business. I think Coleys idea is good .

[TheRocket]

DO NOT BUY A MOTOR FROM MARSHALL MOTORS AKA MARSHALL ENGINES AKA BLUEPRINT MOTORS! Their motors are worthless and they do not stand behind their product. Like F.A.S.T. and our former president, everything that goes wrong is George Bush's fault. They will blame everybody but themselves for their crappy products.

Marshall Engine's BBB rating until recently was an F. The best I saw was a D-. Now it is an A. It appears that after a while all of the old complaints fall off of the rating system as none of the old stuff comes up. I promise you, you will regret it if you buy from either Marshall Engines or F.A.S.T.

[Stuntmonkey]

Originally Posted by TheRocket

DO NOT BUY A MOTOR FROM MARSHALL MOTORS AKA MARSHALL ENGINES AKA BLUEPRINT MOTORS! Their motors are worthless and they do not stand behind their product. Like F.A.S.T. and our former president, everything that goes wrong is George Bush's fault. They will blame everybody but themselves for their crappy products.

Marshall Engine's BBB rating until recently was an F. The best I saw was a D-. Not it is an A. It appears that after a while all of the old complaints fall off of the rating system as none of the old stuff comes up. I promise you, you will regret it if you buy from either Marshall Engines or F.A.S.T.

Just for the sake of the argument, BBB is a crock of ****. You can buy an AAA rating from them.

[67 chevelle]

396 is an excellent engine ,numbers matching , you want to keep that . The issue is this , there are very few who make pistons for them now , you can get oversized [30 over] pistons but most are 12 to 1 , they can be fly cut and thick metal laminate head gaskets used . If your engine does not burn oil and is not high mileage , a head rebuild , freeze plugs and bearings may be all you need , along with a cam , lifter , timing chain upgrade

[Ken B]

If it were me I'd rebuild that 396. Like 67 Chevelle noted, it more than likely needs only a basic rebuild. I'd try to stay away from putting a used engine in the truck if at all possible unless you can hear it run and even better test drive it. The trouble with a used motor home engine is that while it was in the motor home it was constantly working hard hauling all that weight around and I'd be willing to bet it over heated at least a few times in its life span. I'm not saying you can't find a good used engine that was in a motor home, I personally know a few guys that have but they had less than 50k on them. I'd want too hear any used engine run...

[ct67_72]

I started working for a company that used Jasper. Long story short I dropped them shortly after. Not only was the product terrible, so was their service and warranty.
I had a customer with a 68 6 wheel dump with a 427 tall deck. used a ton of oil since he got it and had funny compression numbers. We pulled it apart and found 6 of 8 pistons had the rings in line with each other. It was a seasonal business and even though it only had like 2k miles it was out of warranty by time, and even after showing them what had happened they didnt want to know anything about it.

[TheRocket]

Originally Posted by Stuntmonkey

Just for the sake of the argument, BBB is a crock of ****. You can buy an AAA rating from them.

I get that. The BBB complaints were very similar to what I and others I have talked to experienced.

Went to a car show in Amarillo, Texas. Talked to people about the F.A.S.T. systems and customer support. They echoed my experience, as well. (pssst! Hey F.A.S.T. It's not George Bush's fault! Man up.) I wasted lots of money and many, many hours on their worthless EZ-EFI system. Their tbi systems seem to share a lot of the same problems.

[72freak]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Go with a GM crate engine from Jegs or Summit. Probably the same price, or less, than the rebuilt one.

Also check the Chevy/GMC dealership. Their GM crate engines will periodically be cheaper than the above mentioned. I have bought (2) cheaper.

[1SG.Rob]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. I found a local guy that specializes in these types of rebuilds. I dropped the 396 it off with him yesterday for a full stock rebuild. I should have it back in a few weeks. I already can't wait!

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by TheRocket

DO NOT BUY A MOTOR FROM MARSHALL MOTORS AKA MARSHALL ENGINES AKA BLUEPRINT MOTORS! Their motors are worthless and they do not stand behind their product. Like F.A.S.T. and our former president, everything that goes wrong is George Bush's fault. They will blame everybody but themselves for their crappy products.

Marshall Engine's BBB rating until recently was an F. The best I saw was a D-. Now it is an A. It appears that after a while all of the old complaints fall off of the rating system as none of the old stuff comes up. I promise you, you will regret it if you buy from either Marshall Engines or F.A.S.T.

I have a Blueprint 350 in my truck and its been great. When I was looking for a crate engine I took a good look at Blueprints reviews and the majority of the issues were with their stroker engines. Seems like the 383's they built a few years back had a lot of issues.

I got a Vortec 350 from them and its been flawless.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by 1SG.Rob

Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. I found a local guy that specializes in these types of rebuilds. I dropped the 396 it off with him yesterday for a full stock rebuild. I should have it back in a few weeks. I already can't wait!

For a numbers matching BB truck, that is really the best thing to do. Unless they find a cracked block or something. I'd want to keep the original engine.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by 1SG.Rob

Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. I found a local guy that specializes in these types of rebuilds. I dropped the 396 it off with him yesterday for a full stock rebuild. I should have it back in a few weeks. I already can't wait!

Good choice.
If you can...and if you enjoy some increased performance....see if they can upgrade the cam in the engine from stock to get more hp and torque.....new/different heads would be an optional choice, but definitely the cam upgraded from the stock 'truck' cam.
Nothing radical or necessarily lumpy and hard to tune, but definitely higher lift and to increase flow a bit so you get a nice torque bump with added hp.
.....just my two bits.

All Good
Coley