**do not buy blueprint engines***

[tbone67]

I bought a Blueprint 383 crate motor for my 1972 Blazer and it hydro locked after 150 miles over a 4 month period. They told me right away that because I installed it myself, they wouldn't cover labor. Ok, either way I had a Chevrolet dealership do the repair work because I didn't know exactly what I was in for. They started taking apart the motor and discovered that the intake manifold bolts were loose (motor came with the intake) and the heads were old pieces of junk. Major signs of electrolysis and multiple pins installed from crack repairs. This is a high 405 hp engine and you shouldn't be using junk heads waiting to fail. Blueprint kept insisting I overheated the motor and that's why the heads warped. This motor never overheated!!! The junk heads were the cause of this whole thing. The enormous amount of electrolysis on the head and the loose intake manifold bolts with heat and pressure from normal use caused the intake gasket to leak and let coolant flow. This was driven for 150 miles over a 4 month period. Ridiculous!! Keep in mind I bought this motor because it comes with "NEW CAST IRON VORTEC HEADS"!!!!!!!! Buyer beware…it doesn't! Also the cross hatching is gone in the cylinders and they are shining. How can that be gone in 150 miles. I question if it was ever even honed as they say. I'm surprised this thing held together during the so-called dyno run. Blueprint gave me the whole rundown on how they air check everything and torque everything, maybe it held together from them but fell apart for me. I bought this motor because I wanted a reputable company to stand behind their product with a warranty. I didn't want to have some local shop or shade-tree mechanic build one and then have he said/she said issues if a problem would arise. The joke is on me! I understand they can't pay out every warranty claim that comes through the door but I am getting the shaft here. Absolutely depressing and now I am out $2k for labor repairs (not including the tow bill). The Chevrolet dealership agrees with me and also is disappointed with Blueprint not standing behind their product. I watch all these automotive shows with Blueprint sponsorship and advertisements, I was excited and proud to buy my Blueprint motor...not anymore.

[mgkgmc]

Looks like they are rated with the Better Business Bureau you could leave a review on there.

[bigdog55]

I'm needing a new motor myself. I considered getting one of theirs, Now I have second thoughts.

[tbone67]

Originally Posted by mgkgmc

Looks like they are rated with the Better Business Bureau you could leave a review on there.

I will be and thanks for the information. Much appreciated!!
Posted via Mobile Device

[jimijam00]

You knew the warranty terms before purchase, right?

[tbone67]

Originally Posted by jimijam00

You knew the warranty terms before purchase, right?

No, but will admit I didn’t read through them thoroughly either. I just saw the 30 year/50,000 mile warranty. Regardless, they are using parts that shouldn’t be used. Those heads should have been scrapped to begin with. I understand that you can rebuild things and reuse them but not on a high profile build like this. Blueprint is in business to give us something that we need and make a profit while doing so. Unfortunately sometimes they use equipment they shouldn’t. I’m sure most times people install their motors and rarely drive or even start them and by the time there is an issue years have passed. Not this time.
Posted via Mobile Device

[tdangle]

That is really too bad a company would put together an engine using bad used parts. I can see a used block, but they do state new heads. I also thought they dyno ran all of their engines??

This just reinforced my decision to go with new from GM.

[BigBird05]

With GM crate engines being affordable, that is the best way to go.

[tbone67]

The vendor I purchased the engine stated new heads. It also said computer aligned honing job. There should be signs of the honing job present after 150 miles. Blueprint disagree with me. I’ve spoken with multiple mechanics and said there should be definite visible signs of the crosshatching. Blueprint said they don’t use new heads on this setup. I learned this after the fact. Point being the heads used should have been scrapped and not used. If it was me, I would go with the gm crate motor.
Posted via Mobile Device

[tbone67]

I do have the printout of the dyno run, means nothing to me.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Mbeef61]

If the vendor said new heads and blueprint said they are not I would be going after the vendor for false advertisement/fraud

[tbone67]

Originally Posted by Mbeef61

If the vendor said new heads and blueprint said they are not I would be going after the vendor for false advertisement/fraud

Next step. But just making people be aware of what kind of work Blueprint is capable of.
Posted via Mobile Device

[54Caddy]

Dang not good to see at all. I installed a blueprint 383 roller in a customers 67 truck recently he has about 1,500 miles easy in the past four months have no issues with it. Also another in a 73 truck and no issues. These are both with their new aluminum heads and were both purchased as long blocks.

[siggyfreud]

Did you buy direct (if that's possible) or get it through a reseller? Perhaps the reseller bamboozled you?

[special-K]

150 miles isn't even a break-in period. Sponsoring TV shows and other forms of "paying" to get your name out there is just that, "Buying a reputation" not earning one. It sounds like using "Blueprint" in their name is a decoy. A precision built engine is not necessarily blueprinted. They are misusing the term right there. Big means nothing these days. More than anything it means they cut a finance deal for a big line of credit with a bank.

You are better off dealing with that guy in your area who's name comes up when talking engine building. I use Mark Pickett, ever hear of him? You know, the guy who lives back off of Old West Falls Rd in Back Acres Estates with the machine shop in his attached garage. The guy who does all the machine work and engine building for the repair shops in the area and those hot rodders and racers who are in the know.

The engine in my '72 K2500 "I" rebuilt in '91 and is in it's second truck. I disassembled, used a local machine shop for the machine work, supplying bearings to match the resulting specs, and I went ahead and had them assemble the heads. I don't call myself a mechanic or an engine builder, but I assembled the block, then heads, with great care and attention to every detail checking myself along the way. This was the 4th or 5th engine build for me. I know what's in there and I would be no better off with a GM crate engine. The proof is in the pudding.

[68Gold/white]

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

Did you buy direct (if that's possible) or get it through a reseller? Perhaps the reseller bamboozled you?

I am wondering same..........

[67C10Step]

Anyone can sell you something. The true reputation of a company is made in how they handle when something goes wrong.

If the heads were advertised as new and you have evidence to the contrary that is enough of a deal breaker for me right there. All the rest is just more evidence of a poor job. A dyno sheet to me is worthless unless I see the engine on the dyno in video or with my own two eyes. Too easy to fake a dyno sheet, not that I am accusing Blueprint of that.

I hope you get some satisfaction on this and please keep the group posted.

[Ol Blue K20]

I've always had good luck using a couple of local machine shops. They have been around a long time and that is a god sign of quality.

[LEEVON]

Well that sucks. If they sold you an engine with "new" heads that should be enough to dispute the entire transaction.

[tbone67]

Again, I'm not saying Blueprint doesn't make quality engines or don't use new parts. No doubt they make great motors and have been around for a long time. In my situation, they used scrap iron for heads. They should have used quality equipment. Now unfortunately I got screwed on this deal.

[Steeveedee]

Here in California the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) oversees what shops do. If you screw up, your case gets published in their newsletter. One time a guy came in with a 442 with leaking transmission lines. The shop that rebuilt the engine positioned the lines wrong and one chafed through on the upper a-arm. I fixed that, no big deal. It also ran really rough, so I pulled a plug to look, and it was obviously old. Put a set of new plugs in it, and it ran great. The shop had charged him for new spark plugs. When the case was was settled, he got ALL his money back because of the one fraudulent charge.

Call the California BAR and complain.

tl;dr version- if they advertised parts as new and they weren't, it is at least fraud.

[Sheepdip]

My buddy installed a Blue Print SBF Stroker in a 68 Mustang last year and at last report it runs like a missile with zero hiccup's. But that's just his experience.

[kwmech]

Years ago when I worked at the local GM dealer we were getting remans from a company called Cherokee Motors. They were absolute garbage. I installed a 350 longblock in a pickup that lasted about a month. Engine came with sheet metal on it. All I had to do was install the intake and accessories. When we sent it back they denied the claim saying the oil screen was full of rag pieces. WTF? all I did was bolt an intake on. We never bought from them again.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

Did you buy direct (if that's possible) or get it through a reseller? Perhaps the reseller bamboozled you?

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

I am wondering same..........

Originally Posted by tbone67

The vendor I purchased the engine stated new heads. It also said computer aligned honing job. There should be signs of the honing job present after 150 miles. Blueprint disagree with me. I’ve spoken with multiple mechanics and said there should be definite visible signs of the crosshatching. Blueprint said they don’t use new heads on this setup

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I've always had good luck using a couple of local machine shops. They have been around a long time and that is a god sign of quality.

Yeah, there are small reputable machine shops out there all over this country that have been around way longer than Blueprint. In my world they are something new that came along with the internet. And with the internet there can be a temptation to say one thing and do another, then just deny responsibility from afar. How do you drop the engine off for them to inspect for their flaw? Just sit on the phone or at the keyboard and deny is much easier for them. Heck, many online businesses don't even have where they are located shown on their website. You have to dig just to know what state authorities to contact

Originally Posted by tbone67

Again, I'm not saying Blueprint doesn't make quality engines or don't use new parts. No doubt they make great motors and have been around for a long time. In my situation, they used scrap iron for heads. They should have used quality equipment. Now unfortunately I got screwed on this deal.

Then I'll say it and your story is proof. And even if this is all on the vendor you dealt with, saying the heads would be new, that right there is the problem. IMO the manufacturer is responsible for what the vendors they chose to deal with do. Chose? It's not like they get screened in any way except credit check. All about the money and getting huge through as many vendors as possible. Where is the quality control in that? There is more to quality control than the labor part. This case proves it. One says this, the other says that. The only thing you know for sure is they both got your money

Obviously Blueprint didn't magnaflux the heads (or whoever built the engine). Used heads are fine. Like I said, I'm not a mechanic or engine builder, but I know either you use new heads or you magnaflux the used or you are pissing into the wind

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by special-K

150 miles isn't even a break-in period. Sponsoring TV shows and other forms of "paying" to get your name out there is just that, "Buying a reputation" not earning one. It sounds like using "Blueprint" in their name is a decoy. A precision built engine is not necessarily blueprinted. They are misusing the term right there. Big means nothing these days. More than anything it means they cut a finance deal for a big line of credit with a bank.

You are better off dealing with that guy in your area who's name comes up when talking engine building. I use Mark Pickett, ever hear of him? You know, the guy who lives back off of Old West Falls Rd in Back Acres Estates with the machine shop in his attached garage. The guy who does all the machine work and engine building for the repair shops in the area and those hot rodders and racers who are in the know.

The engine in my '72 K2500 "I" rebuilt in '91 and is in it's second truck. I disassembled, used a local machine shop for the machine work, supplying bearings to match the resulting specs, and I went ahead and had them assemble the heads. I don't call myself a mechanic or an engine builder, but I assembled the block, then heads, with great care and attention to every detail checking myself along the way. This was the 4th or 5th engine build for me. I know what's in there and I would be no better off with a GM crate engine. The proof is in the pudding.

I would keep fighting with Boofprint. Tell them sayin' ain't doin'. If they did what they claim you wouldn't be talking!

It's funny you mention the name and blueprinting. I have been looking closely at the BP3503CT1. I like the price per pony. But one thing that really bugs me is they use the term "Seasoned Block", and that kind of bothers me. "Seasoned block" is another term that gets tossed around like every used block is a good seasoned block. I don't mind a two bolt main for that power, but the term seasoned bugs me in their context. With today's metal tech, I'm thinking I would rather have a new block then one called seasoned. Probably overheated and stressed. But now I see their seasoned heads! Actually... not funny!


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