Hi Fastmark, and THANK YOU for taking time to "guide and advise", it's really appreciated!
I almost covered all the concerns, but your feedback is of great value for me, and my process of decisions!
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I hope you read the complete article and comments".... I did, and several times even.. actually, I think abt 6 or 7 times, including the comments.. AND then did some
motor math, and came to the conclusion, that I would probably have to bury my aluminium plans, and go with the iron. The reason I wanted the alu, is (or was
) primarily WEIGHT!
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You being overseas is not going to be pleasant WHEN you have problems" - No, that would be VERY VERY impractical to say the least... and you are probably even blissfully unaware, of all the annoying tax, and import/export issues, which a possible warranty return would result in..
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Casting these blocks is really a problem now days. ALL of the manufacturers are having problems getting them to the customers with out delays AND problems. Iron blocks especially" - Oh, and here I thought, that the problems were limited to the aluminium. Suddenly keeping my 383 seems like the best option..
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They did not mention a Kieth Black as a potential source. I’m not sure why. Tim Banning at For Hemis Only has been building both iron and aluminum hemis for decades. He and two other guys bought out a Kieth Black a couple of years ago. They inherited a mass of problems. Most of these were just foundry problems. They have redesigned the block completely, which has its problems and needs some fixing. That is the problem with all these blocks. When you reengineer something, you find other problems. I’m not sure any of these blocks are readily flowing to the customers without their share of problems. My bud bought an Indy block from Tim Banning, I built the all aluminum motor. Tim had to do a lot of work on the block as delivered from Indy to prepare it for a good build. He recommended that we keep the Indy block to a small 4.250 bore in order to keep the cly walls stable. Bigger is not better for the Indy block. We bought the block before he bought out KB. The world aluminum block was not a good choice. They had problems. We have yet to fire it our motor. My fingers are crossed" - Thanks.. again, super valuable information! And of course, good luck with your build... fingers crossed for your build here too!
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So, my advice, because I keep up with all the news, it to talk to Tim Banning at FHO and see what his status on blocks. I would also call Ray Barton. They are quality shops. There is one more but I can’t think of his name right now. Don’t just use anyone. Research all the reviews" - Thanks.. Will most certainly do that! I think that for now, winter coming and all, I will work on other areas of the Barracuda, and let the foundry issues, and other production challenges be solved before importing anything!
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Also notice that this article was written before the covid scare and things are different. Production is slow. I’m not sure any blocks are ready right now. Don’t think you can just order a motor and it be there in a month, ready to fire. Pm me if you need any more information. Good luck". Thanks again.. yeah, that thing ain't over yet. It has messed most of my car activities up already. (And imagine all those problems, just because someone ordered "bat-sushi"
THANKS again man - It's really kind of you to share this information..
