V8 engine builders, tuners and suppliers: Chevy, Ford, Mopar performance

Engine Building

In our opinion, option (b) is the only way to build an engine correctly, as this guarantees the parts and the build are at a consistent level of quality. By purchasing a crate engine you are relying on someone else's work, with minor mistakes leading to costly repairs after the engine has been installed. The following outlines how British American Engines Ltd sources its engines and parts, and the process involved in building our turnkey engines.

Our build philosophy

Blocks, Blocks, Blocks...

Since the introduction of the small block, General Motors went have made several variations (Ford a few more!) for different applications. Although they look the same, some engines were manufactured to a tougher standard, with a higher nickel content iron in a thicker casting with four bolt main end caps. By carefully sourcing engines that fall into this category, you have a solid foundation for engines that fall between the 300 to 550 bhp range.

Unfortunately, good quality blocks are hard to come by in the UK and when one does become available its price will be at a premium. A typical used engine from the UK may have excessively worn bores. However, Ford and GM manufactured millions of their small block engines in the USA and combined with America's ‘throw away & buy new' dogma, there is a huge supply of good quality, heavy duty engines. From certain States only, we hand pick engines installed into specific vehicles manufactured between 1970 to 1975 and on certain vehicles up to 1979. These engines are cleaned and checked for the heavy duty casting number and shipped to us in the UK.

Getting started For those not sure about what they require, a consultation service is available, which can be at the workshop or via phone and e-mail if the distance is too far. Once you have decided on your engine, agreed on a start date and the deposit is paid, the build process starts.

Start of the build process

Depending on your build requirements an appropriate block, crankshaft and connecting rods are chosen from our store and are sent off to the machinists. We also order the pistons and rings, which are fitted to the con rods. Due to their greater strength and heat dissipation, we use hypereutectic pistons as standard rather than cast pistons, along with chrome-moly rings. The job of the machinist is to rebore, clean, pressure test the block, while also testing and machining the crankshaft. It is at this stage, that the machinist will balance the flywheel, pistons, con rods, harmonic balancer and crankshaft, for engines that require a full reciprocating balance.

The block, crankshaft and connecting rods, are the only parts that we keep in stock. By ordering the rest of the parts required direct from our supplier at the start of your engine build, we ensure that we keep the build costs to a minimum. As the customer this cost saving is passed directly to yourself, although occasionally parts do end up on back order from the supplier. We try to keep any delays to an absolute minimum and feel that the substantial savings that we are able to pass on to you makes up for the occasional delay.

The parts order

You will be amazed at the amount of parts required to build a turn key engine and whilst some manufacturers may use second-hand parts in their engines, we only use new parts. The following list is a typical order from our parts supplier :-

• Oil level dipstick
• PCV valve
• rocker covers
• PCV breather
• Starter motor
• Timing set
• Water pump pulley
• Crank pulley
• Air filter
• Mallory Distributor & hold down bracket
• vacuum cap kit
• Camshaft and lifters
• Water pump
• Carburettor and banjo fitting
• Inlet manifold
• Upper & lower gasket set
• Lead set
• Spark plugs
• Wire separators
• Timing cover
• Hardened pushrods
• Alternator / water pump belt
• Alternator brackets and bolt kit.
• Angled thermo housing & bolts
• Thermostat (82 degrees)
• Fuel pump block plate + bolts
• Water heater fittings for inlet manifold & water pump
• Servo take off fitting
• Timing pointer
• Sump
• High pressure oil pump & pickup
• New heads including valves, rocker arms and gaskets

We aim to have these parts sent under one delivery and for them to arrive at the same time that the block, crank, pistons and rods are returned from the machinist. This preparation stage, including the parts delivery will have taken just under a week. It is also at this stage that the block will be painted.

The engine build stage

The engine will be built in the following stages: Block Short engine Long engine Turn key engine Before starting the installation, the engineer will have inspected all the bottom end parts that will make up the short engine. Once satisfied that the parts are correct, the build will start in earnest.

Starting with the individual block, the crankshaft, pistons and rods will be fitted to form a short engine. This is then trial spun for testing of tolerances and correct clearance. To make a long engine, the camshaft, lifters, timing gear and heads will then be fitted and tested. To convert the long engine into a full turn key unit, the engineer will then fit the ancillaries e.g. distributor, carburettor and water pump. It is at this stage that the engine is removed from the engine stand and fitted to the test bed.

Test bed stage

Without exception, all of our turn key engines are subject to the test bed, before release to the customer. The testing of the engine does more than prove that the engine starts up, as the camshaft is also "broken in" at this stage. It shows the engineer that the engine can safely run up to it's operating temperature and work to the mandate that the engine was built to. Please note that this does not in any way mean that the engine has been run in. Once satisfied that the engine is ready for the customer, we video its running and save it to CD-rom for you to keep.

The build from the block up to the test bed would have taken about a week.

Delivery stage

Once your engine is completed, we arrange delivery to your premises and this takes approximately two to three days.

Product satisfaction

From initial consultation to completion of your engine, will generally take a fortnight. However, due to the popularity of our engines this is subject to varying lead time prior to commencement. Because we build our engines in house, we are able to maintain quality and guarantee our work. The information above will go some way to explaining why we can't give you next day delivery for our engines, but if you are looking for a quality built engine, we doubt that you would have it any other way.