The shops just don't assign a high priority to these old engines.
I call the shop this past friday, and this is the conversation.
"Hey Robert, this is Robert. You got to the old chevy motor yet?" (Yes, same name)
"I've got it vatted, but haven't checked it yet. Been working on junk for other people."
"What kind of junk?"
"Mostly heads'n stuff"
"Worse than the stuff I brought you?"
"Not that bad."
What does that tell you? At least he'll work on it. Two local shops didn't want to fool with it.
Short history of a '54 Chevy:
Bought car in 1990. Did a ring job.
Drove until 1996 when #6 piston broke in half.
Louisiana shop rebuilt engine, did a bad job.
Rebuilt it myself 1997, crank failure
Rebuilt it again, ran from 1997 to 2001. Crank failure.
Nov '01: Bring the '54 block to shop 1. They tell me to get a V8.
Call shop 2. They are nasty over the phone, make it obvious they don't want to fool with it.
Dec '01: Bring block to shop 3. They bore the block, install cam brngs and freeze plugs. I get it home and realize that the #1 main cap is cracked. 200 bucks plus parts down drain.
Jan '02: Bring block to shop 4. Says block is shot. Bring him cap from other engine. It won't work. Looks for another block for 3 months.
July '02: Brought him a '60 235 two weeks ago.
But Geoff is right, the fear is that if you press 'em, they'll say to come get your crap.
Chip
