Engine: bad engine rebuild experience

[5brown1]

I just came across this thread on one person's experience having his 289 rebuilt. My take is, if your machine shop has not worked on a Studebaker engine you need to do some close supervision of their work.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/studebaker-299ci-saga.1104571/

[345 DeSoto]

Sounds to me like the "Shop" didn't know what it was doing, PERIOD....Studebaker or not!

[jackb]

.....or you could buy a nice running 289 w/ 55K original still running perfectly.....

[Skip Lackie]

Good read. Thanks.

[Buzzard]

Wow! Kudos for your perseverance, but it really shouldn't be this difficult. Nice end result though.
Thanks for the post.
Bill

[altair]

Even old time shops make irrational decisions some times. I had issues with my 259 with seizing when hot when the engine was disassembled a very quick determination was made that the problem was out of round big ends and therefore they were resized. As the disassembly continued it was further determined that the main oil passages were plugged and the rod bearings were not getting any oil. The resizing was not required however it is not a bad idea to resize anyways. A quick decision was made before the entire engine was diagnosed. This was a family operation for over 70 years however there was a young family member about 16 that worked on mine, so the 70 years in operation means nothing.

[wittsend]

If you want something done right..., you do it yourself.

I rebuilt a few motors in my late teens and found that for the duration I kept the car I never got a return on my investment. Found it was a lot cheaper and practical to live with a 200 HP motor now making 180 HP, or did an engine swap with a decent engine. Somewhat of a risk I bought a '85 Corvette 350 long block with 66K miles off Ebay for $171 ($250 with everything added to completion). Bolted right into my McKinnon (previously swapped) '64 Daytona and added 80-100 HP.

I realize it isn't about the money all the time..., but when things go wrong it pretty much IS about the money. Glad this guy struggled on and hopefully put all his problems behind him. It would seem prudent to ANYONE taking a Studebaker engine to a shop to have a list of the common problems that nonStudebaker people are clueless about. If the shop is looking to protect their reputation you would think they would be thankful to know.