i know there are a lot of a places (greenbaypartsworld.com among other net sites, and i've seen plenty of ads in car craft) that sell full rebuild kits...gaskets, bearings, pistons, cam, lifters, timing chain, ect. has anyone used one? since TA doesn't really sell any kind of full kit, and to assemble one would be a lot more than the $400-500 for most rebuild kits, i'm wondering if one of these would fit the bill for an often-driven street car? i know the grind they use on the cam will be pretty generic(crappy), but any downside other than that? can the parts be trusted? anyone used one?
David, Please do not take this personal, but I honestly would like your input, because I run into this scenario quite often when working the phones at TA. Many people like yourself believe that we (TA) do not offer kits for rebuilds, and I do not know how to answer that question, because we stock every single peice needed to do any type of build up on a 350-400-401-425-430 or 455 and to a lesser extent the V6 and the earlier small blocks and early nailheads. Due to the variables we (TA) have set up a discount structure based on how extensive of a kit you want. For instance a re-ring kit would have a discount line item for "X" amount, and the full kit would also have a discount line item but for a larger amount. If you are expecting a big box already filled with re-build parts that we can just take off the shelf and ship, that we won't have. In most cases that type of cookie-cutter parts supplying is rebuild suicide. If you are a little confused by our catalog on which parts you need for a rebuild, go to the center page after the price list insert and the kits are itemized. Kit "G" will include everything needed to re-build your short block. Without getting too much into the price issue, I think the days of a $500 rebuild kit are almost extinct (thank Federal Mogul for that one). Thanks, Dave
d'oh! didn't know you guys even did that. if i do a complete teardown, i'll probably go for new bearings, gaskets, rings, cam, lifters, and timing chain. things like the oil pump will have to be looked at to see if i can reuse them or not, same with the pistons and the other valve train parts (depends on whatever cam i use, too, i'd guess). nots sure if i'm forgetting anything on not. anyway, i'll probably give you guys a call some time this winter, maybe spring if i have to wait for my tax return to scrape up the cash.ou:
I'm not going to knock T/A here, because they are an awesome outfit and I have bought many race parts from them. I am always pleased with their service, both during and after the sale. But I found myself needing to do an entirely stock rebuild on the 350 in my daily driver, and I really wanted to maintain a budget on this one. So I went with a master rebuild kit from Northern Auto Parts in Sioux City, Iowa. I have bought more rebuild kits from them than I can remember for my Chev stuff, so I decided to see what they could do with the Buick. Their kit arrived in two days with sufficiently top notch stuff- Sealed Power, FM, and Felpro everything. Price was $318, and they even had the .020 over pistons. T/A did supply the neoprene rear main seal for this, and I had to buy the felpro front neoprene retrofit seal separately. But still, for $325, it turned out great and the engine runs better than ever. Northern also has the best prices around on tranny rebuild kits.
