how much advice do you offer the clueless?

[twosaturns]

woman I work with comes up today asking "I need your help getting me a 396"

um, ok?

her husband has a '70 Chevelle w/ a 396 that he beats on relentlessly. the problem is, he doesn't wrench on it himself, nor does he know anything about cars. in her words, "he blew the motor"
:hand:
they brought the car to their mechanic (a regular mechanic, not a hot rod shop or anything) and doesn't remember what they told him (I think they don't want to get into that kind of work)

they just dump boatloads of cash into the car because he breaks things, doesn't know anything, but he won't get rid of it.

anyway, I told her a GM crate 454 drop shipped to her mechanic would be my choice.

what do you say to people like this? (and yes, I've already thought of offering my services, but they don't live nearby, and I don't have a garage nor the time, nor want that responsibilty)

[LeighP]

Advice is one thing, but if you work on it, you know he's going to break more stuff then blame you.....

[absintheisfun]

Exactly! Offer all the advice you can, but the minute you wrench on it, it is your problem and you will be blamed.

[mc84_zz4]

The crate engine would be the easiest option based on their abilities, I agree.

[HotRod47]

We were all clueless at one time, so I will offer advice and feel happy that I at least give them sound advice and a direction to turn.

[DartorDemon]

Have them invest in a better engine/drivetrain so he could beat on it all the time without breaking

[twosaturns]

Have them invest in a better engine/drivetrain so he could beat on it all the time without breaking
good point. I've never seen this car, she knows nothing about it but its fast, loud and expensive.

there is no way I'd ever wrench on this car... but I'd hate to see them ripped off.

[BuzzKillian]

I think you gave her sound advice. I believe the GMPP crate engine warranty is like 24 months/24000 miles. SOooo... That could buy ya 2 years on any more engine advice LOL.

[DartorDemon]

good point. I've never seen this car, she knows nothing about it but its fast, loud and expensive.

there is no way I'd ever wrench on this car... but I'd hate to see them ripped off.

IMO the smart thing would be to get the new engine. Then invest in an MSD box with the revv limit/retard ability(pun intended) and go to a dyno shop to find a good rev limit.

Obviously its still possible to break the car with a revv limiter, but its harder. I get the sense that her husband is breaking this car via long burnouts without watching his tach.

[moreHP]

I will usually give advice to "rookies" in the hot rod arena. There are a select few that I will even offer up some time to help those who actually want to learn and have some mechanical ability.

That said, this situation doesnt sound that way! Maybe try to direct them to a shop that works on cars like this in your area? +1 more on the GM crate engine.

[southernfriedcj]

Tell them to sell the Chevelle and get a late model "muscle" car that is easier to live with.

[novaderrik]

an LS swap would be perfect- one of the GMPP crate motors that comes with all the wiring, ecm, etc to swap it into an old car.i think some of them even come with all the accessories bolted to the engine. other than motor mounts and some exhaust work, the only other thing they'd need to get would be the upgrades to the fuel system.

[twosaturns]

an LS swap would be perfect- one of the GMPP crate motors that comes with all the wiring, ecm, etc to swap it into an old car.i think some of them even come with all the accessories bolted to the engine. other than motor mounts and some exhaust work, the only other thing they'd need to get would be the upgrades to the fuel system.

considering they would have to have a shop doing the conversion, that's a LOT of money... the engine kit is one thing, but start adding up headers, mounts, exhaust radiator and gas tank mods and all the other little incidentals that come up...

[vintageracer]

Check Book Hot Rodder's (those that cannot physically do any of the work needed to build their car dream) are a BIG PART of our hobby. Without them a lot of aftermarket products would go unsold and therefore undeveloped as no sales means no market.

My observation is that the typical "Check Book" hot rodder ask's EVERYONE for advice and takes the advice from whoever they think tends to agree with what they want. When that doesn't work they go to the next guy for advice and the trend continues. Most check book hot rodder's run out of money long before the project is complete or run out of patience when the the car breaks or does not perform to their satisfaction. Most times the car does not perform well because none of the parts are matched to accomplish a build goal since their is no plan for the car build.

Big Buck "Check Book" Hot Rodder's do NOT suffer from these problems since their budget is usually unlimited and they understand the value of a "plan" when building a car. They understand the value of a "plan" since it was a "plan" that made them successful in life to become Big Buck "Check Book" Hot Rodder.

Working with a small buck "Check Book" Hot rodder's is a recipe for disaster for the shop/builder in my opinion. I would stay away. You do not need the money and headache that comes with a low buck "Check Book" Hot Rodder!

[68Formula]

Agree with the mild BB crate motor being the best option, with a rev limiter added.

[trapin]

Keith, when I first took my car apart roughly 19 years ago (gulp) I put my 331 small block up for sale in the local paper. Some rich guy from Grosse Pointe (a wealthy community in metro Detroit) called me and wanted the engine for his son's car. I drag raced the engine and was very specific that it had 12:1 pistons and a solid camshaft, pinned studs, etc. He came out on a Saturday and the kid fell in love with it right away after I turned it over for him. Daddy couldn't take the money out of his wallet fast enough for his little boy. They came back out later that day and picked it up. A week goes by and I get a call from the guy asking if I could call the mechanic who was putting the engine in because he had some questions and they needed to have them answered soon because Junior had to drive back to Ferris State University the next day.

Ferris State University......roughly 200 miles from Detroit.

I asked him why his son was driving his car all the way up there and he responded that it was his daily driver. I said, "Sir...I explained in the ad and over the phone to you that the engine was used for drag racing and requires racing fuel." He said, "Yes I know you used race gas in it but we are not going to do that, he will just use 92 octane." I said, "Sir, I don't think you understand...you HAVE to run race gas in it. The guy became furious and accused me of decieving them and that they wanted their money back and if I refused they were going to sue me." I told him, "You ain't got a leg to stand up on buddy...the ad was for a "drag racing engine" and all the the pertinent specs were clearly listed. It's not my fault you didn't understand what they meant."

He screamed something else and then hung up the phone on me. I waited for a summons in the mail but it never came.

Dummies.

[MonzaRacer]

hehe stupid seems to get worse when cash is involved!

[twosaturns]

He screamed something else and then hung up the phone on me. I waited for a summons in the mail but it never came.

Dummies.
reminds of of once years ago when my brother sold the 327 out of his nova to some kid to put in a powerglide camaro IIRC. the kid brought along his 'friend' who knows everything (we all had one of those, right?)
the 327 was worked over pretty good, had some power.

his friend says that isn't a 327!
how did he come to that conclusion?
"it's blue, and 327's were orange"
(seriously, I'm not making this up)

they bought it, but a few weeks later he called to complain that it was slow, and he couldn't do a burnout; I think he left everything else stock, w/ the stock powerglide and converter and all and just assumed that dropping in a V8 was going to turn him into Joe Racer.

[rfalker1]

Lool at you stories... But I also prefer the crate engine!!! it seems right even an mechanical idiot like me, knows that warranties are the best things for idiots.

+ the msd box is important for idiots lol

[NJSPEEDER]

It really depends. If it is someone that has failed to heed good advice from myself and others many times in the past I will normally give them just enough information at any one time to keep it amusing. If it is someone attentive and eager to learn I will go out of my way to do whatever I can to help.

-Tim

[406 Q-ship]

Tell them to find a good hot rod shop not joe mechanic. The 396 might not be "blown" because the idiot at the local Firestone store might have no clue. When they are in the company of a better shop then the real accessment can take place. If the engine really is scrap metal then one of GMPPs low compression 454/502 crate engine is the best choice for the automotively challenged.

[CreepinDeth]

We were all clueless at some point in our lives.

I offer as much advice as I can when someone asks me for help.
I'm humble in that I remember what it was like to be in their shoes

There will always be the hecklers who forgot what it was like to be a newbie.
Everyday in life is a new learning experience. NO one here has mastered everything.

[twosaturns]

We were all clueless at some point in our lives.

I offer as much advice as I can when someone asks me for help.
I'm humble in that I remember what it was like to be in their shoes

There will always be the hecklers who forgot what it was like to be a newbie.
Everyday in life is a new learning experience. NO one here has mastered everything.

agreed. but in this case, this is a guy in his 50's that has no interest in learning anything, just wants to race around in it.

[Slick68]

Sounds like an "inheritance" car. The son got daddys prized hot rod when he passed. The dad was also probably the one who kept it in good shape and running right. Then "Junior", who probably always refused to help dad wrench on the car but was always willing to go for a ride, gets it and drives it too hard and probably doesn't realize what kind of stuff breaks with certain driving habits.

I hear ALOT of similar stories and have met a few of these people as well.

[twosaturns]

Sounds like an "inheritance" car. The son got daddys prized hot rod when he passed.

no, just a guy w/ more money than experience, bought it as a toy later in life, didn't realize hot rods break.

[Slick68]

no, just a guy w/ more money than experience, bought it as a toy later in life, didn't realize hot rods break.

Oh, yeah, one of those. Seen plenty of them too.