All these years we have built our own engines, that have turned out pretty damn good. Now we moved up to the late model class, so we thought we should have John Shipe of "PERFORMANCE RACING ENGINES" build us a ripper. So we went to his shop to talk to him. He said no problem, we discussed a few details,like price of this engine, He told me right up front it would cost extra for a few mods I wanted to have done, (C&C machining, billit main caps, the works). I brought in all my good parts, he didn't want to use any of them, except the carb. So I bought ALL brand new parts just like John wanted. He assembled this engine, put it on a dyno,"without me there, after we had previously discussed me being there." That was one of many dissapointments. Then he said he had to work on my carb, which would be extra $$$. He gave me dyno sheets, so I felt a little better about it. We took the engine home, put it in the car, got it goin. 1st night out for practice, we had carb trouble. Shipe loaned us another carb that worked great. The car was handling badly, so we didn't make the feature. The 1st night, I put 30 laps on it. The next week, 5 laps into 1st hot lap session, engine blew!!! I talked to John Shipe, he said he'd take care of it. We went home, pulled the engine that night. The next morning I took it straight to Shipe. He said it was gonna take a while to repair, so he loaned me a back-up. I ran that the 1st practice session, it started to pop, and miss. We thought it might be the carb again, changed carb, that wasn't it. After trying most everything on it, we found the distributer advance springs were broken, took it home and John said bring him the engine back, so i did. I went w/out racing for nearly 2 months. I called to check on my engine 3 times during that 2 month period just to check on him to see how things were going so I wasnt completely out in the dark on the situation. The 3rd time he said dont bother him/leave him alone. By then I was getting frustrated, this has costed me wayy too much $$$ for this kinda service, I really mean WAY TOO MUCH $$$$. I finally got my original engine back, I almost tore it down just to check all his clearances, but I didn't (live and learn). We got the car back together, went racin. Because of ALL the engine failure I hadn't had time to setup car to k-zoo, so we didn't make the feature again. The next morning I went out and adjusted the valves, and noticed some rocker arms hitting the valve spring retainers. I called John and he said that's ok, its normal. so then I wanted to get a second opinion about it so I called a good friend of mine, he said he wanted to hear it run. I started it and it made an awful clatter. So of course out come another PERFORMANCE RACING ENGINE. All the while John Shipe is putting all the blame on me, and telling me I'm the only 1 having problems w/ his engines. Come to find out 6 others have blown as well this season and just by what ive been told ONLY hear say 2 others have blown besides the 6 I personally know about. So I decided this time I would tear it apart myself to see exactly what was going on. 4 of the cylinders had .008 and more clearance between the piston and cylinder wall, 3 had .011 and more, the one he sleved from the first blow up was .oo6 that piston and cylinder looked good. now im not an expert engine builder but i can hold my own and I know thats way to much piston to cylinder wall clearance but john shipe said I didnt put any water in it. now I think someone that dont even build engines could come up with a better excuse than that. Not only do I put distilled water in it, I also put purple ice in it. The one night I ran the engine it never got over 190 deg, till I shut it off then it hit 220 deg. I've ran MY motors in the past warmer then that. Oh one last thing about this experience, when I tore this engine down it didn't have billit mains and it was not c&c machined as originally purchased. I just wanted to let every one know about my expierence with John Shipe and Performance racing engines. I purchased a used Dowker Engine for 1/4 of the price I paid John Shipe and it has just as much power and it has lasted more than 2 weeks, so now that the season is most of the way over I can finally have fun and work on the set up.

W.O.J. Motorsports
2006 SMS SS CHAMPION
Walt Obrinske Jr

Sounds like a horrible and expensive experience, sorry to hear. It makes you really think about the "quality" product you are buying. Keep us updated on your progress and your experience with the Dowker.

Gook Luck at the Klash.

where is this shop so I can avoid your kind of trouble.

i have always built my own engines. for 40 years i have built my own engines. most people i know that race good build there own engines. the only advise i give someone new wanting to start racing, is to learn to build your own engines. period. there are only a couple of things i can't do. one is i don't have a boring machine. most engine machine shops can bore a block. most can bore it the size you want. i don't have a machine to balance cranks. balance your own pistons and rods, find your bob weight and take the crank to someone who also races and races good and have them balance it for you to your specs. the 2 i have used are j.r. at national engine exchange and hart's. the engine in my mod is 7 years old and has a ton of laps on it. still lots of power and no signs of giving up. build your own engines period. it ain't that hard no matter what class you race in.

steve "pops" pastorino

I can't agree more! Build your own!
The best shop for machine work, in my opinion is Bryants in Mt Morris..
I'll bet everyone has their fovorites, but Rick is a quality machinist and builder.
He is free with advice which has helped our team greatly.
I have used others and will now go exclusively to Bryants.. His work is top notch and
very accurate.
he checks tolerances before he gives the block and parts back so putting the motor
together is breeze and right on!

I'll bet John's side of the story is different.

Im not trying to bad mouth or call any names here Im just stating my exact experience with this man good or bad take it for what its worth. thanks for the advice and all but 3 different years ive built my own and i will go right back to doing so next season. As far as a machine shop im not sure yet.

Walt Jr

WE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS IN THE PAST AND LOST MONEY WITH PAST ENGINE BUILDERS. WE STARTED TO WORK WITH BIG DAVE AT 3-N-1 MACHINE BEFORE HE GOT SICK, AFTER HE GOT SICK HE TURNED US ONTO ROLLAND KENSKE AT CARO CARQUEST. ROLLAND IS THE MOST STRAIGHT FORWARD ENGINE BUILDER WE HAVE FOUND, IF THERE IS SOMETHING AT ALL WRONG OR QUESTIONABLE ABOUT PARTS BEING USED OR SOMETHING FOUND IN MACHINING. HE IS RIGHT ON THE PHONE CALLING AND STOPS WORK UNTIL YOU MAKE A DECISION ON TO USE IT AGAIN OR GET NEW. HAVE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL WITH ANY WORK AT ALL. THE ONE ENGINE WE TOOK IN OVER THE WINTER AND TORE DONE AND THE BEARINGS STILL LOOKED LIKE NEW, LIKE THE DAY THEY WERE PUT IN AND THAT ENGINE RAN AT LEAST ONE NIGHT A WEEK LAST SUMMER. IT IS HARD TO FIND A GOOD ONE TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU. SORRY TO SEE THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO SOME ONE ELSE. WE HAVE LEARNED AND ARE MORE THAN WILLING TO SEND ANY BODY TO ROLLAND. HE DOES A GREAT JOB AND IS STRAIGHT FORWARD WITH YA WHEN YOU TELL HIM WHAT YOU WANT THE ENGINE TO DO AND WHAT YOU WANT TO USE TO DO IT.

The name of the business is PROFORMANCE not PERFORMANCE by the way.

So he made a typo, we knew who he meant without pointing out this small fact.

Walt,

I have great luck with Engine Machine Service in Potterville, call them @ 517-645-9000 and ask for Dave, Robert or Phil.

I have been using them for over 8 years now and they do all the machine work for the 8-10 engines I build every year.

Gov

Racin281, thanks for seeing the big picture here, unlike pitcrew who only wants to post negative which is fine by me cause I really couldnt care any less about what he posts, And thanks governor for the advice on the machine shop but im so gun shy right now I really dont know what im gonna do in that area. To keep some who were asking updated on the Dowker motor, I love this little motor it runs great!!!! I was told when I purchased it that it is a 355 and if thats the case its by far the best running and most consistant 355 I have ever had. Im still having problems with the setup at the zoo. Im not fast enough. I did get 3rd in the heat last week and 2nd in the heat this week. I need to figure out a qualifying setup. This is my second year in a latemodel and my 2nd year at the zoo, so I know I have a mountain like everest to climb but at least im finally getting some track time.
Thanks for the intrest on the subject
Walt Jr

Walt you come on here bashing a man and his company and that isn't negative and you've posted a total of 6 times on here half of them on this thread? Why not state that Harry Foote won the modified title last year running an engine from Proformance? Why not state that Fred Campbell is running one this year? Why not state that two teams running Dowker engines at Spartan and Springport have lost something like 6 engines this year? Our team ran one of Harry's late models at Owosso with one of these engines and it was great. Andy Bozell won the Call of the Wild last year at K-Zoo running one of these engines and in his interview said how great it was.

My point was there is always two sides to every story. I'm sure John's is different from yours that is it.

Good luck the rest of the year at K-Zoo.

Ok first of all Keith, I diddnt get on here bashing this man and his company, I stated MY exact experience with this man, and I left out some things that were bashing, true but bashing. I could have made it sound worse but I diddnt. I never said this company dont have any accomplishments he has a lot as you stated some of them, thats why I went to him, But It dont matter what you have done it matters what you are doing now. something is wrong with his building this year and thats a FACT!!!! I understand people make mistakes but when you try to lie about it, all he had to say to me is, look im having some problems this year ill get it figured out instead of putting together another junk motor and letting me blow it up again. And this man insulted me by telling me I was the only one having problems with his motors when in fact that was a LIE!!!!!now im done going back and forth on this subject with you because frankly I dont care what you have to say about it. Oh by the way you can bash Dowker all you want but its the engine still going strong.

Walt Jr

Well,

I've yet to have a serious problem with the motors I am running, a 355 and a 406, boht built for me by Governor's Motorpsorts, the Gov himself.

And, those Governor's Motorpsorts motors have found the feature wins this year, along with a lot of other good finishes, and the man stands behind his work, and helps you in more ways than just motorwise.

So, when considering a builder for your motor, consider Dan (Logan) Loughan, Governor's Motorsports also.

I know others on this site are more than very pleased with what they get from him.

No knock on any other builder or machine shop, just a plug for a top notch builder, and person.

have a good day,

schinde

Walt, there is alot of motor $$$ being thrown around at Kazoo lately. Best advice is to talk to those who have been at the track for many years. Kazoo is not a big motor track despite what you may hear from some, it's the corners that get you to the front. Dave Irwin and Terry Olney motors have won many, many races and championships for over a decade at the place. Both of those guys are usually in the pits or close by. Don't be fooled by the bench racers.

I just got off the phone with the owner of the #26 Mcdonalds Towing racing team That by the way is one of the most respected racing teams at the Kalamazoo speedway and he said that he is having the same problems with his engine, PISTON TO WALL CLEARENCE. Which is a performance racing engine. He has had several engine failures this season. That is a championship top notch team, now tell me that im the reason these motors are blowing up. Dale also said that he in the past has not had any problems with his engines. So there is something wrong with his program this year is what im stating. I know that John Shipe has seen the inside of there engine and by what Dale described to me, looks exactly like mine, so at this time Shipe should know that this is not my fault. Im sure im out the $ but a small apology for the insault would be alright.

walt, sorry your having problems man and yes, kenny and dale are having them to. I did not freshen mine there this year and actually i am kinda glad I did not with whatever is going on. I know the 70 car has lost a couple motors this year as well. john has always done my stuff, other than this year, and it has been very good, but i have to agree that something is wrong and if you were hoping or waiting for an apology or explanation, dont hold your breath, your not on the right shelf there to get that. again, sorry man, probably should stick with your new program as we are changing our engine program for 2009 as well. not because of anything like this but because of the major rise in price.

Too bad to hear all of this. I know that you gotta be way frustrated. You put so much of your hard earned money into this and feel awful when you get screwed, or at least perceive it that way. Good luck to you. Let us know who you switch to and how it works out.

Seems like this gets said oh.........2-3 times a season. I'm a Governor Motorsports customer and I've not had a failure since I've had him build mine the 3 seasons at Berlin. I wouldn't go anywhere else. Hell I won't let anyone else touch the motor, not even to adjust valves!!! Obviously the machine shop that does the work for Dan knows their stuff or else Dan wouldn't use them at all.

t3latemodel if you need a engine builder try MorePower in Sparta i think you would be satisfied with there help

Well Todd Ill tell you this, I figured on a personal level that I may recieve an apology but after considering this whole experience I knew better than to even think of it. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "im not on the right shelf for that"......oh wait ya I do. To me thats not how you do business.....ok.......I own and run two businesses and this little racing business is falling behind and ill tell you this too..... my real business of excavating is thriving right now and that is simply because no matter what I make sure my costomer is alwase HAPPY, That may take a little extra time and effort but it works for the best in the long run. I know that you are a succesful business owner as well.....now tell me this, do you hold different costomers at a higher value than others. I dont no matter the job size or anything else.

As far as what engine shop in the future, I really dont know. During my whole racing career I have looked up to and respected Dan logan so that to me is a consideration, im just very gun shy towards anyone. I don't know hardly anyone personally in that field except Tim Rugg and I have known Tim for a long time so I trust him,what he tells me "good or bad" is TRUE, and that at this point means a whole lot to me, But he dont have some important machines in his shop so that is going to force me to go some where to get those few things done. From now on through the rest of my racing career I will definately assemble my own engines. Its a Shame that all this has happend but im putting it in the past and moving forward Thanks for all the imput and I will keep you all updated on the future.

I do not and have never treated anyone any different regardless. it is not the way to do business. i wish you better luck in the future and again i am very sorry that this happened to you.

just wanting to clarify a couple things here......

1. i have always taken my stuff to john and NEVER had any problems with his work or the performance or reliability of his motors. john has and does build motors for alot of racers and builds very good motors.

2. my comments were not intended to knock or bash johns work or his motors. they were simply made to let walt know that i was sorry for his problems and others. i do not know the specifics regarding this situation or others.

3. my reasoning for looking to another engine program was because of costs, not because of my distrust in johns ability or his motors. if i can obtain a motor builder as a sponsor and save alot of money, that is what my intentions were by saying i was looking in another direction for next season.


parts fail, things happen and motors are built within the budget the racers can afford. with that said, even the best parts can and do fail. by saying i was glad i did not get mine done this year was simply the fact that if there were some bad parts coming along, i was glad that they did not get into my stuff this year, not that i felt john would do something wrong. in 9 years of having john do my motors, i have had one failure and it was a part failure, which john built me a new motor at no extra cost to myself. he has always taken very good care of me and built me very reliable and strong motors and if there was a ever a problem that happened, he would take care of it without question.

just felt it was needed to clarify that i was not implying anything bad about proformance racing engines and that i would continue to use john if i was unable to get a sponsor deal for my motors. i apologize for any misleading or misunderstood comments.

BAKER ENGINEERED RACING ENGINES

Just wanted to mention that during Andy Bozells record attempt he broke an engine. which really sucks for him because I think by what I seen that car was probebly good for a .68 its just one of those things you can feel. This car was built by none other than one of the best in the business Harry Foote and in my opinion this was definately the record holding car if the engine didnt let go. The driver was Andy bozell the car builder was Harry Foote The engine builder was John Shipe With Proformance Racing Engines........Olmost a record breaking/holding combonation. I was there for maur/bozell situation and all I want to say is that it was a very unfortunate situation for all involved. I race there every week and I dont want any one mad at me so thats all im gonna say about that. What an awesome night at the Kalamazoo Speedway!!!!!

Well I heard that someone was on here bad mouthing John Shipe and thought I would give it a look. first off let me start by saying John and his motors are one if not the best in the biz. I have used John since 1998 and have never lost a motor! I talk to John two or three times a week and let him know if there is anything wrong or just something i don't think is right. On a number of occassions he has came to my shop to look at something or just to see or check that things are right. If he tells me somthing I do just that. As for Andy I was there and I also helped work on the car in the shop to get it ready for this show. One thing the Mr. Walt doesn't know is that the motor that was put in the car was from the early 90's, it pulls 780 + horsepower I would say that a motor that is 10+ years old that broke the all time world record was money well spent! and I personally think that it speeks a great deal of John Shipe and Proformance Racing Engines. Harry, and Aj finished 2nd and 3rd in the mod points this season using his motors, Aj's motor is the same one that Harry won the championship with last year and it was not even gone through over the winter. Two season on one motor with results of a championship one year and a 3rd the following year is great in my book. This does not include others like Todd Foote, Fred Campbell, Scott Hanze, and a number of others who have had great success with John and his motor skills. So on that note before you run him or his shop into the ground you should know what you are talking about. If you dont like his work go on your way but im sure you will be back next time running someone else and there shop down for the same reason. I have used him from day one and I will continue to use him till the last day I race. John you are the man don't worry about someone like this who doesn't even have a clue!

Seems to me he has a clue, and a non-working motor to prove it.

Welcome to the club, your first post here I see. Let me enlighten you on a couple things. Everyone's opinion is welcomed, yours too, and we appreciate your input. But so is Walt's. As much success that you've had with Proformance, I understand your sentiment, but not everybody will have a rosey, nice story, no one is perfect.

I salute the fact that you've had nothing but success with this engine builder, but that does not mean that one of his customers may not be as happy as you are with his work. And this could be for a lot of different reasons. Any good business man knows you will not make every single customer 100% happy, but it's how you treat the unhappy ones, and try to rectify the situation, that gives you your level of respectibility.

I do not know John, but I feel certain he isn't losing a lot of sleep over this, or customers. But Walt has every right to complain if he feels he wasn't treated fairly.

Just my 2 cents.

Your right he does, but on the other hand any dedicated person will supports his engine builder, car builder or any other thing. What my point is if he was happy with the motor would he still be on here praising John on what a great engine builder he is! It seem that all he want to do is run him down and your also right this is my personal opinion on John. Walt must of had a reason for leaving his other engine builder or a reason for leaving himself. No one is 100% perfect. Im sure everyone has been down this road one way or another but they don't sit infront of a computer and complain to anyone who will listen. Maybe thats the problem I have with it, handle it the right way! If your howe car or finishline car doesn't work is it the builders fault? If you crash and it bends and you don't think it shouldn't have then what, you going to say that they didn't build a good car that you could of built it better! Im not a engine builder so I can't say what is right or wrong, I have raced enough to know when it is something I did or a part failed. Over all my point is John wouldn't have that much success if he didn't know what he was doing. Must be out of all the motors he has build he just decided on this one to not care and just throw it together. After 10 or so years dealing with John I don't think this was the case. If it was something he did wrong he is professional enough to take care of it and im sure at no cost to walt.

Point taken Sir.

Not trying to get anyone angry, just back Walt up here a little, as you have your engine builder. When Walt ran at the track I work at, he was a model of professionalism, and very respected amoung his peers.

It seems that you two gentlemen see this different ways. I hope it all works out, and EVERYONE has success the rest of the season, and in 2009.

And again, I sincerley mean it, welcome to the club!!!!!

well im not responding to you on this to argue back and forth but I do just wanna say a couple things about what you posted......well first I know john has a awesome history in doing this machine shop and assembling engines. I know alot of his history....excelent....but what I posted in other posts here was my experience with john. Im not trying to bad mouth just stating what exactly happend, just wanted some other opinions on my experience and I got them. now as for reasons I went to a new engine builder well there is a couple first, ive never bad mouthed any engine builder.
I moved up to the latemodels and to kalamazoo speedway in the same season so I figured that I would take some of the weight off my shoulders and have an engine built by some one who had built a few latemodel engines before. Now, I have except in the beginning of my racing career alwase built my own engines and the reason for that was it saves money. as an engine builder my self I realise that stuff does break....But the reason for all this crap on the internet is because of the way I was treated. I was lied too and I was insulted. I was very upset about it and still am. As far as would I complement him if he did me a great job YES.....YES I would.....Harry Foote put my latemodel together and I still to this day tell people what a great job he did and what a great guy he is...I look up to this man and im not afraid to tell every one that. He took me under his wing per say and read me the book about latemodels and I will never forget that.and one other thing if youve read some other posts or been to the track this year you will know that im by far not the only one having problems with his motors all im saying is this may be a first for him but there is problems at that shop this year. We get these engines from him dynod and ready to run. there has been alot of his motors broke this season and he told me on more than one ocasion that I was the only one having these problems and that was simply NOT TRUE!!!! just for you and any one elses information I tried to handle this the right way...and for some of the other things you put in your posts im just going to leave alone because there not worth responding to.


Big Ed....thanks for posting your honost opinion....its nice to hear.

Well I do go to the track week after week, I also walk around the pits. I would like to know all these guys that are having trouble with his motors. What
I do know is Fred Campbell, Scott H, Harry, Aj, and Todd Foote, Brent Hook, Kenny Head, Chuck Greer, and others are running the motors with out any trouble. I will say that Kenny broke a motor and worked with John and is still running his motors. Your right about one thing it's not worth the trouble to keep this going so i'll leave on this note. I true racer understands the ups and down of racing, they know when to take the blame for things that happen that are their fault, they do not ever shove the blame on to other. Ive had nothing but great things with John and I understand that things can and will happen. This person who you say treated you so bad is not the person I know of as John Shipe. If you want a top notch motor from a great guy one who will stand behind his work then this is the place for you! Maybe true honesty isn't what you were looking for here.

I hate to do this but I can't sit here and read this anymore.

I too have left my previous shop. Not because of money, not because of performance. Because 9 times out of ten I was treated like all I knew how to do is push the start button. Wrong answer. I've worked in a machine shop. In fact the engines (I stress more than one, in fact Ed has even commented on my teammates 5 engines this year.) performed wonderfully until they went boom. Had I not been treated like that I would be back.

I think what Walt was getting at is the treatment is almost more important than anything. I'll take a mediocre engine with great service over an awesome engine and no service any day.

I've known (lil) Walt for a long time now. He's always been a stand up guy who will stand behind what he says. Never has he given me a reason to doubt what he might say. If he says he was treated poorly then I'm probably going to belive it, or at least give a strong second thought.

Welcome to the club rulesuck, great to see you start with a bang!


Perry

I know from experience that most engine problems are caused by tuning errors unless there is a part failure which a good deal of the time are not failures of a part but it is just that the part has had more abuse that it can handle causing it to fail. You can knock a wrist pin to death and collapse piston skirt or puff out a cylinder wall. Saying .011 piston clearance does not say where the clearance came from. Washing down the cylinder wall will cause it to gain clearance and scrape the rings damaging them. You can knock your motor to death from several reasons of which the machinist gets the blame. Who missed the broken advance springs? That should show up like a sore thumb when checking initial advance and total advance. Maybe it was sticking at base timing when you set it at 38*then worked free and advanced to 62* ( 12 initial +24 mechanical=36 but 36*+24=62) long hi-speed run and knocked your piston skirts to death.If the rotor is not indexed right spark can actually jump to the next cylinder in the firing order but this can be checked by studying the pattern inside the cap on the terminals.

I have found in the last 34 + years that blaming a vague and magical problem on the wrong thing will cause you greif and lost dollars. I diagnos and repair mechanical and electronic problems everyday and I know lots of people put out of this business because they did not know the background and physics of the things they were trying to repair.


But,,,,, I to have taken parts to a machinist to have him say they were no good and purchased the new ones from him and later discovered the new or old parts were not in my engine. I once had to ask an engine builder why my pistons were in backwards. I do my own most of the time and Larry Wallace and Bill Riechert engines in Owosso do good work on my blocks,cranks and they are experts in fixing broken aluminum heads and blocks and such things.


In posting a vague failure report scalding another persons work there should be a more professional approach. No pertinent info was passed on to us can see thru the trees to look at the forest. Where is the clearance? Is the balloned out cylinder wall contributing to a collapsed piston skirt to give .011 clearance or is it all in the cylinder or all in a colapsed skirt. That distributor and carb can cause piston and rod/crank/bearing failures as well as tear up cylinder walls. The best clue I heard was the spitting back on the first run, feeding a cylinder ALREADY burning fuel mix(that is what spittin back is) can put greater loads on the whole engine than any engine can take,especially at high speeds. Almost as bad as filling it up with water and trying to compress it.

SO please be specefic when knocking (hahaha) someone else work apart. This failure report is not valid for lack of specific info and measurements......Just go look at a warranty sheet for Jasper engines and look at NON COVERED damage. They know what they are doing. One main reason I use factory engines for customers is having Jasper to put forth the rules of customer caused damage and have the lawyers to fight everyone who uses clogged old injectors,clogged or disconnected egr valves or weak fuel pumps causing lean burn piston damage. It takes it from a he said /she said thing to a professional level. Pictures are included in the warranty brochure of scorched pistons,bent rods and exsplains how your radiator that killed you r last motor killed your new motor an YOUR expense.

I just wanted it to be known that a little no body racer like me went to one of the big bad boy engine builders with a big bad pocket book and this is how I got treated!!!!!! your exactly right perry!




well mod 911.....Mr maur you sound like a very wise man, let me say this.....this motor was complete carb intake fuel pump belts everything brand new fresh off the dyno and I was told put it in and run it dont tuch a thing so that is exactly what I did aside of checking the timing to see if his box was any different than mine. I dont like to degrade any one for any reason and I want to just end this deal. I realise that I should not have said anything about the record attempt I guess there might just be a little imaturaty left in me from my younger racing days....lol...so with that being said I guess about this.....its over and in the past. And to let some who was wondering know about this new motor that I thought was a dowker motor "lack of comunication" but ended up being a governer motorsports motor is a 355 that is still running excelent. This little engine ranks up there with one of if not the best most smooth and consistant engine ive ever had. I want to build a twin to this baby.
very very proud of this little engine. This engine has in the 6 races that ive raced it allowed me to tune the chassis from 13.7 to 13.1 that is a very big accomplishment for me this season and im very happy that me and my one crew man have kept with it this season. I will have a good jump on next season. And perry your right we have known each other since the early days....and thanks for the kind words.

I have read most of the post on this matter and I guess walt my ? if for you. You talk about John treating you so bad but he gave you a motor to run when this matter happen. If I understood it right you had troubles with this motor as well over something you did wrong. I talk to John all the time and I also run his motors. It seems to me that two motors you ran had trouble, but yet mine, Harry's, Todds, Brent Hooks, Fred C. all ran fine for the year and years past. Harry lost a motor this season due to a part failing. You also said you talked to 6 guys that have the same issues with John this season and lost a motor. Harry, Brent Hook, Fred C. Kenny Head, myself and Todd all ran John's motors this season and other than Kenny not one of us had any trouble. I can name a dozen more that run his motors and have had 0 trouble with them! So You say he treated you so bad but yet gave you one of his motors to run for free! is this right?

Also you say your not on here to run him down then WHAT PART OF ANDY THIS PAST SATURDAY HAD TO DO WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH JOHN! I would say nothing you just felt you need to comment on this matter. I talked John and I will post on this tommarow about what and why the motor broke but im sure it had nothing to do with you or your motor!

ya your right AJ it didnt have anything to do with me or my motor so I shouldnt have posted about that record atempt I putt it on there because it was another one broke which I was pointing out because he told me it was my falt mine blew but this was one he took tatal care of and mabe he would find a real reason these things are blowing, and i was wondering if it or others had the same piston problems mine had.but it was a mistake on my part and you know what? he did loan me a motor it was fresh off the dyno too....you know what went wrong with it two things you tell me if its something i done, first distributer advance springs broke....freak accident I would say but then the same night we found that we put them in and noticed that the slip collar on the distributer had loosend....how the hell ya sopose that happend? I tightend that and set the timing and the motor ran great so the next day I pulled it and took it to him as he wanted me to do. he treated me great till that point. which at that point I felt horible cause I went to one of the best in the business and all this was happening to me and I wonder why? I felt that every thing that has gone wrong up to that point was not my fault. mabe some freak accidents but that is when he started treating me wrong...talking to me like I didnt know a thing. I didnt say six other people had problems I said six other engines had blew at that point and he still was telling me I was the only one. Thats why I went to him so I didnt have to worry about the motor and I could get the chassis sorted out. but man this has gone to far.... If you read my first post this is my experience with him and I just wanted some opinions about it to see if I may have been in the wrong about my opinion. in that post you will see he started off treating me great loaning me a carb an engine I didnt leave that stuff out I put my exact experience print it off and show him and see what he says im sure he will agree....we had some bad luck together and he really got fed up. and blamed me. do you think that stuff was my falt mabe some how it was...I dont see how but thats what this thread was about peoples opinions including mine. with that said we had words and havent talked since.

Your also right walt I dont know both sides of it, I do know John and I have never known him to treat any of his customers the way you say he did u. Sorry I find that hard to believe. Everyone has their own opinions and that is there right. I guess my opinion is if I loaned you a motor after yours broke and you brought it back broke after one night I would be a little pissed off to! I pay John to do my motors and have great sucess with all of them. But thats just that if I think there is something wrong I call him i don't try and fix it myself. The motor that was in the car Andy drove broke a crank the motor had 6 or so races on it but the crank was fromt he 90's so I would say it was not a bad job when it was built. It was under alot of pressure running that kind of RPMs lap after lap and things happen. I will also add that if the motors ran fine on the dyno and then not when you put them in your car something is wrong with that picture. As for the slip collar you tell me how that was johns fault! And I will ask you again you tell me what 6 motors of his blew this past year? I posted on here to voice my opinion of john and to back him up for his work, Is he 100% perfect not at all has he lost motors yes just as Glen, Snyder, and im sure Dan and some others have it's a fact of life when you race. One last thing on this matter if I understood it right he fixed your motor for free when it came back. So let me see if I got all this right, John treated you bad is why you were on here running him down he did this by giving you a motor of his to run when yours broke, and also fixed yours for free. Then got upset when his motor was returned broke aswell seems to me he went out of his way for you and this is how you repay him. I THINK I WOULD BE UPSET TOO! Thats about it for me on this matter just thought I would voice my opinion which was just that. Hope you have better luck next season.


Aj Foote

Well AJ I had that exact scenario happen to me that you speak of in the above sentence. Im not taking sides here just saying that I had a motor after only dyno time blow in 27 laps, 2-10 lap warm ups and it blew at the end of qualifying. Motor was built by a very reputable builder on this site. crap happens

flyinryan66 I agree with you 100% things happen no one is perfect!

Thats why I run a locked out distributor no springs