BBC CHEVY 454/468 ENGINE, DART BIG M BLOCK, CRATE MOTOR 600 hp BASE ENGINE

We offer this engine with selected upgrades and options. Listed below are some of the most requested ones. Many not only improve performance, but further enhance the reliability and longevity of your engine, along with resale value. Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 XT EFI System. This has become a very popular upgrade on many of our engines. For those not wanting to deal with the potential quirks of a carburetor, this is the way to go. This is a true fuel injection system with 8 injectors, (one per cylinder). Drivability becomes vastly improved over a carb or standard throttle body efi. Throttle response in the low to mid rpm range is superior to that of a carburetor. Startup and warm-up are also greatly improved. Tuning stays spot on regardless of altitude or weather conditions. These systems make it very easy to tweak the tuning on your engine to better serve your application. Our engine room crew has found the Edelbrock Pro-Flo system to be a very straightforward setup. This system comes with its own high energy variable ignition system. The timing is controlled through the built in ECU. The Pro-Flo system has a slightly higher cost, but is well worth it, in our very strong opinion. Our company founder, Skip White, stated that he has no problems with running a carb on a street rod engine, but the ability to tune the engine to perfection and the fact that fuel metering is so perfect with the Pro-Flo system has changed how he thinks an engine should receive its fuel and air, and variable ignition timing allows for max power when driving under optimal conditions. The difference in drive between the two is vast, to say the least. Consider the fact that by the time you purchase a carb for an engine of this size and the ignition system, plus receiving credit for the intake manifold that would otherwise be used to accommodate the carb, the difference to move up to the Pro-Flo system is not much in cost. We have installed approximately 50 of these on engines in our dyno room, and have yet to encounter any problems.  This system provides you with a high performance Pro-Flo XT-style intake and 90mm throttle body. Unlike regular throttle body EFI systems, Pro-Flo 4 features the fuel rails and individual injectors for each cylinder mounted on the manifold. This Edelbrock design produces the best fuel atomization and distribution for the ultimate performance, as well as delivering the most control and the most efficient way to deliver fuel to your engine. Along with innovative design, Pro-Flo 4 systems have the latest technology with an all-new ECU, and even more features for advanced tuning, with the key being their exclusive E-Tuner app with base calibrations developed on their dyno. Cost for this upgrade is calculated by taking the retail difference between the intake manifold that comes with this engine and the retail cost of the Edelbrock Pro-Flo System. This is a great value with many benefits, in our opinion. You can see this and other upgrade options in our ebay store under the "UPGRADES" category, or simply do a search with the key word, "Upgrade" in the search bar when shopping in our ebay store. Before you finalize your purchase of this assembly you may add any of these upgrades to your shopping cart. BBC Scat H-Beam Rod upgrade from Competition Rods: Recommended for those running hard. The Scat Competition rods that come with this assembly are sufficient for most street rod uses, but the Scat H-beam rods will most likely offer more security against rod breakage under hard use. The H-beam rods have a 750+ HP rating. Cost of this upgrade is $90.00 We have this upgrade featured in our other listings. You can see this and other upgrade options in our ebay store under the "UPGRADES" category, or simply do a search with the key word, "Upgrade" in the search bar when shopping in our ebay store. Before you finalize your purchase of this engine, you may add any of these upgrades to your shopping cart.  Click here to add upgrades. ARP-2000 rod bolts: This is one upgrade that we find to be very valuable. The rod bolts are most likely to fail under hard use, moreso than the rod itself. When a rod bolt fails during high RPM, total engine destruction is usually the result. The ARP-2000 rod bolts are a very good upgrade, in our opinion. We actually have few, if any, problems with the regular ARP-8740 bolts, but those who run hard always upgrade to the ARP-2000 rod bolts. The ARP-2000 rod bolts also torque at a higher number, and this increased clamping force is also a factor in keeping the big end of the rod stable and true to size. The ARP-2000 bolts are installed in the rods and this upgrade is only available with the Competition rod upgrade.  Cost of this upgrade is $89.50 We have this upgrade featured in our other listings. You can see this and other upgrade options in our ebay store under the "UPGRADES" category, or simply do a search with the key word, "Upgrade" in the search bar when shopping in our ebay store. Before you finalize your purchase of this engine, you may add any of these upgrades to your shopping cart.  Click here to add upgrades. BBC Scat 4340 Forged Crank: The forged Scat crank has a rating of 800+ HP. This is the ultimate upgrade for those wanting to run hard. Nos, blowers, turbos, are not an issue with this crank. Even without such power adders, this Crank offers great protection under the most severe conditions. This upgrade also comes with the HP high Performance King bearings. Should you decide to run power adders in the future, this would be essential. The fatigue life of the 4340 crank over the cast nodular is also greatly extended. We do offer this upgrade as part of many of our assemblies in some of our other listings. They have the key words, "fully forged," in the title. Cost of this forged crank upgrade is $380.00 We have this upgrade featured in our other listings. You can see this and other upgrade options in our ebay store under the "UPGRADES" category, or simply do a search with the key word, "Upgrade" in the search bar when shopping in our ebay store. Before you finalize your purchase of this assembly you may add any of these upgrades to your shopping cart.  Click here to add upgrades. Dyno Tuning: This is one of the most important upgrade/options we offer. There are many benefits to this service. The engine is first run at fast idle to bring the water and oil temp up to normal operating temperature. It is then run for approx. 20 minutes under a simulated load at around 3k rpm to promote initial ring seating. After this, the engine is shut down to allow us to check the readings on the spark plugs, and for any possible oil leaks. This cool down is considered part of the engine's first heat cycle. We then follow up with multiple low to medium rpm runs to further the break-in process of all the moving parts in the engine. During these multiple runs, we are paying close attention to the EGT, (exhaust gas temp) readings, vacuum pump readings, oil temp and pressure, coolant temp, and overall engine sound. At this point, we start the actual dyno tuning process and this focuses around the air to fuel ratio numbers and what timing numbers produce peak power. We usually have to change carb. jetting several times, adjust the idle circuits, and the air-bleeds occasionally have to be changed. We then establish the engine's full horse power and torque numbers at a given rpm limit. Having your engine dyno tuned will allow it to run its absolute best, and is very important in protecting the engine from potential damage caused by the carburetor running excessively rich or lean. This also establishes the engine's hp output and max rpm. These numbers are very important to know. There is one more value we consider just as important to what we have mentioned above. An engine that has been dyno tuned has also been validated to be in perfect operating condition. This is something that running the engine on a test mule can't provide. Any problems the engine may have will show up during the dyno tuning process. We have on rare occasion seen a popular combination show hp numbers that were not where they should be. Some of these problems give no indication other than reduced hp numbers. We find and fix such problems. The problem may be something simple and easy to find and in some cases very difficult to pinpoint. We will not send the engine out until it's perfect. If you choose not to purchase the dyno tuning package, we will still do a test mule run, as many engine builders do, and it certainly is better than nothing but pales in comparison to a full dyno tuning. When engines are dyno tuned, the chances of you having a problem are near non-existent. Unforeseen problems may still, occur but they are rare. We have kept the cost on this extensive procedure low to not only make it affordable, but it gives us great peace of mind knowing the engine will be in perfect operating condition when it is received. The cost to do a repair once the engine is installed can be very expensive for both us the seller and the customer. When you see the final dyno run of your engine on youtube, consider the fact that approximately five man hours, around $25.00 worth of fuel, oil and filter and $105K worth of dyno equipment went into making that one minute final test run video. Cost of the full dyno tune option is $350.00 We have this upgrade featured in our other listings. You can see this and other upgrade options in our ebay store under the "UPGRADES" category, or simply do a search with the key word, "Upgrade" in the search bar when shopping in our ebay store. Before you finalize your purchase of this engine, you may add any of these upgrades to your shopping cart.  Click here to add upgrades. Pictured below is one of our actual Super Flow dyno's. This is a 2016 model and highly advanced compared to the much older models many shops have. We have two of these in use at our shop.   The Super Flow is the best dyno in the industry.

Our new engine is premium pump gas friendly, with very good street manners. NEVER run regular 87 octane in this engine, premium only unless you have opted for our de-tuned version with a reduced compression ratio. Should you ever hear any sign of pinging or clatter in the engine when accelerating, reduce timing one or two degrees.  

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT DE-TUNING.

For those with very heavy vehicles, such as 4x4 quad cab trucks, 3/4 ton trucks, and crew cab/ex-cab trucks, Suburbans, plus trucks that may do light to medium trailer towing, we strongly recommend the de-tuned version of this engine.

For those wanting to run a supercharger, we recommend our extra deep dish pistons with the 75cc heads regardless of the vehicle.   

Our machinists have many years of experience in building racing engines. This very critical work is done to exacting specs and with great care. Many vendors do not have machinists with the experience or the proper equipment that we are fortunate to have. We have built engines that cost upwards of $50,000. All of our engine builders have been in the engine machining and engine building line of work for their entire working lives. Their ages range from 38 to 65. We have a total of seven machinists/engine builders.

This engine is warranted, with limitations and exclusions as set forth below, for two years from date of sale.

• Should a major problem arise with this engine within the first year of use, the warranty covers all parts and labor and we will pay for shipping the engine both ways. 

• Keep the crate your engine came in to ensure a safe return to our workshop.

• We do not cover the removal or re-installation of the engine at any time during the warranty period. 

• Our engines must be used with a rev limiter. Should warranty issues arise, proof of the rev limiter use will be required.

• Should a problem occur in the first year of the warranty that we determine can be repaired by you or a qualified repair shop, upon our written approval, we will pay for the repair based on our in-house hourly rates for labor and our estimate of a reasonable amount of time to make the repair with the engine on a stand as you received it. To be specific, due to the difficulty of accessing certain engine parts in some vehicles, we are not responsible for the additional time and labor costs you may incur in removing and replacing such parts.

• In the second year, the warranty will cover all parts minus any labor to remove and install needed parts. The cost of shipping the engine to us is not covered in the second year of warranty.

• Tuning or maintenance are not covered under the warranty. Tuning includes jetting or adjusting the carb, ignition timing, or readjusting the rockers. Tuning would also include changing out plugs to optimize temp range for your needs. Setting ignition timing is also considered tuning. You must check the timing on this engine before it is driven.

• If you are not satisfied with the cam or intake you have chosen, we will exchange any of these items for up to 60 days. You will pay for shipping and any required labor.

• Damage due to overheating, detonation or extreme abuse will not be covered by the warranty. Detonation damage is evident upon removal of the cyl. heads. 

• Engines used in marine applications will have a limited warranty of ONE year from date of sale. The first six months will cover parts and labor, and the second half of the one year period will cover parts only. Marine engines must upgrade to a 4340 crank unless the engine already comes with this, and the ARP-2000 rod bolts.

• All external items on the engine, such as the carburetor, distributor, alternator, water pump, and power steering pump, will be warranted for the time period specified by the manufacturer. Most of these items have a warranty of one year or less.

• Our engines are custom built to your specifications (e.g., cam choice, intake, engine color, compression ratio, and upgrades).  

You can enjoy your engine with occasional spirited driving, as it is well designed for it, but we will not cover damage caused by racing or improper tuning. A rev limiter and fuel to air ratio monitoring device must be used on this engine. The rev limiter should be set to cut off at its peak horsepower or less if you choose, and this should allow many years of service without a problem.

Your carb should be tuned to allow the correct fuel to air ratio. This ratio can vary depending on many factors such as altitude, vehicle weight, gearing, type of driving, etc. These values should be in the recommended safe zone.

Pre-Installation/Pre-Run Recommendations. 

• It is highly recommended that you re-torque the intake manifold. The gasket sealant tends to shrink after a period of time and this may cause the intake bolts to lose their proper torque values. The torque range is approx. 25-30 lbs. 

• The spark plug gaps should all be re-checked. For those running an HEI distributor, the plug gap should be approx. .040-.045 Those running an MSD 6AL unit should gap the plugs to approx. .035-.040 These values are very controversial and you may experiment as to what runs best in your engine. Widening the gap too much can put a strain on the ignition components. Be sure your plug wires are completely fastened onto the spark plugs. 

• Check your flexplate or flywheel bolts. 

• Check fuel bowl levels in the sight glass on the carb once you have the engine running. Be sure your fuel pressure is set in the correct range. Adjust the choke on the carb. We would prefer you set the choke to a loose setting. Setting it tightly may allow it do its job better, but can cause engine damage over a period of time due to excess fuel entering the engine upon warm up. Be sure to use a high quality fuel filter. 

You may not find a problem with any of the items mentioned above, but considering the small amount of time it takes to check them, we find it to be a valuable preventive measure. 

As it's been said, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Continue reading for more detailed information on timing and carburetion. You must follow the oil recommendations listed below.

Tuning, maintenance, and oil recommendations.             

This engine must be maintained with oil specifically designed for high performance engines. The life of the engine can be greatly extended if you run a race grade engine oil such as our Schaeffer brand racing oil. We strongly recommend the Schaeffer Micron Moly 20w-50 grade in warm to hot weather or you may run the 10w-30 weight Schaeffer Supreme 7000 series semi synthetic oil in cooler weather. The part number for this oil is 709-06 for the six qt. case or 709-12 for the full case. After the engine is fully broken in, you may move over the Schaeffer full synthetic oil. The Schaeffer brand oil is very highly rated. It is the only brand of oil we use when dyno tuning. Racing oil must be changed more often than conventional oil. Every 2000 miles or less would be optimal. We offer a full line of this oil in our other listings. 

Here is a brief outline of the average additive levels in the Schaeffer Oils as compared to Valvoline VR1. We only use Schaeffer oil in our dyno room, and strongly recommend its use in our engines. The 10W-30 7000 series oil is totally acceptable to use in one of our brand new engines. It will not interfere with the break-in process. The 20W-50 Micron Moly is also an excellent choice to use in warm weather.

This engine does not come with oil in it. The oil that was used during the test run or dyno tuning will be drained as this is required by the shipping companies. We also prefer draining the oil as this gives us a chance to examine it for metal particles. The filter is removed and is also closely examined for metal particles or debris. 

To prevent oil from dripping onto the shipping pallet, we re-install an extended life high quality oil filter. This oil filter that we supply has an internal by-pass valve in it and is rated at 25 micron filtration. Run the oil and filter for a period of approx. 500 miles. 

You may wonder why we're using an extended life oil filter but want it replaced in such a short period. These extended life oil filters are an excellent choice for a new engine. They have a much larger capacity for the higher amount of debris developed from the new engine without affecting the oil flow volume. They also have better designed bypass valves and stronger cases on them. All of these features are essential to a new engine. 

When replacing the filter with one of your choice, you must use a high quality oil filter that has a by-pass valve in it. Some filters may also have an anti-drainback valve on them, but they are not necessary on V-8 Chevy engines, but the bypass valve feature is a must. Our engines are now equipped with a billet oil filter adapter that requires the use of an oil filter that has its own by-pass valve in it. Always opt for the medium length version, as this will help maintain oil pressure and volume much better than the short version. If your headers are an issue with the medium length filter, then the shorty version is acceptable. See our listings for the recommended oil filters. 

Billet aluminum oil filter adapter.

Racing oil filters such as the Wix Racing oil filter may only be used after the engine is completely broken in. These racing filters have a very loose media and provide very little resistance and a high oil flow volume, but due to the loose media, they don't filter small particles of debris from the oil. They are only to be used on engines that do not see high mileage use, and have gone through one or two oil changes with low micron rated filters. 

Oil pressure of 50-60 lbs in the upper rpm range on a fully warmed up engine is nothing to worry about. You may also notice that oil pressure drops at idle to approx 25-30 lbs when the engine is fully warmed up during very hot weather. This is somewhat common and no cause for alarm.

If your engine has a Dart Big M block, then it has priority main oiling. This block routes the oil in a very different pathway compared to a GM block. The mains and rod bearings as well as the crankshaft are well protected with an ample supply of oil even when the oil pressure numbers are lower than you think they should be. 

There are many special additives in race grade oils that are not in conventional oil. These additives are very valuable for high performance engines. Never add anything to racing oil. This oil has exactly what is needed to protect a high performance engine. Some of these oils will state that they are low or possibly non-detergent, and that is a desirable trait of racing oil.

The anti-foaming agents in race grade oils are much better than what you would find in conventional motor oil. Race grade oils have higher than normal amounts of the zinc compounds in them, and there are many components in the engine that can make great use of these additives.

This engine does not include a fuel pump. This engine is best suited to operate with an electric fuel pump, with a pressure regulator set at 6-6.5 psi. A chrome block off plate will be installed on the engine. We believe that the electric fuel pump system is a superior fuel delivery system compared to a mechanical system. If you decide to run a high volume mechanical fuel pump on this engine, then you must use the special polymer fuel pump rod that we offer, and you must also use a fuel pressure regulator, and gauge, set to approx. 6.0-6.5 psi. Only use engine oils with high levels of zinc compounds in them when running a mechanical fuel pump. This will protect the eccentric fuel pump lobe on the camshaft. We strongly recommend the Schaeffer Racing oil. See our other listings for this oil. 

You must use a rev-limiter on this engine. Should you have a warranty issue, proof will be required.  A rev-limiter will allow you the freedom to drive without having to monitor the tach. Every car from the factory has this feature. Set the limiter to the peak hp rating of this engine or less for added protection. 

We strongly recommend using a crankcase ventilation system to pull gases from the crankcase. The exhaust evac system we recommend is made by Moroso. The benefits are numerous as compared to the typical pcv system. Oil leaks are greatly reduced by using the exhaust evac system.

Engine break in: As soon as your engine is installed, check and reset the timing if needed.

Drive safely please but keep your engine under load more than normal and bring the rpm up and back down to seat the rings much better and faster. This allows the rings to expand in a perfect circle and with greater pressure against the cylinder walls to establish an even wear pattern. This is why race engines are dynoed: to put a good number of passes on the engine under heavy load, as this will partially seat the rings very quickly, making the engine somewhat ready for racing. Failing to do this not only delays the break-in, but can permanently stop the engine from establishing a good wear pattern on the cylinder walls.

If you have opted for our dyno-tuned version of this engine, then ring seating will be partially established. The dyno has a computer controlled break-in mode that we use before doing any dyno testing for power output. Should you opt for the dyno tuning package, it does not mean that your engine is ready for full synthetic racing oil. Your engine will continue to seat the rings in to an even higher degree after 300-500 miles of driving.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE.

You must prime your new oil filter. Priming is not needed when changing oil on a well broken-in warm engine that has been running moments before changing the oil. If your new engine has been sitting around for weeks, or possibly months, then you must prime the oil filter.

If your engine is equipped with the 7 qt. Champ oil pan, it has kickouts that swell outward approx. 3 inches on each side. If you think you will encounter clearance issues with the kickouts, we recommend opting for the stock appearing 5 qt. oil pan. The 5 qt. pan will still be a Champ pan and will have the windage tray and crank scraper. We strongly recommend reducing the amount of oil used in these oil pans by approx. 1/4th of a quart. Doing this may reduce the chance of oil leaks and reduce oil temps. The larger counter weights used on stroker crankshafts are why we recommend reducing the oil capacity in these engines. The higher capacity 7 quart oil pan is an optional upgrade on some of our engines. 

Our engines include a dipstick. It's very important that you re-calibrate the oil level marking on the dipstick. This is due to the fact that the dipstick, oil pan, and block are all made from various manufacturers and we often see great variances. Couple this with the fact that you may be running a reduced amount of oil, and the "full" mark on the dipstick will most likely not indicate correctly. Once you have put a predetermined amount of oil in your engine, and run it for a few minutes, let it sit for awhile on level ground, check the oil, and mark your dipstick with a flat file to re-establish the full mark.

More tuning recommendations. Very important.

You must be sure that your air to fuel ratio is correct. We strongly recommend purchasing a fuel to air ratio monitor. Proper carb jetting is also a must. If you purchased the dyno package from us then the fuel to air ratio on your carburetor will be tuned within the safe ranges. 

If you are using your own carb. on this engine, then you must be sure the fuel to air ratio is correct. If your carb is running too lean, detonation is at your door.

If it is excessively rich, cylinder wash-down from excessive fuel will destroy your bore finish, pistons, and rings quickly, not to mention cause excessive fuel consumption.

A tad on the rich side is not a problem and can help resist detonation; a tad on the lean side will generate the most power and increase fuel mileage.

The optimal air to fuel ratio is approx. 13:1 Set total timing at 30-34 degrees. Total timing refers to the reading at 4500 rpm with the vac. advance disconnected. The closer to the lower number (30 degrees) the total timing is, the safer your engine will be. Do not worry about initial timing, as it will be determined by the total timing. 

We do not recommend running the vacuum advance with this engine. 

Be sure to have a high amperage battery and high quality starter. The battery must be 850 cca or more. Use heavy gauge battery cables. If you have a hard cranking issue, purchase an in-car timing controller or ignition kill switch. This will allow you to control your timing for optimal performance and ease of starting. 

Do not run regular gas in this engine, no matter how much you have reduced the timing. It may not be enough! You may have run an old car in the past that pinged and clattered under load for many miles, and this didn't seem to hurt it. Most cars from the 60's and 70's had very low compression, especially when nearly worn out, and this is why the detonation did not destroy the engine. Excessive pinging, spark knock or valve clatter, as it's often referred to, may destroy this engine very quickly. Light pinging now and then is unlikely to do any damage, but it certainly will when there is an excessive amount of it under load.  

Let any engine with compression numbers above 10:1 clatter and ping for very long, and you will lose the engine due to detonation, and in some cases this can happen very quickly.

Spark Plugs: We recommend the Autolite brand, part number Autolite 3923. Most of our engines include the correct spark plugs. We also offer a premium NGK plug that is highly suitable for this engine when running in very hot climate. Race grade plugs are fine as they have a few features that are desirable for certain types of driving. Keep the temp in the low to middle range. Use a plug that's too hot, and you are once again close to detonation/pre-ignition; use a plug that's too cold and they will foul constantly, run poorly when cruising at low speed, and be difficult to start.

Most of our engines come with spark plugs in them, depending on the package you purchase. You may also use NGK part # NGK 4554, a plug that is one step lower in heat range than the Autolite plug. The NGK plug is only to be run during very hot weather. 

You would be amazed at how much better an engine will run with the correct spark plugs installed, but brand name has little do with this. It's more to do with heat range than any other factor. Factors such as outside temp, altitude, compression ratio, and the type of driving you do determine the temp range to run.

A slight loss of power is also an issue with plugs that are too cold, as well as possible difficulty in starting. However, you can have much more serious issues by running plugs with high temp ranges. 

Keep the engine coolant temp as low as possible, but it is not a problem if it runs as high as 210 on very hot days, as long as it's consistent, and not climbing.

Never use any of the modern day type antifreeze formulas that are used in most newer cars. This will most likely destroy the gasket material used in these engines. We have a customer that used the orange colored antifreeze made for Toyota trucks as he happened to have this on hand. This led to a failure of the high quality Felpro intake gaskets. The print seal material was partially dissolved allowing great amounts of coolant into the combustion chamber. This led to a catastrophic engine failure. The correct type of antifreeze to use should be ethylene glycol based, usually green colored. There are some animal safe substitutes on the market that should be ok to use. A mixture of 50/50 or even slightly less antifreeze will cool the engine better than a rich mixture of antifreeze. Keep the engine temp down if possible, but don't worry if you can't get it below 210 on a hot summer day. The cooler you keep the engine, the lower the risk of detonation. Set engine idle at approx. 900-950, and never too far below this unless you are running the smaller engine cam choices. The reduced size cams would allow for a lower idle speed.

Never let the engine idle for excessively long periods during the break-in period.

Do not overfill with engine oil. Slightly less than normal is better than too much, in most cases. Using half a quart less oil can greatly reduce potential oil leaks. This is a common practice in many high performance engines.

When setting your carb choke, we recommend setting it on the mild/lean side. It is best for the choke to open up to its full straight up position as quickly as possible. Keep backing it off until cold starting becomes difficult. Quickfuel brand carbs are best to run. They are also suitable for use on engines running a mechanical or electric fuel pump.

If the choke is set up on the aggressive side, it will create an over-rich condition upon every cold start-up and warm-up. This over-rich condition is very damaging to an engine, and will waste fuel.

If you feel you can get by without using the choke, then by all means do without it! The modern day carbs actually do well with very little or no choke. With a few pumps of the throttle and a bit of feathering, the throttle will have you off and going smoothly, in most cases with very little or no choking at all. 

Hydraulic roller setups are virtually maintenance-free and require little if any maintenance.  

Our recommendations will change from time to time. We never stop trying to build a better engine, and we learn from our own experiences and from feedback from our customers. We know there's always room for improvement. We're always working on research and development, as does any successful business. We advise checking out the recommendation section of our engine ads on a regular basis. 

Why have we given such detailed information on our warranty and maintenance suggestions? Some customers bought our engines and did not fully understand our warranty and the maintenance needs of the engines.

Not knowing is understandable, but failing to educate yourself on the do's and don'ts is asking for problems.  We suggest joining a few good car forums, as they have a wealth of great information.

However, beware of some individuals on forums who think they know it all, and really know very little.  Do your research using several sources, and be sure to read between the lines.

Special note.

For engines equipped with special order solid roller cams, the warranty on the valve train components is for 30 days. You may never have a problem with any of the components, but excessive street driving at cruising speed can adversely affect these components.

Solid roller setups on BBC engines should not be driven for excessively long distances or for long periods of time on the street. A weekend of racing at the drag strip would likely have less of an effect on the valve train components than a 100 mile easy drive.

If you do think you will be driving significant numbers of miles, we strongly recommend staying with our hydraulic roller cam package. The warranty on the hydraulic roller cam and valve train components is the same as the rest of the engine.  See our other listings for info on all of our engines.

Skip White

Your engine booklet will include the balance sheet and other information on this engine such as cam card, and your invoice will show your personal selection of the options offered. We usually mail this out prior to shipping the engine. 

Many have asked why we're able to sell such an engine for such a great price. It's because we're a major distribution center for all of the parts used in this engine, as well as a full scale machine shop. Our purchase price for the parts used in this and all of our engines are at master warehouse distributor (WD) pricing. Few machine shops ever get to master-wd pricing. We also believe in keeping our profit levels low enough to allow the working man a chance to build his car the way it should be built.

Your selection of what type transmission you're going to use with your new engine is very important. I'm going to give you the real lowdown on what transmissions I recommend, as well as the ones I would stay away from. For those building a mild, (detuned) street rod, (small cam choice, dual plane intake) these recommendations are not as critical. We offer an excellent line of automatic performance rated transmissions built by TCI. The quality and cost are excellent.

Transmission Recommendations by Skip White

700R4: Worst possible transmission choice when used with moderate to high horse power engines. 

Pros.

• Driving at 50 and above in overdrive certainly has its advantages such as increased fuel mileage, reduced wear and tear on the engine, less engine noise, reduced emissions/pollution.  
• Fuel injection/EFI does make this transmission operate much better providing the cam choice, intake manifold and final gearing are setup correctly.
• To setup an engine to operate properly with this transmission requires a detuning of the engine and top end horse power is greatly reduced. 

Cons

• Very wide first to second gear spread. First gear is a 3.06 ratio Second is a 1.62 ratio. This nearly equates to skipping from first to third gear with a manual trans. This kills acceleration when these trans go into second gear on a carbureted engine with a healthy cam and large runner intake manifold. Compare this to a TH350. First gear at 2.52 ratio and second gear is 1.52, do the math.
• The 3.06 first gear is so low that any final gear of above 3.55 or numerically higher will have you right at the  max rpm at around 35 mph, only to then have your car fall on its face when it hits second gear, feeling like it skipped a gear. Wheel spin is uncontrollable upon hard launches, unless you have a very tall final gear, and then you can for sure count on going nowhere quickly when second gear comes in. Overdrive would be totally useless at highway speed regardless of detuning with a tall final gear, unless you were cruising at around 100 mph.
• Huge cost to build up to a decent street rod level. Don't even consider a stock rebuild to handle 500 hp or more. Under hard use, the 700R4 will fail quickly. 
• Limited as to what level these can be built up to. High performance transmission builders and parts suppliers don't even recognize this as a serious transmission.
• More complex to build than a TH350 and far more expensive, especially when built up to handle high hp numbers.
• Having to run a cumbersome throttle value cable to the carb. linkage. This feature actually serves a good purpose, but if not set properly, it can destroy your transmission quickly. Very critical adjustment, and often overlooked. Our TCI built 700R4 transmissions do not require the throttle value cable should you decide to run this type trans. 
• The overdrive is actually useless with engines running decent size cams relative to the cubic inch, especially with large runner dual plane intakes, and single plane intakes are out of the question with this trans. The exception to this rule would be those running a Holley Sniper EFI system, and a low profile single plane intake. 
• Stall converters are double the cost of the one run in a TH350.
• This is  not a very reliable transmission in a street rod.
• Lowers the value of your vehicle to some degree, especially on high hp builds. These transmissions do not belong in most carbureted street rods. You must detune an engine considerably to operate the overdrive and be able to tolerate the first to second gear drop.
• Could be classified as the worst mismatch of parts known on a true street rod.
• As a side note, I would like to mention that most of us have owned a regular stock street car with a 700R4 trans, or its electronic likeness, a 4L60E, and didn't find much of an issue with the way they operated, especially if the vehicle was fuel injected. This is because stock car engines are designed to operate totally different in the very low rpm range. They have huge amounts of off idle torque compared to the average carbureted street rod that makes 400 hp or more. This off idle instant torque allows the vehicle to keep its speed up decently when the 700R4 drops into second gear, and the same low rpm also allows the overdrive gear to operate normally at very low rpm. There are other factors that also allow these trans. to operate at low rpm, especially on fuel injected computer driven engines.

TH350: Best transmission choice, hands down.

Pros

• Excellent gear spread between all three gears.
• Very low cost to build up to various levels of power handling.
• Can be built up to extreme power handling capabilities.
• Most all transmission shops are capable of building these to at least level 1 or 2.
• No TV cable to deal with.
• Stall converters are low in cost, and the selection is broad. 
• Very reliable and simple to repair if needed.

Cons

• None, simply none! Select a final gear that will allow you the best overall performance and one that allows a decent off the line acceleration, and one that will be in a tolerable rpm range at highway speed. You must have the correct stall converter for optimal performance. This can make a huge difference in the way your vehicle accelerates.
• These are becoming scarce, but there are still plenty of them around, and high performance parts are easily obtained.
• You may have to go through this long story to your less than knowledgeable friends as to why you didn't choose a 700R4, and when you explain it to them, they may still think you don't know what you're talking about.

TH400, Excellent choice for high powered engines in heavy cars or trucks.

 Pros

• Excellent gear spread. Very similar to a TH350.
• Very strong internal parts.
• Reliable.
• Simple and inexpensive to rebuild or repair.
• Best suited when running high powered big block engines in medium to heavy vehicles.

Cons

• Somewhat expensive to build up to higher power handling levels, as compared to a TH350. The TH350 has far more high performance parts available at reasonable costs. The 400 trans is not best suited for racing.
• Internal rotating parts (cast iron drum) are very heavy and create a drag compared to most any other trans. The TH400 is well known to be a heavier duty trans. than a TH350 but this heavy duty factor was designed more for heavy vehicles coupled with high powered engines that may encounter pulling heavy loads or vehicles with tall gearing. Only the largest of the GM cars weighing around 5000 lbs had these trans. in them, along with heavy duty pickups, usually 3/4 ton or larger trucks. Even the half ton Chevy trucks didn't come with these in them.
• They will certainly hold up better than a stock built TH350, but they are not a desirable trans. light weight street rod with a small block engine in it. You can build a TH350 to level two or three that would be superior to any stock TH400 in every way for about the same cost. We offer the TH400 trans built to level 3 and this trans. is best suited in high powered big block engines, in cars that are medium to heavy weight.
• You will seldom see this trans in a true light weight Pro-Street car.

Powerglide.

 Pros

• Excellent transmission to build up to just about any power handling level.
• Most trans. shops are able to build this trans with ease.
• Very reliable, and simple to work on. Not much to go wrong.
• Decent first to second gear spread.
• Rotational drag is very low with this trans., more so than any automatic on the market. Very efficient trans.
• Stall converters are not expensive and many choices available.
• Often used in 1/8 mile drag racing. 

Cons

• Two gears, that's the problem. This trans. can only be run in cars that have a very high hp to weight ratio. It would be fair to say a vehicle weighing approx. 3400 lbs would require an engine output of 1000 hp or more to make it a rational choice, and even then, you would still need a decent final gear to get things moving off the line. The first gear in these is somewhat tall. Those running a T-Bucket roadster weighing around 1800 lbs. with a 500 hp or higher engine could make great use of a Powerglide trans.
• Having only two gears limits having the best of both worlds when it comes to off the line acceleration and cruising at highway speed. The final gear choice limits the general use of your car greatly. 
• This trans. will not allow a car to be setup for the best of both worlds, such as street cruising, racing, or highway driving, unless the car is extremely light, and the engine has very high HP numbers.

GM METRIC 200

 Pros

• Has a better gear spread than the 700R4 but not as optimal as the TH350.
• Not much good to say about this trans. It certainly has a place in some special late model applications, but old school Chevy engines is not one of them.

Cons

• This transmission can cost up to three times more to build up to a decent power handling level compared to a built up TH350.
• Cannot hold up to high torque engine builds unless an enormous amount of money, (Art Carr) is spent on this trans.
• Most all the cons you see for the 700R4 exist within this trans.
• This trans is not a reliable trans. compared to any of the early GM trans unless a great amount of money is spent building it.

4L60E Electronically controlled trans.

 Pros

• No TV cable to deal with or shifting linkage. It has pump pressure control and shifting via electronics.
• Not much good to say about this expensive trans. It is virtually a 700R4 with a modern twist. The same "pros" mentioned with the 700R4 would apply to this trans. also. The 4L80E trans. is a better choice due to the fact it has a proper gear spread, and is a much heavier duty trans vs the 4L60E.  

Cons

• Most of the same issues as the 700R4. Terrible choice to run in an old school carbureted engine.
• Very expensive to build up to a high power handling level. Can cost up to $4,000 to build this trans up to a decent level. Computer controlled engines may require this unless you bypass the car's computer system.
• Complex. Very complex!
• Pointless to run such a terrible transmission.
• If you insist on such a trans, the 4L80E is a better choice, as it has a normal gear spread, and is a much stronger trans. Still pointless to use with an old school carbureted engine in my opinion.

Four and five speed Manual Trans.

 Pros

• Excellent acceleration at any speed due to many selective gear ratios. Finding a gear at any cruising speed to hit it hard is easily accomplished with a manual compared to an automatic.
• More efficient delivery of horse power to the rear wheels with a manual trans. versus an automatic. In other words, less loss of power due to slippage as encountered with an automatic trans.
• For some people, the fun factor of shifting gears is one of the high points of owning a street rod. 
• Very reliable, long lasting. Low maintenance. Simple to change out a clutch if needed.

Cons

• Can be very expensive to purchase a high quality modern manual trans. and high performance clutch and flywheel, especially the Tremec Series.
• Can be somewhat complex to change over from an auto to a manual trans.
• If you think your car is going to run faster with a manual versus an auto, you will be greatly disappointed. The automatic transmission can not only shift much faster, but off line acceleration can be controlled to a much greater degree. This is why most drag cars have automatic transmissions. All things equal, a car equipped with an auto trans will outrun one equipped with a regular street rod manual with great ease.
• Missing gears when racing can cause damage to your engine, and loss of control of your vehicle should you drop into the previous gear during an aggressive run. Been there a couple times, dropped a valve in brand new Lotus Esprit shifting out of second into first rather than third, and locked up the back wheels on a Dodge Viper shifting into second rather than fourth at high speed. Nearly lost control of the car at around 80 mph.
• If you're deciding to run a 5 or 6 speed manual trans because of the overdrive gear, be aware that most engines built with large lopey cams, and single plane intakes running a carb will usually not allow effective use of the overdrive gear.
• Tremec T56 transmissions are very popular and highly advanced. They are expensive. They tend to be very notchy to shift when new. Takes many miles before they become easy to shift. They can be difficult to install in some early model classic cars, as they are huge compared to early model transmissions. They can cost a great deal of money to rebuild if needed. Still about the best manual trans out there, and can handle very high hp levels. The 6th gear in these transmissions is a double overdrive and will never be useful when running any old school street rod engine unless you are running a very deep final gear. 
• If your engine is built in the upper horsepower range, then you must run a level two or three clutch kit. These clutches are notchy and lack a smooth engagement like a stock clutch. This is very noticeable, and you will adjust to this after a while. A stock clutch can not be used on any engine in the 500+ hp range. 
• Sadly, your wife may not be able to drive your car with a manual trans. This could be a plus in some cases.

A final note.

Our eBay user id is: skipwhite, and our eBay store name is whiteperformance1. You may have noticed other sellers using a similar name offering similar products. These other sellers have capitalized on our name as we see it, and many customers searching for us will inadvertently find them, thinking we are one in the same company. There is only one "Skip White." We are the original premier eBay seller under this name since approximately 2003. We have no other eBay names, nor are we associated with any other company regardless of the similarity in the name or location. Our official company name is Skip White Performance. Please see the article below for a more detailed explanation.

The real story...Skip White Performance vs. White Performance & Machine

I'm sure many of you have noticed there are 2 high performance engine builders in Kingsport, TN with similar names, and this has led to a great amount of confusion.

We are Skip White Performance, NOT White Performance and Machine. 

I'm sure many of you have noticed there are two high performance engine builders in Kingsport, TN with similar names, and this has led to a great amount of confusion.

We are Skip White Performance, NOT White Performance and Machine or Marine or any other similar name. Many customers looking for us online inadvertently find them, thinking we are the same company. Definitely not...there is no connection between the two companies. We don't have a problem with free enterprise (competition). However, when the competition builds their foundation on such things as a name similarity and their supposedly long history of being in business, then we think it's about time we set the record straight.

We have owned White Performance since 2003, with the exception of the machine shop, which was owned by Fred White at the time. He continued to operate the machine shop and build engines for us while we continued selling online under the eBay user ID of skipwhite and the eBay store name of whiteperformance1.

Due to their limited production capability and many disagreements about the engine building process and workmanship, we opted to open a full scale machine shop of our own. Fred White began competing against us even though our contract had a no compete clause in it. Fred White sold his machine shop in 2016.

 As our business grew over the years, we expanded our operation, and have become the number one street rod engine building in the nation. Due to the name similarity, many people looking for us mistakenly contacted Fred's shop. The problem continues to this day and the new owners of Fred's shop reap the benefits from this confusion between the two shops. Fortunately we stay plenty busy throughout the year, but a new problem has come up. We’re getting calls nearly on a daily basis from people that realize there are two shops in this town with very similar names and complain of serious problems in getting their engine in a timely manner from them. They think they purchased their engine or rotating assembly from us. Due to the confusion, there was an increasing amount of negative talk that is starting to reflect on our reputation within the street rod community, when in fact we have a near perfect reputation in this industry.

All in all, we have been in this business for going on 21 years. By putting heart and soul in this company, we have become the number one street rod engine builder in the country. Skip White's passion has been owning and building street rods for 51 years on a personal level. The knowledge he has gained over time has allowed him to venture into this business and succeed to a very high level.

As mentioned above Fred White sold his machine shop to an investor in early 2016. This investor lacks any knowledge of this industry. They continue to use the White Performance & Machine name. Fred White is no longer associated with the company in any way. Their main spiel in advertising is, "In business since 1979," when in fact, we purchased the White Performance company in 2003, with the exception of the machine shop. The great pretenders continued capitalizing from our success, but as mentioned, have been degrading our reputation. (Update, The people that took over Fred Whites machine shop are no longer in business as of the past couple years.) 

FAST FORWARD TO 2023...We have become the largest street rod engine builder and supplier of rotating assemblies in the nation. Our engines, rotating assemblies, and cylinder heads are built to very high standards and shipped to our customers in a timely manner. We are a premier seller on eBay with a 100% positive feedback score of well over 212,000.

 

Our engines are custom-built to our customers' specifications and are shipped, in general, in 2-5 weeks, perhaps sooner, depending on the season. Our rotating assemblies ship out in about one week, and our heads ship in about a week or less.

Now you know the real story, and we hope this helps with the confusion.

 

OUR COMPANY FOUNDERS PRO STREET HYBRID 240Z CAR. IT HAS ONE OUR BRAND NEW SBC 427 ENGINES IN IT AND ONE OF OUR TCI SUPER STREET FIGHTER TURBO 350 TRANSMISSIONS. THE CAR IS IN FULL PRO STREET TRIM. SKIP HAS THE CAR UP FOR SALE NOW. HAVE NOT HAD IT TO THE TRACK YET, BUT WE ESTIMATE IT WILL RUN A 9.5 GIVE OR TAKE. RUNS ON PUMP GAS. HE HAS OWNED IN FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS.