Engine rebuild

A

arnhemmer

Senior Member
I'm new to Ford Barn and this is my first post, so bear with me.
I'm in the market to have my stock engine rebuild to an touring engine.
Has anyone had any experience with Bert's in Colorado who does inserted engines in house?
 
If you were to list your location in your profile, someone may have had a positive experience with an engine re-builder near you that they would share.

Bert's has given me honest and excellent service re mechanical and body parts.
 
BudP, thanks for the reply. I just updated my profile so that people know where I'm at. I do understand that Bert's is a good company to deal with and after talking to Dan who runs the machine shop I am interested in having my engine rebuilt by them. H&H in California has reviews that are all over the map. Maybe others have more referrals.
 
Bert's gets rave reviews.

Locally in our area, Joe Sivils at Turlock Machine gets rave reviews. I have one of Joe's rebuilds in my 31 Tudor, and it runs fantastic. Just jump in and drive anywhere, anytime.
 
arnhemmer said:
I'm new to Ford Barn and this is my first post, so bear with me.
I'm in the market to have my stock engine rebuild to an touring engine.
Has anyone had any experience with Bert's in Colorado who does inserted engines in house?
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You live fairly close to Joe Sivils of Turlock. The Turlock Swap Meet is on the end of this month. If you can get to this event, I'm thinking that Joe will have a booth showing his wares. At any rate , call Joe and discuss your wants/needs. You will be thankful you did, IMO ;)
 
I just joined Ford Barn and I am new to the model A , already you guys are of great help to me. It is greatly appreciated.
 
I have recently installed an engine built by Joe Sivils of Turlock Machine. The engine is strong, runs smooth and has no oil leaks. I can recommend him based on my experience with this engine.
 
One or two of the Summer Tour to Puyallup this year were running Sivils engines. A local friend put one in and is pleased with it so that looks like a good choice. Bert's is good too and Antique Engine in Skokie IL does a nice one. Schwalms back east does a great one too, it is what we have in the sedan and have about 40,000 miles on it.
 
If you can support a local supplier it helps your Model A community and local economy, and you don't have to pay shipping charges. No patch on Bert's or other suppliers; they are great. But local is a good way to go.
 
There was a recent thread on this site a couple of days ago, about Ron Kelley (R-K) engines. R-K specializes in Touring engines and does an outstanding job. However, he is in Texas (or is it Oklahoma ?) which is a ways to ship a big, heavy engine (both ways) $$$$.
So, all things being equal, you can save some bucks by delivering (and picking up) your engine to Joe Sivil's nearbyTurlock Machine. with good reviews from fellow Model A'ers, it sounds like your best bet.
I too have heard mixed reviews about H&H touring engines.
 
zzlegend said:
Sounds like you have wisely reviewed H&H. I would think twice about them. Just my 2 cents.
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Just to add my 3¢ (that makes it an even nickle).

I think about H&H quite often. In fact have thought about them most of today! All the while I am taking my H&H engine apart now for the 5th time to "fix" things on one of their engines with ~3,000 miles on it.
 
Before you call a builder it is a good Idea to have a plan in mind on what you expect the engine to do. There are mild changes as well as radical changes. There are changes that need extra equipment installed like the R-K engine mentioned.

Figure what you want it to do THEN call.
 
Thanks again for every ones input. I am in the planning stages and in the process of taking my engine out. I want to set up for touring which is longer driving capabilities. My engine runs very well and uses no oil but started to make a noise at the bottom end. Not a knocking sound but more of a rattling sound. Changed the oil and found a piece of Babbitt material in the drain pan.
It is part of the thrust surface from the rear main. Best that I shut it down to prevent any damage to the block, which I'm having rebuilt. Going to set it up with inserts, high compression head and a better cam. Thanks all again for the help. Just joined the Barn and glad that I did.
 
If, you want have a reasonable $ source of transportation - DreamWerks in Leicesteer, North Carolina (828 775 1257) is the best, that I know of here in the East. They only do Model T and Model A engine work complete and they guarantee their work. They did my '30 "A" Coupe engine complete, rods, pistons, all new Babettes, etc, but I had to install a new timing gear after about 50 miles. All is A OK now - have about 1200 miles on it.
 
dlfrisch said:
If, you want have a reasonable $ source of transportation - DreamWerks in Leicesteer, North Carolina (828 775 1257) is the best, that I know of here in the East. They only do Model T and Model A engine work complete and they guarantee their work. They did my '30 "A" Coupe engine complete, rods, pistons, all new Babettes, etc, but I had to install a new timing gear after about 50 miles. All is A OK now - have about 1200 miles on it.
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This is a little misleading, ... I think, and probably needs a little clarification. You had Mike replace the timing gear because it failed in 50 miles, -or because you went from an aluminum to a fiber gear after the 50 miles??
 
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