Speedmaster blocks....whats the skinny on these?

[cv67]

See 400 block for over a grand, then these.
Small print says orifices may not be in center meaning??
Anyone machine or have real life experience with these? ABything good about them? Whats needed to prep one for use?
PCE...before the I hate pro comp stuff posts (no Im not a fan)just want to hear why, how etc. Curious thats all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/fits-Chevy-SBC ... 0008.m2219

[Chris_Hamilton]

Speedmaster was formerly known as Pro-Comp. They don't have a great reputation. Cheap Chinese shit.

viewtopic.php?t=13166

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38849

[Geoff2]

Didn't see anything about orifices being off centre. Said orifices need checking, which could mean orifices not drilled right through &/or orifices may have machining debris in them.

[Caprimaniac]

I was looking at getting a 351W aluminum Speedmaster block.
There was a thread on YB about this block and there was one guy who’d aquired one and commented on the quality after inspectino & measuring. He said «it was all over the place» and returned the block. (And got a Dart piece instead). That’s the one real- life example I’ve seen on these blocks.
However... Summit sell that block. To be honest I’d guess it’s not that bad... Still tempted to try one...

[MotionMachine]

I had a Pro Comp 351W in the cnc a few years back. It was so bad I wouldn't work on it. I printed out the probe results and kept them on my front counter for a long time to show people what "made in China" gets you.

[1972ho]

MM why don’t show what you found and why didn’t you video it if was so bad,I’ll bet no one has had any experience with them most just talk sh.. because they hate the company because they sell Chinese made products.There has been in the past a lot of complaints about US made products that were bad by machine shops I’ve heard it all,blocks,heads,crankshaft,camshaft lifters,rockers you have it they have complained about it.

[CamKing]

See 400 block for over a grand, then these.
Small print says orifices may not be in center meaning??
Anyone machine or have real life experience with these? ABything good about them? Whats needed to prep one for use?
PCE...before the I hate pro comp stuff posts (no Im not a fan)just want to hear why, how etc. Curious thats all.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/fits-Chevy-SBC ... 0008.m2219

I have looked at 2 of these blocks, the quality control was crap. Core shift was way out of spec. I would not use them, for any performance application.

[Steve.k]

After having been part of a block manufacturing business i will say this. It takes a huge amount of money and rnd to successfully pour a block(especially cast) without core shift and porosity and other blemishes. Constant revamping and changing of core boxes to get correct. Even the car mfgs had constant issues but a 50,000 dollar core box is peanuts to them. Ten more in line when one fails or wore out. I would not spend money on something you are not 100% sure of. I can see why billet blocks are a hot item these days. As long as no malfunction with cnc machine you get a near perfect aluminum block. 1000 or 1500 may seem cheap but if you have spend 5g to correct everything its not that cheap. Plus the hidden porosity you may not even see. Stick to what is known and hopefully you’ve limited most of the unknowns.

[1972ho]

Speaking of Dart there are lost of blemish blocks on eBay that either dart are someone else is selling for half the price of of a new block,so dart block aren’t perfect either they don’t say what the problems are but they do have there problems with there stuff also.And you would need to be some type of really serious racer to spend money on a CNC aluminum block to bracket race for the most part.

[1972ho]

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/04/busi ... steel.html This why you have been seeing a lot parts being manufactured in China.

[dfarr67]

And then there are the labour rate investment to consider for any prepping/finishing of the block that may not include correction. I would rather invest up front.

[piston guy]

This is a problem because you have people making parts that have no clue as to what is ''right". NONE have ever BUILT a V8 engine ! They are fairly good at reverse engineering but that's about it. Slamming a bunch of molten iron into a sand casting core has a tendency to "move things around".
Our friend Tim Meyer has spent years of development $$$$s and has few "perfect" parts to show for it. Mark McKeown had similar issues. Ten years ago World Products had PALLETS of scrap unusable blocks ( voids , core shift, etc)

[af2]

Speaking of Dart there are lost of blemish blocks on eBay that either dart are someone else is selling for half the price of of a new block,so dart block aren’t perfect either they don’t say what the problems are but they do have there problems with there stuff also.And you would need to be some type of really serious racer to spend money on a CNC aluminum block to bracket race for the most part.

Core shift is the problem. That is why you use an extended drill bit run through the oiling holes on all blocks . You would be surprised how far they are off.

[Krooser]

Speedmaster's Black Friday sale is causing orgasmic posts on one of the Mopar sites I frequent.

Small block bare heads for $225 each I believe. The 99 cent valves are extra.

[BOOT]

I decided to give one of their dual plane intakes a shot, BLK-FRI price was just too cheap to not try. I wouldn't try a block defiantly, prob not even if I was a machinist.