So, is the additional cost to cover for a properly built engine if the one you built goes wrong?

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=22198

Pay extra to build your own Corvette engine when you order a new Z06 or ZR1...

No, it's to cover the cost of building it properly, once you've left the building.

NO. If something "loosens up" in the engine you built, I see a way for Chevy to say, "ah, well, YOU built it." No. No. No. You'll have THAT much money into a car, and then pay more to "assemble" an engine. NO. Use the money elsewhere. Seems like an ego-stroke option. Putting an engine together in your garage from pieces. That's building an engine.

zomby woof wrote: No, it's to cover the cost of building it properly, once you've left the building.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"

You're being over-seen by a real builder, and the engine has to go through the same testing after it's built. I don't see a real problem.

I've built motors in my garage, kitchen, dining room and shop. If I had the ability to buy a new Z06, I'd be all over this.

i would hope its to cover their additional warranty risk and time spent for what i hope is a professional builder looking over your shoulder, giving you torque specs, and double checking everything.

As a hobbyist I think it's a neat idea.

As a mechanic, I would prefer consumption by the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal to helping some annoyone dickhole assemble his own engine.

I expect extra cost is simply due to extra time. Cool idea.

I glad the UAW was cool enough to let them do this. A non-union "worker" being allowed to "assemble" an engine in a union plant - I never thought I'd see the day.

Considering the involvement of computer controlled machinery, and the fact that you obviously are going to have one of their builders assisting you, I kind of doubt that there is any extra risk to going to their shop and building it "yourself".

1 hour If I do it.

2 hours if you watch

4 hours if you help.........

If they would let me go through their parts bin with a set of micrometers and a set of accurate scales to hand pick all the parts for the build it would be worth it. If they are bringing me a tray of parts to assemble, not so much.

When I was racing R/C boats, I would order a case of six engines. Disassemble all of them and measure everything. Then build the lightest best fitting engine out of the best parts. Put the rest back together and sell them to the competition. Being able to do that with a factory full of LSX parts would be worth a lot more than 6K.

I'd do it. Why wouldn't you?

In reply to Toyman01: Dumas brand boats?

In reply to triumph5:

I ran 20 Mono with a Seaducer, 40 and 60 Mono with Sightler hulls and 60 Hydro with a Mongoose hull. Most of them have Speedmaster hardware on them. I do have a 55" Dumas Scarab hull hanging in the shop I converted to jet pump drive a million years ago. It's all hanging in the shop collecting dust. I keep thinking I'll pull it back out one day, maybe when I get tired of playing with cars...yeah right.

Toyman01 wrote: If they would let me go through their parts bin with a set of micrometers and a set of accurate scales to hand pick all the parts for the build it would be worth it. If they are bringing me a tray of parts to assemble, not so much.

Your mic is only good to a tenth, not the micron, would not be able to show basic tolerances like circularity or parallelism (for the round parts), would not show critical parameters like surface finish, would not measure to any datums (for square parts), and on and on. What gets built in production facilities nowadays makes typical aftermaket and lower level 'race' stuff look iron age by comparsion. If you took a production part print for say a piston and quoted a typical piston supplier like JE or Wiseco to make say 8 pistons to that print with that tolerancing (for ALL dimensions) you would be astounded at what they cannot make in small volumes to those tolerances and dimensions, or what they would charge to meet an abbreviated list of critical production tolerances.

Anyway, I think the point of GM's program is for the customer who is buying a car that will in the future be a 'numbers match?" car to be a part of the process. A low volume high performance specialty line is a neat thing to see in person when it is running, more so if you get to participate.

That same money spent at a driving school and on tires would make it possible to go as almost as fast on track in a rental car you're thrashing without care as compared to a ZR1 that you bought new and helped build the engine for, but that's not the point, is it?

My cheapest dial caliper is good to a .001", my best set of micrometers is good to .00005" which is 1.27 microns. GM's machining tolerances are probably larger than that. My digital scales are good to 100th of a gram. From a quick internet search, LSX rods are +-3 grams. I'm sure pistons vary as much or more. My precision ground granite measuring block and height gauge do a pretty good job with parallelism. I have no doubt that GM is better at machining than they were when the SBC came out, but I'm also reasonably sure I could come up with a set of parts that would be better than just randomly grabbing them out of the bin.

I'm in that industry. With modern manufacturing tolerances , it would be a waste of time.

Platinum90 wrote: 1 hour If I do it. 2 hours if you watch 4 hours if you help.........

Not only appropriate for this thread, but for all engine builds (and other work as well)..

A good rule to work by.