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Originally Posted by lineslinger

I sometimes think this should be called the forum for Kieth Craft or the KC endorsement site.
There are a lot of options not being brought up, Keith's company and it's good work seems to be the only alternative ever mentioned.
Not meant as a personal dig, his shop has done well by me many times and I was, at one time, on a first name basis, not by my choice, with Tony.
There are a lot of builders with all the skills and knowledge offered by others than the more well endorsed company's in here. The loyalty is impressive and well deserved, but keep your eyes open.
A lot of CC members have always issued a big time endorsement of Keith Craft and it is justified, but it's not wrong to do biz or pursue alternative sources of quality in your own home town, and I am not a builder of any sort, just an observation.
I could not afford KC, I found an absolute stud of a builder with a little research, at half the cost anticipated, 20 minutes from my home.
I read a lot of offerings about a variety of other local shops and their work a lot in here.
Not so much anymore, check your local options as well.
Point being, if you can get by the fan clubs and all that flag waving, deserved or not, there are other options, and your expenditures (dollars) will keep it all competitive.

Not to be a KC thumper but .... does your local engine builder have a 5 axis CNC machine and probably one of the most killer pieces of CNC software around for Ebok FE heads? Does he have a CNC block machine for blue printing all his blocks. I could go on... There's more here than just one's abilities, integrity and customer service. The "tools" also make the mechanic. There are other tremendous engine builders on this site other than KC ... Barry w/ Survival Motorsports, Southern Automotive and George w/ Gessford to name a few. I'm sure there's a lot of local talent out there too. KC's "assets" played a major role in my decision to go with him. In the FE world of more or less one-off engine block (and head) castings by comparatively small businesses like Pond, Dove and Genesis, it's nice to know your guy has the equipment to make all the manufacturing inconsistencies go away.. The same holds true if you want to bring a seasoned 65 side oiler block back to Ford's original drawing specifications too. If you level all the resources then I'd go with any of the aforementioned builders and maybe even one or two around my haunts.. jus' my 0.02..

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