info on southern automotive

[lemans24]

i'm looking at drivetrain options. can anyone share any info on southern automotive. they sounded really nice on the phone. if anybody purchased an
engine from them, would you do it again? thanks.

[olblu66]

THATS A BIG YES. Great group of folks there. Bought one 4 years ago. They stand behind there work and go out of there way to please there customers.

[double ugly]

I've only heard good things about them. I haven't purchased an engine but have bought accessories.

[Bumpster]

I have had their 396 stroker for two years now with no problems to speak of. My distributor failed, which was not Southern's fault. The engine satisfies my expectations as far as power and reliability, and anytime I have called with a question or problem the response has been immediate and helpful. I don't believe you can ask for more from an engine builder.

Bumpster

[Tom Wells]

Hey Bumpster,

Are we forgetting that wonderful ping-ting-ting noise at Sebring

[Tony Radford]

Become a member of the family. They have a global fan base. Go for the Side Oiler.

[Bumpster]

Tom - I forgot about that. Yes, the bolts holding my crankshaft pulley did back out that day, resulting in the embarassing noises and overheating. However, that pulley was put on after the engine was delivered because I needed a two groove pulley for the air conditioner instead of the single groove pulley that came on the engine. My bad for not checking the torque on those belts on a track day.

Bumpster

[Tom Wells]

My bad!

I didn't realize the crank pulley was not originally installed by Southern.

Tom

[tmareina]

The 428 my Cobra had in it was built by Southern Automotive. It had a bad crank, broken piston skirt and the parts, when taken apart were badly worn and the workmanship was suspect at best. Maybe it was a new employee??? When I called and talked to one of the office people I was given the runaround because I was not the person the engine was built for but on one of the occasions I did talk to one of the engine builders and was told that some of the people working there were not very good. The motor in my car had about 3,000 miles on it...not many in the sceme of things. I would never have Southern Automotive build an engine for me nor would I recommend them to anyone!!! I'm sure they have built some good motors....BUT....it appears to be a crap shoot.

Tom

[Naumoff]

I have been extremely happy with the performance of the engine, the service and warranty from Southern.
I had a couple of issues with my engine and they stood behind their product and fixed it. I am in business for myself and I treat my customers the way I would want to be treated and Bill and Susan do exactly the same.I feel like part of the family and when I am at there shop find it hard to leave.

Bill and Susan are great people and I would buy another engine from them in a Heartbeat.

[pitstop]

i had them build a 402 FE for a unique and and have been very satisfied. these are high performance old style motors so there are always little things to wring out. these are not new toyotas. they go out of their way to help you after the sale. i had few minor problems and they sent out parts and offered to reimburse labor. jim o.

[Bill Bess]

Just a quick note..... Southern Automotive built my 428 FE motor last year. Delivered it on time, all parts where good except the carb. (small leak), started and runs fine. Bill and Susan are great to work with and made my experience first rate.
I have almost 4000 miles on my motor and it hauls a** and is working great. No oil leaks, runs cool and sounds just the way Bill Parham described it to me on the phone prior to purchasing..."it will sound bad A**".

Anyway, I feel that Southern Automotive builds a great motor and is a good value for anyone that doesn't want to spend a fortune for a motor with 500 HP. Very complete and looks original...just like it came out of Shelby's garage 40 years ago.

Good luck, Bill

[Al Bockman]

I bought a 406 FE from Southern Automotive over six years ago. I had an issue with the starter and they promptly sent me a new one. Other than that, I have no complaints at all. I will have them build another for me when this one wears out.

If all this global warming wasn't causing it to snow this weekend in the Colorado mountains, I would have over 30,000 miles on my Southern Automotive engine. 29,800+ and holding...

Al

[RedCSX1]

I have spoken with Susan on the phone and purchased a few parts from them with no problem however I have met more than a couple of people have had motor built by Southern that have come appart and they swear that they would never go back to them.

[Bugman]

I have one of their Super FE 452's and love it! Great people to deal with. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to my grandmother or anybody else!

[Gatorac]

I have a SA 408 in my BDR. It's got 8k miles on it now. When it was delivered, it had an oil leak.

They answered my calls promptly and even gave me Bill's cell phone number to work through the issue and get the car on the road in time for an event I was planning on. It still leaked but not bad enough to stop me from going. Then on the drive to the hotel the distributor failed. Came apart inside. I was fortunate enough to find someone that had an SA motor sitting in his shop and he gave me the distributor to use. SA sent him a new one.

I took the car to SA to have them fix the oil leak and the graciously took care of it.

The engine had a small water leak coming from the water pump. The valve cover gaskets gave me problems. That seems to have been taken care of now. There was a stripped oil pan bolt.

My engine now has over 13k miles on it. After the initial issues, it has been flawless. Great power, very streetable and runs like a dream.

JMHO

[Dinobyte]

I have been sitting on the sidelines watching this...but feel I have to comment.

I have not had a great experience with their products. That is not to say they are not nice people, let's keep that separate.

My first motor was a 427FE Top Oiler, not stroked, vintage 1963 block...just the standard fare 427.

The engine leaked oil almost from day one. Okay, FE...I get it.

After 1200 miles, one of the heads, an Edelbrock RPM which had been CNC machined by SA blew through the water jacket and splashed the cylinder wall. They replaced the head, Great..thank you...however the damage not seen was that it ruined the rings, and created a oil nightmare. Oil basically was being pushed out of every crevice possible, and created a mess in my brand new engine bay.

After multiple back and forth emails/calls, Bill replaced the motor. To make up for the issue, Bill threw in a 428 crank...Terrific I thought.

About 700 miles later (engine), we are now at roughly 2400 TOTAL miles on the car, I start hearing a knocking sound....knock knock knock...which only gets worse as the RPM's increase...crap...

We pull the engine, and find the #3 rod journal has gone bad, and the crank cannot be repaired.

Trying to salvage something...we keep the block, but purchase a new crank, rods, pistons, oil pump. After we assemble the motor, put it on the dyno and do ONE PULL...the block basically comes apart at 4800 RPM. Now I am not sure SA did any sort of Sonic Testing...does not matter at this point, as I purchased a brand new Genesis Side Oiler block.

Bottom Line is...I would not recommend SA. Go with Keith Craft, Tom Lucas at FE Specialites, Dennis at Valley Ford Specialist in La Canada, or any other motor builder. I guess if you are local to SA, go for it...but don't cry wolf when you have to take the motor back to them to have it rebuilt or refreshed every 1000 miles or so.

[Bill Bess]

Boys and Girls, the bigger and badder the motor is, the more potential problems one can expect. Plenty of folks here in Lake Havasu City, AZ have big boats with two, or even three motors in them, each of which costs more than $50,000 each. They blow them up on a regular basis and someone is fixing them. My point is, all motor are subject to all kinds of problems so just accept the fact that a motor is just that ...a big chunk of metal that some expert throws together and hopefully it works OK.

All builders put out a few problematic engines, but most are very good.
My two cents, Bill

[madmaxx]

I hate to step in but the only way to go in my opinion after driving numerous carburated engines and on my second cobra is a Roush engine. Not one drip of oil, water etc. It runs perfectly every single time I turn the key. Excellent power throught the entire rpm range. I have not used them but I have heard warranty work is quite beauracratic with preapproval blah blah blah, in all honesty I am getting enough miles in 90 plus heat on the car I doubt I will ever use it. Oh wait I did have a problem, I had to tighten the alternator belt, sometimes I would hear it slip on start-up. What a pos!!

[pgermond]

Originally Posted by lemans24

i'm looking at drivetrain options. can anyone share any info on southern automotive. they sounded really nice on the phone. if anybody purchased an
engine from them, would you do it again? thanks.

In a heart beat! Very pleased.