Southern Automotive engines. Does
 

anybody out there have an opinion as to the quality of their "clone" 427 engines? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Another dealer warned me not to touch it but then nobody else has complained. I need some help.

I don't think I have ever seen anything but good things written about them here. Do a search,I am sure a bunch of threads will come up.

Dan

Southern Automotive builds a great motor and they are wonderful people to do business with. Bill Parham stands behind his product.

Send Jason Patrick an email - he has a new clone monster motor. I have a SA SB stroker and love it.

Randy

they sold me a motor through finishline for csx4066 four years ago. we paid $25k for the motor. it blew up, we took it apart, and discovered they had used a cracked block which had been epoxied. we received no remedy from either finishline or southern automotive, and it was uneconomical to file a lawsuit. NOBODY stood behind the engine. csx4066 now has an entirely new motor; out of pocket $25k. good luck.

Thanks for the input. I did a search and.....
 

it seems like they have a great reputation. My next question: who is Jason Patrick?

csx2300: I'm so sorry. That is the pits. Is...
 

that the truth? My, God, how could anybody do such a thing? Thank you for telling me of your experience. That is the second complaint that I've received. Thanks again.

I have experience with 3 seperate motors from Southern. All have been and are outstanding. Their customer service has always been beyond stellar.

Thanks. I am as confused as ever. Where....
 

do I go from here?

Come to GA - you can feel first hand what SA builds. You can drive my car - that will give you an idea of what's going on with SA. If someone had a problem that didn't get fixed they must have been an a-hole or liar.

Randy

so which am I randy? i paid an extreme amount of money for a very good motor from southern automotive and both they and finish line walked away from a cracked block which had been epoxied. fact. why would i lie about something like this? therefore, according to you randy, i must be an asshole. but that still doesnt give SA the right to cheat me. rather them sue them and piss away a lot more money, i vowed to tell the truth whenever someone asked. i am not saying SA can not build a great motor. i Am saying that they screwed me. and that's a fact.

JB,

Call Eric at Performance Engineering in Ross, Oh. Yes, he built my engine and many many others. He is customer centric and builds a stout motor. Do a search on this site and you'll get the picture..513-738-5001 ...my .02

good luck

What was your dyno numbers and was it a crank dyno or chasis dyno?

CSX2300 (or whatever your name is) I have no idea which shoe fits. What I can tell you is my experience with SA has been far from what you describe.

My front seal failed, at less than 1000 miles. I called SA and was told to bring my car down and they would fix it. I really didn’t want to drive the car and told Bill that I would drop by and pick up a seal. At the time I was making weekly trips to Savannah and it was easy to swing by. He offered to send someone to my house (80 plus miles one way) to replace the seal. I again told him I would do it.

I picked up a new seal the following week and installed it. I had assumed it was simply a bad seal. I was wrong as the new seal failed within a few hundred miles. I was now pissed and sent Bill a rather nasty email. He called and wanted to know what he needed to do – before I could make a larger ass out of myself he offered to pick the car up.

Bill sent Lewis to my house (80 plus miles one way) and we loaded my car into the trailer. I called Bill and expressed my desire to get the car back by the end of the week as the Atlanta group was going to the drag races and I wanted to run my car. He told me no problem it would be ready.

Rather than replace only the seal Bill replaced the front cover, the main bearings, rod bearings and oil pump as a precaution. He also adjusted the valves and generally checked the car from front to rear. He didn’t like the way I had run my radiator hose and had his guys fabricate a really slick aluminum bracket to support my hose.

As the week wore on I became concerned that I would miss the Friday night drag racing – his answer - Don’t Worry. Bill had the car finished on Thursday but I was stuck in Savannah and couldn’t make arraignments to pick the car up. Bill’s solution - he told me to go to the track and he would deliver the car. Yeah you read that right – he trailered my car to Commerce Ga. ready to race. My cost – zero – nadda – nothing.

This past summer I started having clutch problems – again nothing that SA did wrong. Bill’s solution - He made the trip again and we loaded the car into his trailer for the trip back to his shop. His guys noticed an oil leak (oil in the bellhousing) and suspected something was not right. We later found out that Scat (the crankshaft manufacture) had recommended the wrong rear seal. Bill replaced my rear seal, surfaced my aluminum flywheel, installed a new clutch and pressure plate adjusted the valves and changed the oil – my cost – the difference in a standard clutch verses the upgrade to a street strip clutch and 2 hours labor. Based on my experience I find it hard to believe the story you describe.

You mentioned that you bought your engine from finish line and not from SA. Could it be that they screwed you not SA. Is this the same guy that took a dying mans money and wouldn’t build his car until the Cobra community came down hard on him?


You may or may not be an asshole – I don’t know – I do know that Bill stands behind what he sells.

Randy

I see that Finishline is involved in CSX2300's situation! Hmmmm...

Let me get this straight. You have a good experience with a vendor. Someone else has a bad experience with the same vendor and they are a liar or a$$hole because their experience is different than yours.

This is not the first time someone has jumped on a member that has provided less than rosy feedback on a popular vendor. Most of us are big boy or girls and can make decisions for ourselves. I think the feedback is valuable whether good or bad, but if members are going to be jumped on because they give bad feedback, why would they waste their time.

[quote]Originally posted by csx2300


[b]so which am I randy?



I'm not Randy but I'm going to wait a little while longer before I give you the answer...Usually there is a lot more to a story then we first hear. I've been around this forum long enough to know that the correct story will surface before long. Maybe yours is the correct version, maybe not...


Personally, I'd buy another motor from them in a heartbeat... I've got over 8K on this one and it hasn't skipped a beat...:)

Dreamer

The experience is so far removed from my dealings with SA I had to question it. I am always reluctant to believe a two sentence attack and when I saw that finishline was part and parcel to the story I smelled a rat.

My story is right out in the open - nearly a quote - for all to see. I have invited the original thread starter to visit and drive my SA powered car. I have many friends that have SA motors and they love them. Granted a few have had issues - show me an engine builder that hasn't - and Bill made them right.

If CSX had a problem and IT WAS AN SA MOTOR it would have been fixed - I want to hear the whole story from CSX. My bet is that he is leaving out some very important details. I'm all for exposing bad vendors - I also against half truths or incomplete stories smearing good ones.

I'll stick with my original thoughts until CSX completes the story - I may even call Bill and get his side.

Randy

Southern
 

I was aroun HRE when a customer had a problem with one of the Southern Motors. I was not involved but you can always call HRE for detail

I know of another CC member that bought a brand new turnkey ERA Cobra from Cobra Restorers that had a BB in it built by Southern Automotive. It grenaded within a few days.

SA would not stand behind the motor and did nothing to correct the situation, the CC member took him to court and won, but I do not believe he ever collected any monies.