Don't Let Indy Cylinder Heads Build You An Engine

[steve817]

Well, at least you got close to 500 miles on your engine, our mild, original, 411hp, rollered cam (that they recommended) 440 had 28 miles on it and it clanked so bad that Indy wanted it back to check it out. We pulled the motor and sent it back to them(on our dime). They "fixed" the top end of the motor (roller cam issue according to them). They said they ran it on there dyno (again) before they shipped it back to us. It now has 78 miles on it and is so embarrassing to drive because it is just as loud as before. This car is a 1970 Banana Yellow 70 Challenger R/T that won 1st place in Resto Mod class(2012) at Mopars at the Strip and choice award (2015). The engine has to pulled out again and were doing the work ourselves. Total is 10K lost with 78 miles of pure hell driving it because it's probably going to blow up.

 

[74Beeper]

Well, at least you got close to 500 miles on your engine, our mild, original, 411hp, rollered cam (that they recommended) 440 had 28 miles on it and it clanked so bad that Indy wanted it back to check it out. We pulled the motor and sent it back to them(on our dime). They "fixed" the top end of the motor (roller cam issue according to them). They said they ran it on there dyno (again) before they shipped it back to us. It now has 78 miles on it and is so embarrassing to drive because it is just as loud as before. This car is a 1970 Banana Yellow 70 Challenger R/T that won 1st place in Resto Mod class(2012) at Mopars at the Strip and choice award (2015). The engine has to pulled out again and were doing the work ourselves. Total is 10K lost with 78 miles of pure hell driving it because it's probably going to blow up.

i feel your pain Steve..... I pulled mine on my dime as well, sent it back and they supposedly rebuilt it completely. After pulling it apart, it was quite obvious they reused all the bearings and even the rings. The cylinder bores were under honed by .001-.0015 and the block was not machined properly in several other spots. I have everything back (done properly) and I'm in the process of reassembly.

Good luck with your build.

 

[CJD AUTO]

Funny, cuz I haven't been able to find one negative post on Ryan..... Not saying there aren't any out there but I haven't seen one yet besides yours. I've never had any trouble contacting him and he always gets back to me with detailed and understandable answers. He did my heads and shortblock and so far it's the best work I've had done.

The forums are here to help people, and if possible, help keep members from being screwed. Lots of people out there that have taken advantage of people in this hobby. I am simply offering you a word of caution. What you do with it is completely up to you from this point. If you would have done an internet search on Indy and read peoples reviews and horror stories, you wouldn't be in the position your in now. I'm only trying to keep you from making the same mistake twice.

 

[miller]

Besides what CJD said, why would anyone want to skip out on all the fun of building your own motor! That, and the fact that you know exactly wants in it, and how it all works. Letting someone else do it...you get what you get...

 

[dvw]

We've dealt with Ryan. Absolutely no problems at all.
Doug

 

[fratzog lover]

Is Shady Dell open? I thought I read on here or FABO they closed down.

 

[74Beeper]

Is Shady Dell open? I thought I read on here or FABO they closed down.

Yep they're open..... I just had work done by Ryan. He did move to a new facility though.

 

[74Beeper]

Besides what CJD said, why would anyone want to skip out on all the fun of building your own motor! That, and the fact that you know exactly wants in it, and how it all works. Letting someone else do it...you get what you get...

I let Ryan do the heads and machine/assemble the short block. I will do the final assembly.

 

[rrTor-Red]

Is Indy going to attempt to make things right with you?

 

[74Beeper]

Is Indy going to attempt to make things right with you?

I don't want anything they have to offer anymore. After screwing me over two times in a row I'm keeping my distance from them

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I have been reading about Indy nightmares for YEARS.They used to be the only MOPAR aftermarket place to get GO FAST parts.Thankfully there is a larger choice of speed part suppliers.I know several builders that are dealers for Indy and they inspect EVERY part that they obtain from them.
Look at a builder like Bob George.He's built 100's of engines using Indy parts and NO ONE has a bad thing to say about him.Everyone needs to do their homework before spending your hard earned money.
Shady Dell did my valve job on my Hemi heads 5 years ago.Perfect job.

 

[miller]

I let Ryan do the heads and machine/assemble the short block. I will do the final assembly.

Guess it's a matter of preference. Machine work done, yes, only because I don't have a machine shop in my back pocket. I don't 'let' anybody do any assembly on any of my stuff. As long as I have hands, anyway. If not...can't be helped.

 

[74Beeper]

Guess it's a matter of preference. Machine work done, yes, only because I don't have a machine shop in my back pocket. I don't 'let' anybody do any assembly on any of my stuff. As long as I have hands, anyway. If not...can't be helped.

preference and time..... I'm a chief mechanic on a offshore drilling platform in Eastern Russia and don't really get to spend as much time at home as I would like. If I don't farm some of it out, I won't get it together by the time the snow melts.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

There are many GOOD builders out there. INDY is not one of them!!!

 

[L4staero]

If you haven't already committed to "Shady Deal", you need to do some research (YellowBullet, Moparts, etc...) Ryan has a horrible rep with the fast Mopar crowd and has all but retreated from posting on these boards anymore. He has ruined many a cylinder head and block, machining and tolerances are NEVER right, head work and assembly is horrible. I've seen it all first hand and know many other guys with horror stories. Stick with a reputable builder, regardless whether they are supposed "Mopar Guru's". PM me for pics of what you can expect and a contact list of former suckers. We all keep pictures and record the garbage he has charged people for. He's got an excuse for everyone of them, but you can only screw up peoples stuff and charge them for it for so long. Why do you think he is so hard to get ahold of?

I had RyanJ fully port and prepare a set of MP aluminum heads for me.
If i had to do it again i wouldnt let him touch my lawn mower.
Took him just short of 4 years to complete the task, non stop excuses along the way. And from what i can see poor quality work is all i got.....not the high quality machine work i was expecting.

 

[moper]

I've had three customers use Ryan's product: two small blocks and one big block. All three were spot on, and the last set, a set of Stealth heads he ported and did the valve job on, is making close to 550hp.
I would second HEMIITIS' note on Bob George. Great people.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I had RyanJ fully port and prepare a set of MP aluminum heads for me.
If i had to do it again i wouldnt let him touch my lawn mower.
Took him just short of 4 years to complete the task, non stop excuses along the way. And from what i can see poor quality work is all i got.....not the high quality machine work i was expecting.

1st post.......A BASH......Aussie.......here we go with another one........LMOL





Chris WHO????

 

[74Beeper]

I would imagine after doing probably over 1000 valve jobs and several hundred engine builds, there are bound to be a few unhappy customers. A guy can't make everyone happy all the time. But my experience with Ryan was #1. You can tell he really has a passion for what he does and when you ask him a question he takes the time to give you a thorough well worded answer.
I have Aussie friends who are gear heads and from what I've heard from them, it is very hard to find good builders where they are. Everything is in the states. But I also hear from them that they are very hard to please.

 

[CJD AUTO]

I would imagine after doing probably over 1000 valve jobs and several hundred engine builds, there are bound to be a few unhappy customers. A guy can't make everyone happy all the time. But my experience with Ryan was #1. You can tell he really has a passion for what he does and when you ask him a question he takes the time to give you a thorough well worded answer.
I have Aussie friends who are gear heads and from what I've heard from them, it is very hard to find good builders where they are. Everything is in the states. But I also hear from them that they are very hard to please.

Maybe you'll be fine. I spoke with Kent Ritter a few months back and he told me, "...he's gotten a lot better". Not sure how to take that with the disaster the Ritter blocks have been, but that doesn't excuse the previous hack work. Again, maybe yours will be okay. I highly recommend you pull down that short block and measure it up before running it. Something your local shop can do for you if you don't have a dial bore gauge and micrometers. Remember, these are performance engines without a warranty. You need to see what the clearances are before running it. That goes for valve guide clearance as well.

I'm didn't reply to your thread to "bash" anyone, just trying to keep you from having another issue and spending even more money.

 

[rrTor-Red]

I would think that with all of the money you forked out to them, they would reimburse some of it, IDK