| Author | Message | ||
| Dave Shears (Daveshears)
New member Username: Daveshears Post Number: 50 Registered: 3-2001 |
Give Bret a call at Skelton Ferrari in Berkeley. 510-526-6808 | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
Advanced Member Username: Peter Post Number: 2563 Registered: 12-2000 |
Robert, I did the same thing when I was there in '01. Same, welcoming response. I had many questions for him as I was in the midst of my rebuild and he took the time to answer them all. I also bought parts and he even gave me a break on some of them!  I have since bought other parts through his mail-order with no problems/hassles. JohnR., with respect to replacing liners/rings/pistons, you have to make the call when you tear it apart (check the specs). As for valves, that depends if you have the sodium-filled exhaust ones. Those I'd replace without hesitation... | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 1485 Registered: 1-2001 |
Tony P. is at Modena Motors in Redwood City (http://www.modena-motors.com), but like Mark S., schedule could be tough. JohnR. -- maybe Jeff H. at FerrariUK could quote an exchange for a fresh long block assembly -- just a thought... | ||
| Hans E. Hansen (4re_gt4)
Member Username: 4re_gt4 Post Number: 933 Registered: 4-2002 |
Both are highly respected CA mechanics. Tony Palladino used to write the tech articles for Forza. He has been seen on FChat a few times. I don't know the name of his garage, or exactly where he's at, however. Mark Spencer is at Veloce Speedesign in San Jose. He's REAL busy, however. (Just ask Dom Vitarelli about that!) | ||
| JohnR. (Rivee)
Junior Member Username: Rivee Post Number: 161 Registered: 1-2002 |
Who and where are Tony Paladino and Mark Spencer | ||
| Hans E. Hansen (4re_gt4)
Member Username: 4re_gt4 Post Number: 931 Registered: 4-2002 |
Isn't Tony Palladino somewhere in the general Bay Area? There is also Mark Spencer in San Jose. | ||
| JohnR. (Rivee)
Junior Member Username: Rivee Post Number: 159 Registered: 1-2002 |
Anthony, you have a good point here. I would rather deal with an American company, but haven't found anyone who advertises rebuilds for a decent price. I am torn between tearing it down myself or sending the complete motor out to have it rebuilt. I don't know anybody locally here in Monterey that I would trust in the machining part of the rebuild. Also do most people install new pistons and liners, when rebuilding even though the old ones are checked out and are still OK? My mechanic says yes. But he is very meticulous and replaces everything when he does one (costumers money and has to guarantee it). What about valves? Replace all? | ||
| Antony R Chapman (Antonio888)
New member Username: Antonio888 Post Number: 29 Registered: 5-2002 |
John, why rebuild from the UK, there's a good set of people in the US (cal area) to do this - also easier to talk to and check out how they are going. I pulled my engine out to replace the exhaust valves in aug '02 and got the car back in dec '02 as I decided to do a few other things while the motor was out. Also there are differences in the US and UK specs so it would be better to source locally for the engine rebuild. Have used Superformance for parts and they are generally good - sometimes you get the wrong part or not enough of the right bits - they are happy to return parts which were not correctly sent to you. | ||
| Robert Johnson (Carb308)
New member Username: Carb308 Post Number: 25 Registered: 12-2001 |
For what it's worth, I have made a few purchases from Superperformance,UK with no problems. I then visited their shop on my last trip to England. They have a small shop (by US standards)with two floors of new and used parts. They have a dyno and were rechecking valve clearances on a Dino V6 motor that was freshly overhauled and had been on the dyno for testing when I arrived. Michael Elliott was very cordial, gave me a full tour and was eager to answer questions, give advice and "bench race" over tea for over an hour. I picked up a few parts while I was there and left glad that I had taken the time out of my schedule to stop in Essex. | ||
| Allen Cook (Alcook62)
Junior Member Username: Alcook62 Post Number: 71 Registered: 3-2002 |
JOHNR. (RIVEE) Check your email. I sent you info on a good shop in Monterey. | ||
| JohnR. (Rivee)
Junior Member Username: Rivee Post Number: 157 Registered: 1-2002 |
Good points Phillip. I think a guarantee is imperative by whoever builds it. Just don't know if I want to dive into this thing and rebuild it myself. | ||
| Philip Airey (Pma1010)
Junior Member Username: Pma1010 Post Number: 165 Registered: 7-2002 |
I haven't had an engine rebuild by Superformance, but have ordered parts 4 or 5 times and looked at buying one of their steering racks. With one set of parts, there was a fitment issue, and it took 2 or 3 efforts to get it right. I found their service and responsiveness to be very good and they were more than fair on shipping/working with me etc. I'd use them again. Others on this forum have much more experience in having a motor rebuilt than me. However, I'd look for significant experience and references that I would call along with some level of guarantee/warranty on the work if they are also sourcing the parts. I'd also seek a pretty detailed estimate up front with notification proceedures for overruns etc. (A little peripheral, but hopefully instructive analog.) A few years ago, on a different forum, a set of people were raving about underdrive pulleys. Theory was straightforward. Car was being used in a more sporting fashion (higher rpm) than intended, so reduce the pulley speeds of the auxilliaries to avoid overdriving them. Well, it turned out the pulleys didn't have the harmonic dampener that the OEM part did. 2 to 3 years in, several engine failures occured. The teardowns of the motors afterwards suggested it was the lack of the harmonic balancer that was to blame. My point here, is that if I were going to invest $15 - 20K in a rebuild and add some high comp pistons/sportier cams etc, I'd sure want to know the builder had years of experience with this type of engine/any modifications being considered. | ||
| Ernie Bonilla (Ernie)
Member Username: Ernie Post Number: 570 Registered: 11-2001 |
John, if you get the past issue of Forza magazine, there is a two part article explaining how to rebuild a 308 motor. It was written with the help of Norwood's in Texas. As far as Super Performance in the UK, they are the guys you wanna have your heads sent to to get ported and flowed. There is a link to their website on Nick's Forza Ferrari site. Nick can also help you with advice and parts, as he specializes in 308 rebuilds and engine mods. | ||
| JohnR. (Rivee)
Junior Member Username: Rivee Post Number: 153 Registered: 1-2002 |
Just curious because I need to rebuild my 308 motor. Thought about doing it myself (except machine work) as with other motors in the past, but have never done an F motor. Started smoking and burning oil 2 weeks ago, so I think it's that time. I'm thinking that I probably broke an oil ring Any suggestions on the best way to do this? | ||
| Bruno (Originalsinner)
Intermediate Member Username: Originalsinner Post Number: 1020 Registered: 5-2002 |
Customer service is bad. Never got an engine but many other parts. little tech help. take it or leave it attitude. | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
Intermediate Member Username: Jay Post Number: 1126 Registered: 10-2001 |
I haven't but I did find his customer service to be lacking when asking about parts. I know that alot of his stuff is reproduction. Someone on here (won't mention who) ordered a head gasket set, it had holes in wrong spots... Others have had no problems with them. I'd prefer to stick with OEM parts, why do things twice? | ||
| JohnR. (Rivee)
Junior Member Username: Rivee Post Number: 152 Registered: 1-2002 |
Has anyone ever had their engine rebuilt by Superformance.co.uk? If so were you happy with their service, price, guarantee, etc.? |