Power by Cloverleaf
I think the phrase "My engine was rebuilt..." Is as overworked as claiming my car is fully restored. At one time lifting the heads, a quick valve job, pass a deglazing hone down the cylinders and throw in a set of rings and we called the engine "rebuilt". It really wasn't then and it surely isn't now. If your car is a "classic" by definition it is at least 15 years old and at 25 it is an antique. So most of the vehicles you own that you are thinking about rebuilding the engine are anywhere from 15 years to 60 years old and we have come "a long way baby" from then. Newer vehicles and it is more cost effective to just buy a "crate" motor from the manufacturer or some place like Jasper Engines (we are a Jasper installer) but for older engines, or something you want to make a bit more than stock you are going to need it rebuilt and we do that and we do it correctly. Every engine we rebuild we magna-flux all the steel and iron parts, we pressure test alloy heads and check for cracks using other methods. All valve jobs are finished using valve seats that will handle modern fuels (did you know that all Jaguar DOHC heads, from 1948 on, came with hardened seats so do not let someone sell you a bill of goods on how you must change the seats because of the fuel. You may have to because they are bad, but not because of the modern fuels). We know this and we know a lot more about engines. We align bore all of our blocks to make sure your crank is running true. We recondition and refurbish the rods and crank, we mill the top of the block and we completely re-do the head when we do a valve job. Rod bolts are tossed into the trash and in most cases ARP bolts are used. Same with main bolts or studs. All of the bolts and studs on the head are checked closely and replaced as needed. New head bolts or studs are installed, all soft parts, timing chains, pumps, bearings, gaskets are replaced. And we only use OEM or better parts. For us OEM is the "cheap" part. We know that on many vehicles custom forged pistons only cost a little bit more than the factory style replacement that was designed in 1960 and weighs a lot more than the new. We use modern rings that seal better and are lighter than the old style. Most often timing gears are replaced too as the have worn enough that they will quickly wear out a new chain. Cams are checked and set up. Everything is cleaned, not once but at least three times. And we measure and recheck everything as it goes back together. Once assembled we paint and polish per original or whatever you may choose. Flywheels are checked, resurfaced and a new clutch is installed, so is a new water pump and the distributor is checked and run on a machine to check that the advance and timing curve is what we want it to be. When we quote a price we include the carburetor(s) being rebuilt and the radiator being checked and rebuilt if needed (we can do that too). And this is what we do for what we call a stock or street engine. This is where we start!
Custom Power by Cloverleaf
When it comes to building a "fast" street engine, vintage race engine or an engine that will eat up the rally miles with out a thought, we have been there and done that. We will sit down with you and figure out exactly what you are looking for. We will discuss how you drive and where you drive and then we will design an engine around you. We may install larger valves, have the cam set up to deliver the power where you are going to need it, replace your distributor with another, some we use today have multiple electronic programs in them to let us fine tune exactly what we want. We will increase compression if needed and we may decide to do a custom mold of your combustion chamber so we get just the right compression ratio and do not have a valve interference issue so you can just still run your vintage race car on the street. If you want we can produce "dyno" sheets for you engine, but I will tell you now that is an expensive "bragging" right. Bottom line is did it do what it was supposed to do when it was supposed to? That we know how to do. And when we build for power we discuss your whole car. What are you planning for exhaust, can your rear and drive shaft handle this, should you be thinking on better brakes... it's what we do.
