3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

I Dropped my heads of tuesday, gave me a rough figure of $400 to do the heads may vary a little depending on the price of replacement valves. I told him to look at a few options and I'd be willing to spend a couple bucks more for better valves and to give me a call. He says he will call me in a day or two.

Call end of day Thursday (2 full business days after I drop the heads off), Chris isn't there and there isn't anything on the paperwork about price. So no price

Call back on monday afternoon, Chris answers gives me some BS story about how he was out of town (Like I give two *****) so no price 4 business days later.

So today(6 business days later), I decide that if I don't get a call back I am going to just go get my heads and take them somewhere else.

I don't get it, a price quote on valve's should take all of 10 minutes, the heads are already disassembled (by them) from when I took them down a couple months ago to get them checked out and get a stripped bolt hole fixed, found out the valves were toast so I held off until I got the money together to have them redone.

When I get down there to pick them up, Chris is not there. Lynn is at the counter. I show him my slip and my heads are sitting in the exact same spot they were put when I dropped them off. he looks around and says I don't have any paperwork on these, then goes into the office and makes a call, comes out and says you will have to wait for Chris. I reply, there hasn't been anything done with them, that is why I am coming to get them. he looks at me confused. So I tell him, I brought them over a week ago and have called in twice and I can't even get a price from you guys on valves, obviously you don't need my business. To which he chuckles and says chris will be here in a min. I reply, so you going to waste more of my time? Give me my property. he smiles at me and says you have to wait for chris. I am pretty pissed at this point. a few minutes later chris pulls up, Lynn says to me see you didn't have to wait that long, in a smart *** tone, I ignore this old fat bastard and walk toward chris he dodges me and goes into the office as does lynn. Chris walks out in about a min, says to me what's up? I laugh, what's up? the fact that you can't get me a price quote on valves in 6 days, that's what's up, now give me my heads back so I can take them elsewhere. He reply's, that probably the best thing, picks my heads up and practically throw's them at me and says "no cheap way to do them for ya." To which I reply, I never asked you to do them cheap all I asked for was a price before you got started. He then says to me, take your heads and get out of here. So I just took my heads and left. I am just blown away! I never asked them to do them cheap. I just asked for a damn price! Complete bullshit!

/Rant

Cliff notes.

I highly recommend staying FAR away from Five Star Engine.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

Wow! Sorry to hear about that! Thank you for posting this, as I was just about to take them a fo#d 351 shortblock for rebuilding! If they act like that over a simple head rebuild, imagine how they would act over a shortblock rebuild!

wesilva

iTrader: (35)

Just watched a news report on the power of the internet for consumer affairs. Businesses have to understand that a word of mouth may go a long way but now every member in the Southwest Forum knows to avoid these guys. Way to go Five Star Engine Exchange! You're on report!!!!

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

Yea, I really don't understand where he gets off with the whole "Sorry I can't do them cheap for ya" Comment. I never asked for them to be done cheap. We talked about valve option's and he was talking about a manley street valve, so I said get me prices on a few different valve's because depending on the price I might go with better more expensive ones.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

he was just trying to be a jeark, I'm sure. The comment was to make you feel like you were cheap, but he didn't give you any prices at all, right? How can you be cheap if you dont have any prices to go on?

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

Well he originally quoted me around $400 to do them, then probably realized he couldn't come near his quote so he just decided to treat me like **** instead of be honest with me. I am glad though honestly, now my heads are at a performance shop instead of a stock rebuild shop.

burnout88

Will, sorry to hear that happened. Thanks for the heads up. I thought that shop was supposed to be good? Some of the west side guys had mentioned that shop before. If you do not mind me asking where did you try next? Engine shops really are one of the worse places to get screwed over. I had an awesome engine shop in Chicago and since then I can't find a good place locally here in AZ. I am actually considering having the Chicago shop build me a motor and ship the damn thing to me.

There has be a reliable engine shop somewhere in the valley?

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

The heads are at Standard Machine now. They did a set of 317's for my buddy's LQ4 he put in his 4th gen. I got a good feeling about that place, the guy was an old hot rodder and I was impressed just in my short few minutes of talking to him.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

Theres a few really good ones (They arent really cheap, but you get what you pay for.) Birdtojag knows one in your area, burnout88.

birdtojag

iTrader: (1)

I took a set of heads to a place in Chandler on Alma School, between Ray and Chandler. I gave them the valves I got from Summit Racing and had screw-in studs installed. I went from 1.94/1.5 valves to 2.02/1.6. With all the work done, I paid $406 for the whole thing. Was very impressed by them. They do all kinds of performance work. Also have a machine for balancing rotating assemblies (I'm sure other machine shops send their stuff to them for this type of work). Can't remember the name of the shop but I can look it up for anyone if interested.

DRIVE2FAST

READING THAT I WONT TAKE ANY OF MY STUFF THERE. IVE BEEN SCREWED BY PERFORMANCE SHOPS B4. ONE IN PARTICULAR IN VEGAS ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO. THEY TREATED ME LIKE I DIDNT KNOW A F$KKING THING. IVE REBUILT COUNTLESS JET ENGINES AND CARS IN MY DAY AND WHEN SHOPS TALK DOWN TO ME ITS F$KKING B/S. I WONT TAKE IT AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE DRIVING ONE OF THESE GREAT CARS. ANYONE DRIVING A THIRDGEN IS ALREADY BETTER THAN 90% OF THE F$KKING WORLD ANYWAY.OK MY RANT IS DONE NOW.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

LOL, I sense some passion there! HAHAHA!

kurtibm

Hi,
I realize that this is an old thread, but I am needing a rebuild on my SB. Might you be able to recall the name of this machine shop, please?
How has the engine been over time?

Thanks,
Kurt
Tempe, Az.

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

Hey Kurt,

I can't speak for the shop that birdtojag was talking about, but I had Standard Machine do those heads and build my current short block and it has been great! I put the heads on and now have around 5k on it been driving it for over a year, I have been to the drag strip, road course and auto X with it. Zero issues.

Arvizu9618

iTrader: (1)

thanks for the warning

91 1LE

iTrader: (1)

I've heard good things about Standard Machine too. I would also recommend Engine House on I17 and Indian School for stock rebuilds. The guy that owns the place has been doing it for over 20 years and really knows his stuff. I bought a 22R for my DD Toyota pickup and have put 15k miles on it with no problems. All of their engines come with a 3 year/100k mile warranty.

kurtibm

Their reviews seem less than stellar (of course most seem to be in '10) > http://www.yellowpages.com/phoenix-a...-house-2378433

sicx13

I hate to revive old threads but this seemed so relevant to me as im in Arizona and will be searching for a motor soon.
My 305 in my 89 rs is on its way out and google has brought me here after doing my due diligence on 5 STAR.
where do I go for a rebuild or crate engine that here in AZ that's reputable?
I was looking at tuff dawg engines but I found their bad reviews before I started looking into 5 star.

makingPAIN

5 star is horrible I have heard nothing good about them ever. I have heard of their engines spinning a main bearing right out of the box...

Veaceonee

iTrader: (1)

Is rude/poor customer relation Auto shops an AZ thing?? Even here in Tucson you have Aastro Transmissions, which pretty much does the same deal as 5 star. Only difference is they will tear your trans apart then give you a quote. If you don't pay they just put the trans in a box and put it in your back seat. And they are very rude. Contacted a couple machine shops to replace a-arm bushings and ball joints, very rude. I don't get it.

burnout88

There is no place to go here in AZ. You are better off ordering a GM crate motor or ordering a custom motor from an out of state well known machine shop.

86_Dan_Z28

iTrader: (1)

In southern CA there are several people that can build you a good engine.

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

I had my 355 Short Block built by Standard Machine, I am very happy with it. Unfortunately I am pretty sure they are no longer in business though.

SMKN327

I know that the original post was a couple of years ago, but nonetheless, I purchased my 327 from them in August 2011, called them with the specifications I wanted and they had the engine done in less than a week. They had it ready to go and waiting for me when I went to pick it up, Service was friendly and prompt. The service and engine was so good I ordered a chevy 350 vortec replacement for my 98 chevy pickup. Same thing, took them 4 days and everything was ready to go. My only complaint was that they wouldn't crate the engines on pickup, they sat them on a tire and made me strap it into the bed of my pickup. I had an entirely pleasant experience with them....twice. Interesting.

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

A buddy of mine got a 383 Short block from them before I took my heads over there. He had a great experience as well and the engine has performed fantastically with very heavy use. That is why I went them for my heads. I was blown away at how I was treated, never expected that.

SMKN327

Yeah, that's a shame for sure.

Beater79TA

Yeah, that 383 took a beating without ever giving me a bit of trouble. Still have it sealed on a stand in the garage in case I decide to put it in something. Not sure what happened that caused our visits there to be so different in terms of the service we received. But I can't fault the work on that 383 at all. Lots of time spent at 7000 rpm on tracks around the country and 1 6000 mile coast to coast road trip put it to the test. And the only reason I even considered them is the shop was run by the brother of the guy who owns the exhaust shop I use....

azwaterdoc

Five Star Engine is a liar, thief, and a RIP OFF business. I took a BBC NOS engine that was sitting for awhile in my garage and I wanted it disassembled, inspected, re-assembled and installed in my 1968 Chevy SS and did a horrible job. I ended up having to have it towed to another shop and this is what they found: it had two cylinders running lean, warped the heads, the crank needed to be re-balanced, and made cross member mounts that placed the engine so high the hood couldn't close with a air cleaner. Chris Smith took me for $6,100 and sorry I ever went there

firestorm

This is my feeling as well. A sad commentary on shops here in AZ.

azwaterdoc

Chris Smith of 5 Star Engines even sold me my parts back. Used garbage bag ties to hold the spark plug wires off the headers, kinked the fuel line that he charged $80 for, charged me for a dyno that had the bore data wrong, leaking oil-trans-and coolant, left live wires shorting out on the intake and headers, kinked the new headers so they could fit around the steering shaft, stole my new Howards cam, and got aggressive and threathing when I brought it to his attention. Plus put several chips in the paint around the complete engine compartment, along with overspray black paint on the rear side fender and this red car was beautiful before Five Star got their hands on it. I had to have it towed to another shop and Chris Smith's response was; Have a Happy New Year!

Beater79TA

So sorry to hear everyone's bad experiences when I had a good one. Since then we've taken up ordering from out of state vendors like Texas Speed to get new engines.

azwaterdoc

If anyone has second thoughts of doing business with Five Star Engines just check: Rip Off Reports, Yelp Reviews, Face Book feedback and you'll understand Chris Smith of Five Star Engines has a long history of selling defective engines.

Law Suits filed against Chris Smith DBA Five Star in Arizona ONLY:
1. Allen Gerdes LC2014-000155
2. Stephen Avis CV-2011-006686
3. Stephen Beach CV1995-012723
4. Gregory Marshal LC2003-000322
5. Phillips J-0905-CV20120261

bk2life

Not sure where you guys are going for machine work, but AZ has some of the fastest engines this side of the country. Anything built be a place like ‘engine exchange’ might as well just go to autoazone and order a rebuilt engine so you have a warranty and they will replace it and pay you to do it if there are issues.
We have BRE, WFO, AZS&M, PRK, KB just to name a few among the many more that we have available.
You want good stuff, expect to pay good money for it. ‘engine exchange, or places like that don’t care..

azwaterdoc

I ended up having WFO repair the engine Five Star Engine screwed up and this is what they found. The heads were warped and needed a complete vale job and 2 cylinders were running lean. The balanced NOS crank had to be re-balanced, one of the main bearing had a gouge in it and the crank had to be polished, the Howard's cam was replaced with an old piece of junk and scared all the cam bearings, the intake was warped and sucking air, and had multiple oil leaks. WFO built a great engine for me and sorry I ever let Five Star butcher my 1968 BBC 402 cid engine.

Beater79TA

Looks like we've had different experiences with WFO too. A friend had his LS1 rebuilt there and any time you bounce it off the rev limiter it blows the seal off the back plate of the engine. And during assembly they decided to gap the rings for a 200 shot of nitrous despite his instructions to not gap for nitrous.

It pulls strong, it just has some oil consumption issues because of the ring gap (nothing major but noticeable) and he had to lower the rev limiter in the ECM to keep it from blowing out the seal at 7000 rpm.

racprops

I have had some DYNO runs done at Chuck's Speed Shop in midtown Phoenix, am considering having them convert a almost rear to run 350 to a 383. So far I have found them friendly and helpful. Anyone else done business with them?? Rich