T&L ENGINES IN N.C.

Update:
Engine got here 7 months after placing order.
Unpacked it and found out that the flywheel is missing.
It was part of the order and we paid for it in advance!
That was around Sept. 15th.
Today its Oct. 7th, no flywheel in sight. All that crap starts again, calling and mailing and no one answering. Season is over here, otherwise it could turn you into a beast...
Anyone reading this: beware of T&L!!!

Dear Excalibur
Do your self a favour !

Start by pulling it apart and check it all !
It can save you a lot of dissapointment and money !
And in best case senario it will only cost a new set of gaskets.

It took me six months to get my Chevy 408 A2 engine from T & L. When I got the engine it was laying on its side in the box, but only the spark plugs were broke. It has ran well with lots of power, but if you buy a 408 and plan to run it hard, upgrade the lifters and pushrods. I went to Lunati 7500 rpms hyd lifters and molly pushrods. T&L used cheap pushrods and stock roller lifters which is OK for street and a little hot roding. I also upgraded to Dart pro 1 2.05 215 runners with 977 comp cam valve springs.
The heavy 74 Nova ran 10.88 1/4 and 6.98 1/8 with 125 shot. Remember, their prices are cheap for a reason! I suggested when they finally answered my calls to raise their prices upgrade a few things and sale a few less engines with more customer satisfaction.
I bought my last engine not from T & L but from CNC Motorsports!

Originally Posted by gc65restomod

To readers of this forum:

I can really appreciate all the comments above about some negative comments and there are always two sides to the story. I do not have an axe to grind with T&L. I have tried to be completely factual about my experience. I am faced with a big challenge now as I have my engine. I have not run this yet. I had to replace the oil pan and oil pump because I did not specify rear sump. (My fault) In doing so, the engine guy found some alarming things. The engine came from T&L and has not been run since coming off the Dyno. I have cylinders that are already scored. The base of the block has a large indentation around the oil pan lip that is difficult to seal with the gasket and sealer.

Here are some pictures.

I am going to call them now and see how they respond but I am really gutted. This is a brand new engine going into my dream car. I am not an expert, I am not a racer, I am just a guy who wanted a nice engine in his hot rod.

I guess I will post what happens next. By the way I have posted on here a few times now. I ordered my engine October 2007 and it arrived in May 2008.

I would not be worried about that. Hey was the rod bolts etc ARP? What brand were the internals?

So far so good on my 408. I have roughly only 1000 miles on it but its ok so far and has TONS of power. I will tear into it next year and check things out but as of now all is well. The only problem I have so far is I have called and emailed several times to get a break down of what brand internals are in the engine. I finally called one day and spoke with Rob and he seemed like he did not know what to say. Then he finally said he would call me back with that info after taking my engine # down. That was Monday and it is now Wed and I just wonder how long that could possibly take? I will let you guys know if I hear back and also keep you updated on the engine quality etc as the years pass and if the internals are really what they said they were after my breakdown.

Originally Posted by Reignman

Actually, We're no longer doing business with eBay for several reasons. First and foremost, we're very busy with work and the amount of phone calls/emails it was generating was almost counterproductive. Then of coarse there are the fees associated with dealing on eBay as well as Pay Pal. As you may know, T&L Engines is VERY competitive on their pricing and taking a 10% loss or so is nothing T&L Engines is truthfully interested in at this point in time.

In your situation, you're on a forum misrepresenting your experiences with a company that has been in business many, many years. While I am not pugnacious in nature like yourself I will set the record straight.

1: You purchased an engine offline that had a different address linked to your account/ payment/ shipping address.

2: You, instead of being rational and making the necessary corrections to your eBay account decided to scream, yell, whine and complain over the phone.

3: I am unsure of your knowledge of business however often, companies do have scheduling systems, customer order numbers and filing systems. These however are susceptible to failure when someones name on a payment is not associated with the name on the shipping address, the billing address or their account on the website. Most companies WILL NOT ship a product to any other address than the one on the account for many reasons.

Regardless, it is much easier to call RATIONALLY and discuss the aforementioned issues than to lose your temper, act malevolently and expect instant success. Sorry, but thats just irrational. I am sorry your order went that way however, Truth be told, all the acrimony you experienced was on accord of your own oversight.


P.S. The "maturity" you emit is a solid example of your nature.

T& L Engine development is full of lying hillbillies. It's been almost TWO YEARS since I paid in full for a 408 ci engine from them.
12 times I called and twelve times they lied to me. Each and every one of their employees, including Lloyd McCleary, comes up with endless BS excuses. I finally told Rob that I wouldn't trust those frauds to change my spark plugs. He told me that they didn't give refunds.
If you have similar experiances with T & L, e-mail me.
Federal suit coming. Breech of Contract, Fraud, Internet Fraud.

Update:
another 4 weeks gone without a sign of our flywheel.
Contacted the Stanfield Sheriffs-Office, they tell me they have no jurisdiction over T&L because they are beyond the citylimits.
Wrote to the Charlotte BBB Complaint department, they forwarded the complaint to T&L, answer expected until Nov. 20th...!
Their BBB-Rating is F anyway, so there is not much to loose.
Another contact was with an Charlotte lawyer, he indicated he will not get out of his rockingchair for 199$
Reached Rob on the phone, the second I ask about the flywheel he falls asleep and simply doesn`t speak a word.
Will keep you updated!

From Germany
Al

Well Im new to this forum and I have made a deposit to T & L in Sept.
Will just wait and see what happens , they have made contact with me by email and I have spoken to Rob.
Good luck with your issues.

I am sorry so many of you have had bad luck with T & L because I have had good luck.
I ordered my engine last year and it took 3 months to get. It took me 3 more months to install it because I was doing a lot of other modifications so it was 3 months early for me.
I also had them install a total control power steering pump with the March kit. They did a good job installing that also.
I have a complete 347 stroker installed in a 68 mustang fastback. I have about 3000 miles on it and I get on it all the time. It hauls ass. My son and I took it drag racing this summer and it ran high 7's in a 1/8 mile. That is low 12's in a 1/4 mile if you convert it.
Maybe they treated me better because I visited their shop 2 times before I got my engine. I live in Atlanta and go to Charlotte every so often. They gave me the tour and it looked like a good operation. Maybe they treated me well because they were afraid I knew where they lived and would come back and bug them.
Maybe it is because I got one of their ford engines that they had done a lot of. For what ever reason, I am satisfied for now.

Dave from Atlanta