Engine rebuild time

[SADLOTUS]

Time for an engine rebuild again, thinking about the QED 420, wondered if anyone out there had experience of this engine, supposed to be 140ish bhp and still ok for the road.

For a similar price I'm looking at Wilcox Engineering and Racing Fabrications.

All three seem to have good reputations.
I'd like to know about build quality, longivety, problems etc.

- Thanks

[Charlie Farley]

Ive heard stories about the bloke Kelveden Motors use.
Apparently, hes ex BRM.
He doesnt just put it together, its more like a work of dedication.
He may not be cheap, but the story goes, there is a collector of Loti in south west. Has many of the famous cars. Like Jim Clark's Cortina Mk 1 and the Train Robbers car. He used this bloke and was blown away.
Anyway, just thought id let you know.

[Foxie]

I had a QED 420 job done a few years ago. Pulls like a horse, even when you get 3rd instead of 1st on the Alpine hairpins !

Not cheap, but a great combination.

Sean Murray

[stuartgb100]

Just picked up this post.

FWIW, I've only just bought my '71 Sprint.

Previous owner had it fully rebuilt by Kelvedon Motors back in '89, and has only covered approx 5000 miles since then. I have the full rebuild from Kelvedon in computer print-out (20-odd pages long).

I spent half a day up there, talking to Pat Thomas. He still uses that ex- BRM guy to build his engines. He swears he spends 50-odd hours on a standard build ......... but still only charges his standard rate of 40 hours.

Now if only I can tease out of Pat, this guy's address/telephone number !!!

Okay, my engine is barely run-in. It may not be typical (but I suspect it is), but it doesn't leak, it's smooth, and it revs freely (in a willing kind of way)..... when you really rev a good twincam, it tells you it really wants to go!

Mine is at about Stage 1 Road tune - no more. However, an ex-BRM guy can obviously move things on much further. What about a no-obligation phonecall to Pat (Tel: 01775-725457). If not busy, he is always happy to offer advice etc.

BTW, this is not for profit. I have absolutely no connection with Kelvedon Motors, just a personal endorsement of what I've seen of them, and inherited from their work.

FWIW I deliberately paid over the odds for this private sale when I saw who had carried out the rebuild. I was absolutely fed-up with reading lists of what the vendor had done to their car, turning up and inspecting it, only to discover obvious "bodge" jobs (and the car is for sale at a premium?) ...... what am I going to discover later?

Nope, the old truism still holds true ............

"You get what you pay for"

It's clear what you're paying for it, but I've still never worked out what I've paid for ................ VBG !!!

Regards,

Stuart.