blocks and cranks extinct?

February 14, 2018, 02:14 PM

jenavet

I thought it was the opposite!! last year I ordered an aluminum block in November and in febuary they said I wouldn't have it till end of april possibly may!!
this year its looking like 4 months,different manufacturer.
I heard crankshafts are even worse....
I just figured if you made cranks,heads and blocks you just punch em out in a couple weeks..guess I'm very wrong

February 14, 2018, 03:40 PM

Jeff Jewell

I've been waiting almost 4 months for a standard BBC crank that was "on the shelf" and just needed final machining from a reputable crank manufacturer. Can't image what the wait is for something custom.

February 14, 2018, 03:58 PM

jenavet

my engine builder told me if you had the money to start up a crankshaft company you could be stacking profit right now,thats how bad the serice and production time is right now

February 14, 2018, 08:33 PM

Cashflow

I read on YB that Bullet Cams is now in the crankshaft business. Supposedly hired someone from Lunati cranks. You might check with them.

February 14, 2018, 08:35 PM

Big Steve

Took 2 months for Brodix aluminum block I orderd beginning of Dec. Callies magnum crank was on the shelf. 4 weeks for custom pistons from Diamond, 3 weeks for MGP aluminum rods. Not all that bad IMO

February 14, 2018, 09:33 PM

"The Bender"

Same here Steve. Custom MGP rods in less than a month, Bryant crank in 3 weeks, Jesel rockers about 6 weeks. Not too bad.

272" Spitzer
540 Chevy
The Blower Shop XR1
FTI XPM Series Converter
FTI Level 6 Powerglide
3.69@199
.916 60'

2017 Bradenton Heads Up Madness
Open Outlaw Champ

2018 PDRA T/D #5
2019 PDRA T/D #2

2020 Retired From T/D Competition....

2020 Bradenton NMCA Hemi Shootout Winner

2021 getting back into bracket racing with a Gen3 Hemi powered 87 Cutlass.

February 15, 2018, 01:18 PM

BD104X

quote:
Originally posted by jenavet:
my engine builder told me if you had the money to start up a crankshaft company you could be stacking profit right now,thats how bad the serice and production time is right now

Unfortunately I don't think the long lead times are from high demand but more as others have said - the current weak demand doesn't justify keeping a lot of inventory. Not to mention that one racer waiting for one crank or rocker set is going to fall way down on the priority list behind the large engine builders & mail order houses who buy by the pallet. Production costs go way down when stuff is done in large runs, so you'll get your part when they happen to be doing a batch of that same stroke / offset / color / etc.

February 15, 2018, 04:38 PM

Big Steve

T&D rockers seems to be hard to get right now. Even for Reher Morrison, mine and many others have need on order for 6 weeks now

February 16, 2018, 07:45 AM

jenavet

obviously it depends on what company you are ordering from and what part.

February 16, 2018, 08:24 AM

CURTIS REED

If you keep too much inventory you are just giving money away to the government. From someone who runs a manufacturing facility I can tell you that orders will ramp up faster than you can get materials and employees in the door to meet demand.

You first have to determine if sales are going to stay up or if it is just a blip upward. Then when you see it is going to stay a while you have to increase material orders which take a while because supplier's stock is down. Then you have to have someone to machine the extra parts you are getting orders for. All of this is exacerbated by the fact that everyone else you compete with or have similar processes as, is doing the same thing.

Rarely is something as simple as it seems on the outside.

Curtis

February 16, 2018, 09:27 AM

SCDIV1

I would be thinking the raw materials needed are a big part of why this is so.

Steel, aluminum......billets, bar stock you name it.....It ain't made here like it once was....

February 16, 2018, 09:49 AM

CURTIS REED

quote:
Originally posted by SCDIV1:
I would be thinking the raw materials needed are a big part of why this is so.

Steel, aluminum......billets, bar stock you name it.....It ain't made here like it once was....

Yep, specify the country of melt as the US and your choices go way down.

February 16, 2018, 10:15 AM

jenavet

here is the bigger problem....lets say I want a block.i call the manufacturer and they tell me two weeks.i really need it in 3 weeks but that's perfect.they ask for 6500.00 to get the block done....money sent.
now two weeks later,nothing,three weeks later nothing.so you call and leave messages.no one calls back...you text,email and message...no one returns anything.
now your 4 weeks into this...they have your money...you finally get a call!! they say we are starting your block in a few weeks...

so bam here we go. they lied.they lied to get your money and then make you sit and wait months to get what they said was on the shelf or would be ready in two weeks.
if they told me up front.we aren't running production on that block for 2 months or we cant give you an exact date...that's different.
but they don't do that.they lie just to get up front funds and I'm dealing with 6 companies right now for different parts that are doing the same thing.
so the bigger problem is their method of doing business which equals decit

February 16, 2018, 10:29 AM

Roger McGinnis

Once upon a time, inventory on the self was money in the bank. Not so anymore with the low profit margins and taxes on inventory. We've turned our industries to a 30 day supply holder.

February 16, 2018, 10:41 AM

BD104X

quote:
Originally posted by jenavet:
here is the bigger problem....lets say I want a block.i call the manufacturer and they tell me two weeks.i really need it in 3 weeks but that's perfect.they ask for 6500.00 to get the block done....money sent.
now two weeks later,nothing,three weeks later nothing.so you call and leave messages.no one calls back...you text,email and message...no one returns anything.
now your 4 weeks into this...they have your money...you finally get a call!! they say we are starting your block in a few weeks...

so bam here we go. they lied.they lied to get your money and then make you sit and wait months to get what they said was on the shelf or would be ready in two weeks.
if they told me up front.we aren't running production on that block for 2 months or we cant give you an exact date...that's different.
but they don't do that.they lie just to get up front funds and I'm dealing with 6 companies right now for different parts that are doing the same thing.
so the bigger problem is their method of doing business which equals decit

The lack of competition as motorsports vendors go under or get bought out by bigger companies doesn't help this either as it allows a company to get away with methods that benefit them more than the customer. You can bet they would be forced to invest more capital in inventory if they had a competitor with product that was equal in price and quality who had product available on the shelf. I always laugh at the M/T vs. Hoosier debate - I don't care whose tire you prefer, but you can thank the other company for keeping them competitive in price & customer service which benefits the racer!

February 16, 2018, 01:05 PM

FootbrakeJim

^^^^ Right On, Billy!!
I remember when Hoosier tried to make a go of it in the NASCAR arena, and bucked-up to get some of the top drivers' teams to run their tires. In the end it failed, (probably because we all know $$ talks, and the sanctioning body is a cash w h o r e), but later on a GY engineer admitted the competition was beneficial, it put the fire back into their efforts to improve the product.

February 19, 2018, 08:35 PM

Goob

Been waiting since July 2017 for an MSD distributor shaft.

February 19, 2018, 11:34 PM

T/D6591

quote:
Originally posted by Big Steve:
T&D rockers seems to be hard to get right now. Even for Reher Morrison, mine and many others have need on order for 6 weeks now

My buddies were there for almost 6 weeks without being touched. He had to have them send them back to make Pomona without them even doing anything to them.