Poteet Engine Rebuilding

rc1

New Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Location
Waynesville, NC
Poteat's Engine Rebuilding. New guy here. Anyone know about these guys they are located in Kanapolis, NC. does anyone know anything about them. Good or bad. Was thinking of having an engine built there.
 
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Mediocre reviews online.

As with any rebuilding service you should be aware of critical details to tell you if they cut corners or not.

Did they use new expansion plugs? Can you see a brand new head gasket poking out? Pull the valve covers, has the head been clean at a shop? Are valve springs and stems new or very very clean? Are the push rods new? Its usually good to replace a cam on a rebuild, which means new push rods, new valves stems, new springs and rockers. Is there a new gasket on the valve cover? Can you see new rtv at the water neck, water pump, and timing chain cover?

Also on the receipt always ask for the actual man hours it took, and a parts breakdown of cost. Compare the parts cost to retail. They can not legally mark up without justifying a service. They can not hide these prices from you either. Compare the receipt to what you see on the engine. If it lists new springs or a "complete head rebuild" but the valve springs are obviously the old ones....

My .02 exp earned the hard way. Hope its helpful.
 
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Nice people when you are buying a motor, not so nice if you have an issue. Also, how do you envision a motor rebuilding shop? Clean and sanitary, a little scattered but looks good for a busy shop, or a complete mess with crap laying everywhere? (they are the latter). We bought a 5.7 Vortec that they had built and since none of our cores were any good it cost a lot extra but I knew that was possible going in. I had an issue down the road but well withing their warranty period and was told that we must have done something to the motor because anything that would have gone wrong would have done it right away.
You get what you pay for...
 
Poteats sucks. Dealt with em twice. My first AND last time years ago.
Two guys i use [and not the cheapest] are
Greg Carpenter Racing engines in Maiden.
Bob Lane Machine AKA Jungle Racing in Mt Holly.
 
Paul said:
Poteats sucks. Dealt with em twice. My first AND last time years ago.
Two guys i use [and not the cheapest] are
Greg Carpenter Racing engines in Maiden.
Bob Lane Machine AKA Jungle Racing in Mt Holly.
Click to expand...
X2. I've also used Harrington's in Taylorsville.
 
I kind of figured as much. I'm not looking to put a ton into an engine and stock with maybe a 4 bbl, mild cam, and dual exhaust would probably be my. I have thought about getting a short block from summit racing and put a cam and decent heads on it. Can't seem to find many machine shops around here and what few there are don't want to warranty their work. Most want more for the machine bill than some sell short blocks for.
 
^^^Generally plan on a minimum of $50/cylinder and $150/plane to deck the block and head(s). You need cam bearings, plan on another $300. $1000-1500 for block work is par for the course. Knowing that, makes it kinda scary to think where corners are being cut on a $1500-1800 short block. But that's why I'm never surprised when I see a box store or even a jasper block with mismatched heads and different sized bores.
 
I have gotten a few engines from them never had a issue still have there 22r in my buggy and i have cooked that motor a few times lol

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I've heard both sides, but a friend of mine had his 350 rebuilt. With too many friends helping him install it, & passing the beers around, No one put water in the radiator. So they ran it hot on first run. Soon after it developed a skip. He pulled it & took it back to Poteat. It had a overheat indicator on it which told the story. My friend honestly told what happened. Poteat determined 1 head gasket was blown, pulled the head & replaced it. No Charge. Been running perfect for 2 years now.
 
I don't know much about them, but thought about it with my 225 Buick. I am less than impressed with my choice of using Brinkley Auto in Lexington. So, I wouldn't go there either.
 
If you guys are looking for something semi-local, I used to use John Betts (Betts Racing Engines) out of Salisbury when I needed something done before LEB kicked off. Never had him do an entire engine for me though, primarily machine and head work. I was always pleased with the end product.
 
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