Originally Posted by Gary Lewis

There are "good" rebuilders and "bad" rebuilders. One outfit actually builds the majority of Ford's replacement engines. I spoke w/the Tulsa area sales rep for them in my quest for finding a replacement for my 351W. He had run a machine shop for decades in Tulsa and knew the various rebuilders. When I told him of my .080" over engine he named the shop that had done it, and that matched the receipt I found in the truck.

According to him there are the big national names, which are reputable, and there are the local outfits which may or may not be. If Advance buys from a national company the engines are probably decent. If they buy locally it gets down to the luck of the draw, and many of the rebuilders doing that work cut every corner known, like bore beyond accepted limits.

But, again, at $200 you really can't go too far wrong, and if you can do some testing prior to plunking down the cash you can tip the odds significantly in your favor.