This is a warning to stay away from Blueprint engines. In summary, Blueprint Engines did not honor their labor commitment in their warranty. Blueprint engines did not communicate to me in a professional or timely manner; I had to reach out to them every time to get an update.
I purchased a Blueprint engines crate engine (BP35512CT1) from Summit racing in 2015 for my 86 coupe. I went with Blueprint because of the warranty and the horsepower ratings (402hp). I had a professional shop do the entire installation, and made sure that all the installation and break-in procedures were followed. Furthermore, all maintenance procedures have been followed.
When I got the car dynoed by a reputable/esteemed local race shop, the wheel horsepower was much lower than I expected, around 250whp. So a few months later, I got it tuned by another reputable/esteemed race shop, and same thing, wheel horsepower was around 240. I took it to another reputable/esteemed race shop a few months later for a dyno tune, and once again, wheel horsepower was around 240. I had always attributed it to the 700r4 and IRS stealing all the power. I had called Blueprint engines to ask about the lower than expected horsepower and was told that it was because of a “loose converter.”
The last two shops that tuned the engine had both pointed out that engine wasn’t running quite right. I always attributed the rough idling to the cam specs, because AFR, timing, etc. was always on point. The last shop ran a compression test, and cylinders #6 and #8 had 0 compression. That explained the missing 80 horsepower from what I was originally expecting.
I called Blueprint engines to file a warranty claim, explain the situation, and authorize work on the car. Blueprint engines authorized the shop to do the work, so the shop took off the heads and saw a blown head gasket between 6 and 8, as well as two little grooves between the combustion chambers of 6 and 8. The block was undamaged, and the pistons and spark plugs were all in good shape, with no signs of melting or damage. The only damage was in the aluminum head between combustion chambers of cylinders 6 and 8. I did some searching and found that Blueprint Engines uses China head castings. Three separate mechanical engineers, and two separate mechanics told me that the damage was due to either a casting error or improper torque sequencing.
When I spoke with Ken, the warranty rep, on the phone, he explained that Blueprint Engines would ship a new head and a shipping label to return the damaged head back to Blueprint Engines. Ken said that Blueprint Engines would perform an inspection on the head to see what caused the damage.
After waiting with no word from Blueprint Engines for 2 weeks, I called Blueprint Engines and was told that the cylinder head was being built. Blueprint engines sent a new cylinder head 3 weeks after the old head had been removed. That surprised me because they are readily available at Jegs, Summit, etc., so the inventory should have been large enough to ship quickly. The old head was returned to Blueprint Engines. I paid the local shop up front for the labor, and I must give them the highest accolades for their professionalism and service; they were always prompt and great at communicating. I got all of my updates through the local shop, not Blueprint Engines. The local shop called me every step of the way and updated me on their progress, but I had to reach out to Blueprint Engines for any updates at all.
After waiting 3 more weeks after the installation and no word from Blueprint Engines, I called Blueprint Engines for an update. The customer service rep told me that the head had not been inspected, and took a message to have Ken call me back. Ken called me back a few hours later, saying that the part had been inspected. Ken repeatedly called me by the wrong name “Dave”, accused me of negligence, stated that Blueprint Engines will not pay for the labor, and that he hopes that the car was tuned right this time. He directly insulted me by calling me the wrong name while reading my reference file, and also insulted my installation mechanic and all three respectable dyno tuners by saying that it was not tuned correctly in the past. All procedures outlined by Blueprint Engines were followed from the start by ASE certified technicians.
I am disgusted by Blueprint Engines’ quality and service. I purchased their engine because of the warranty and “value”, unfortunately having disregarded others’ previous bad experiences with Blueprint Engines that I had read. I was without my only car for 6 weeks and am left with a bill of almost $1000 because Blueprint Engines did not stand up to their word and did not do the right thing. After this ordeal with Blueprint Engines, I have spent the same amount of money to get a GM crate motor, which would not have had the quality issues that I experienced. Please learn from my ordeal and stay away from Blueprint Engines.
I purchased a Blueprint engines crate engine (BP35512CT1) from Summit racing in 2015 for my 86 coupe. I went with Blueprint because of the warranty and the horsepower ratings (402hp). I had a professional shop do the entire installation, and made sure that all the installation and break-in procedures were followed. Furthermore, all maintenance procedures have been followed.
When I got the car dynoed by a reputable/esteemed local race shop, the wheel horsepower was much lower than I expected, around 250whp. So a few months later, I got it tuned by another reputable/esteemed race shop, and same thing, wheel horsepower was around 240. I took it to another reputable/esteemed race shop a few months later for a dyno tune, and once again, wheel horsepower was around 240. I had always attributed it to the 700r4 and IRS stealing all the power. I had called Blueprint engines to ask about the lower than expected horsepower and was told that it was because of a “loose converter.”
The last two shops that tuned the engine had both pointed out that engine wasn’t running quite right. I always attributed the rough idling to the cam specs, because AFR, timing, etc. was always on point. The last shop ran a compression test, and cylinders #6 and #8 had 0 compression. That explained the missing 80 horsepower from what I was originally expecting.
I called Blueprint engines to file a warranty claim, explain the situation, and authorize work on the car. Blueprint engines authorized the shop to do the work, so the shop took off the heads and saw a blown head gasket between 6 and 8, as well as two little grooves between the combustion chambers of 6 and 8. The block was undamaged, and the pistons and spark plugs were all in good shape, with no signs of melting or damage. The only damage was in the aluminum head between combustion chambers of cylinders 6 and 8. I did some searching and found that Blueprint Engines uses China head castings. Three separate mechanical engineers, and two separate mechanics told me that the damage was due to either a casting error or improper torque sequencing.
When I spoke with Ken, the warranty rep, on the phone, he explained that Blueprint Engines would ship a new head and a shipping label to return the damaged head back to Blueprint Engines. Ken said that Blueprint Engines would perform an inspection on the head to see what caused the damage.
After waiting with no word from Blueprint Engines for 2 weeks, I called Blueprint Engines and was told that the cylinder head was being built. Blueprint engines sent a new cylinder head 3 weeks after the old head had been removed. That surprised me because they are readily available at Jegs, Summit, etc., so the inventory should have been large enough to ship quickly. The old head was returned to Blueprint Engines. I paid the local shop up front for the labor, and I must give them the highest accolades for their professionalism and service; they were always prompt and great at communicating. I got all of my updates through the local shop, not Blueprint Engines. The local shop called me every step of the way and updated me on their progress, but I had to reach out to Blueprint Engines for any updates at all.
After waiting 3 more weeks after the installation and no word from Blueprint Engines, I called Blueprint Engines for an update. The customer service rep told me that the head had not been inspected, and took a message to have Ken call me back. Ken called me back a few hours later, saying that the part had been inspected. Ken repeatedly called me by the wrong name “Dave”, accused me of negligence, stated that Blueprint Engines will not pay for the labor, and that he hopes that the car was tuned right this time. He directly insulted me by calling me the wrong name while reading my reference file, and also insulted my installation mechanic and all three respectable dyno tuners by saying that it was not tuned correctly in the past. All procedures outlined by Blueprint Engines were followed from the start by ASE certified technicians.
I am disgusted by Blueprint Engines’ quality and service. I purchased their engine because of the warranty and “value”, unfortunately having disregarded others’ previous bad experiences with Blueprint Engines that I had read. I was without my only car for 6 weeks and am left with a bill of almost $1000 because Blueprint Engines did not stand up to their word and did not do the right thing. After this ordeal with Blueprint Engines, I have spent the same amount of money to get a GM crate motor, which would not have had the quality issues that I experienced. Please learn from my ordeal and stay away from Blueprint Engines.
