I hear a lot of people at car shows and the drag strip claiming that their engine is "blueprinted".
    The term is very commonly thrown around when a car or engine is up for sale. Very few    
    engines are actually blueprinted. It is a very time consuming process and often ends up in parts being  
    shipped back to the manufacturer because they do not meet specification. If someone is trying to sell
    an engine, new or used, and they do not have the measurements, it probably was not blueprinted.
    Crate engines are not blueprinted. The large assembly houses that win the bid to build them simply do
    not have the time to take measurements and optimize clearances and engine geometry.               

          We specialize in complete blueprinted / optimized engines and complete blueprinted / optimized    
    reciprocating assemblies. Blueprinting as it applies to engines can be a tricky and misunderstood term.  
    As you probably know, blueprinting is actually an architectural term. A blueprint is a building plan or     
    specification to guide construction through to the desired result. The days of just bolting together   
    an old Mopar V-8 with production parts and bearings and having everything measure up        
    according to the service manual specs are long gone. Today parts are made in factories all   
    over the world. Tolerance stack-up is common. Some parts don't work well with others, some
    parts don't work well at all! Optimizing engine clearances and geometry to meet a specific       
    standard is extremely important. Nothing can be trusted to the manufacturer.        

         Most engine shops honestly believe they are "blueprinting" an engine by simply measuring the rod
    and main bearing journals and going above and beyond by measuring the piston to wall clearances.     
    Measurements are sometimes trusted to a machine shop or just eyeballed.

         Whether we are building a $35000.00 race Hemi or a $3500.00 street small block we have an           
    acceptable range for all clearances depending on the desired engine application. Obviously an             
    endurance racing engine will have different clearances than a street or strip engine. The engine
    must fit the blueprint. The engine and internal components either fit our rigid standards, or they
    are machined to specification...(for instance we may polish a crank to increase bearing clearance
    very slightly or use staggered bearing or oversize sizes to gain correct clearance. Today, especially
    with aftermarket cranks, you cannot simply install the crank and bearings out of the box.
    Bearings MUST be select fit.
                  
         You will receive a blueprint from us with each engine or reciprocating assembly
    purchased. If a shop really is taking the measurements, like many of them claim, you should
    always get the blueprints when the work is completed. Insist on it.

        When we build an engine, we document everything. All part numbers, clearances, volumes,              
    compression ratio...the list goes on. Even stock valve train geometry is ALWAYS optimized. We do
    not build "crate" or "batch" engines built to ballpark specs. All of our engines are custom built and
    will last longer and make more power as a result.      


                              
Blueprinting