I am going to be getting a 13B 6-Port Street Ported engine soon, and want to get some advice on who to go with.

Hayes charges $1700 for a rebuilt 13B 6-Port, while Atkins charged $1650.

Both are based on core exchange, and both charge $300 extra for the street port job.

Atkins gives you a gasket set for when you re-attach your parts (intake, exhaust, water pump etc...) to the engine block. Hayes didn't mention this so I assume they don't give you this free bonus. Atkins says this is a $75 value.

The price difference is small, so the most important thing to me is customer service, quality of work, etc. Who is better to deal with, and who deserves my business more???

Thanks,

-Derek
84 GSL-SE
Building This Setup:
Street Ported 13B 6-Port
Racing Beat Holly 600 Intake Kit
Racing Beat Street Port Exhaust System

 

Well, I have heard nothing but bad things about Hayes. Go with atkins without a doubt.

Or if your willing to make the drive, take it to pineapple racing in portland. Rob (the owner) is one of the best rotary engine builders in the country. I've never heard a complaint about their porting and rebuilds. They do charge a little more, but its worth it.

One of the main differences between atkins and pineapple, is that pineapple ALLWAYS uses new rotor housings, where as atkins does not.

 

Do a search on this site for each. You'll find all you need to know and then some. A couple weeks ago there was a thread over in the rotary performance section about Hayes. In short, some guy got shafted hard by them.
The is a recient thread in the 3rd gen section about Pineapple's quality slipping. General census of this forum is that pinapple is your best bet. Plus, it's not too far from ya. Another good option would be KDR if you are willing to ship your engine cross country.

 

Please do go with Atkins....I bought my engine and Supercharger from them......have had no problems....

The crew at Atkins are awesome....

Heres my car+ engine
http://photos.yahoo.com/codeblue98003

 

ooops have to update my yahoo....check laters if ya want...

CB2

 

I'm hailing from Canada, Ontario to be exact. I was wondering if anyone heard any good things about places around here... Any word on CP doing rebuilds? That would be perfect... They ARE 5 hours away, but it would be worth it, and I'd get the R&P at the same time. Hell, it'd probably be easier for them to do with the engine out

But yeah, I know Ottawa (where I am) has no good rotary places, but Toronto supposedly has 3... CP and two others ?

But yeah, anything Canadian... Toronto or Montreal would be the best 'cause they're close and I can just drive the car there instead of pulling the engine and shipping it. I'd love to hear some feedback. Aiming for a 12a 4port rebuild and mild street port some time in the next year or so.

Jon

 

I would go to Pineapple Racng in Portland.

 

I will personally drive your engine to Portland to Pineapple just to keep you the **** away from Hayes. That place is the biggest crock of **** EVER!

Im serious man, you dont wanna take your engine there, swing by my house, Ill take it there for you, lol. I have family there a few minutes from the shop I can stay with while they build it, and then Ill come home with your engine, lol.

~T.J.

PS - Read this...

http://www.nopistons.com/forums/inde...howtopic=21350

 

Lesser of two evils, huh TJ?

I read all three pages, and aparently Pineapple doesn't have a spotless record either....

But it *is* better than Haynes...

All of this makes me wonder how long Eric's engine (rebuilt at the local Rx7Heaven by the Drunken Monkeys), will hold up... And what they did to it...

**** man, I want my engine rebuilt and ported next year, but ****... I want it done right.

Again... anybody have info on the Rotary shops around Toronto?

Jon

 

NO rotary engine builder has a spotless record, at least that I'm aware of. Rob is great, but he has hired some boneheads in the past.

 

Yeah, well I would still go with Rob over just about anyone else if I were to have an engine built.

BUT, to get the "best", you might as well just do it yourself IMO.

~T.J.

 

ATKINS without a doubt. wan't to talk customer service? when i got my first engine, it was done when they said, and how i wanted. saw some interesting things too, like an airplane with a rotary. you gotta have a good built engine to trust your life in the air.anyways, to make a long story short, wal-fart put 1 qt. oil in on my first oil change. atkins(kathy) even called and talked to them for me. they gave me any support i needed, inspected the engine, wrote a statement explaining what was wrong,even gave me alot of insites on how to talk in court. they were great. i'm a picky bastard, but i have no complaints. then when all was over and i got my engine back, they built it ahead of all others so i can drive. hooked me up with oil injection for my holley( too cheap to buy RB), and a few other things.besides that, i talked to a few places from cali to wa before i got my first one built, ATKINS sounded like they knew the most about rotary's. give them a call and talk to them to see for yourself. tell them the bumble bee guy said so.



late

 

TJ,

If I had the tools, the knowledge and the workspace, you're damn right I would.

Hell, if I knew someone in the area who did rotary rebuilds at home in his garage, I'd probably *pay* him to do one together and teach me... Grrr... stupid lack of Rotorheads in this area...

But yeah, boneheads doing a botch job I can understand... if the seals are out of an FC instead of the ones you wanted, that's a n00b working... but if the rotor that was put back in is worse than the rotor taken out at the beginning of the build (ie: Haynes) THAT isn't a n00b, that's a con artist.

Jon

 

I spent six grand on a ceramic 12a J-bridge with new rotors and all new housings + all the oil mods from Rob @ Pinapple. True quality craftsmanship. The ports are a work of art, every single one. Some nice little extras on the motor too. Excellent phone support.

Delivery time was several months late, that's the only complaint I had. But that's to be expected ordering my motor smack dab in the middle of racing season!

It's a small shop that is growing and it's difficult to find and mentor quality people in the rotary engine line of work to help out. But it was THE best price I found, not to mention great quality.

 

There is nothing wrong with doing it at home....but some stuff the average builder just won't know about. Kinda like setting up bearing clearences for nitrous, or seting up the oiling system for a bridge/peripheral motor. Or doing things to the rotor housings to keep little cracks appearing around the trailing spark plug hole. (Usually full race motors.)

Anyone can rebuild/port a motor....but alot of times its teh details that make a motor either a "shinner" or just a average ported engine. I'm %100 positive, that without the detail work that was done to my engine it would'nt have made the power it does.

Like I said before, don't expect the results of a big $$ engine at 1/4 of the price. My .02, CJ

 

VERY well put!

 

Call A-spec and tell them Todd sent you. 416 246-9949. They specialize in all gen RX-7s.

 

Ohh yeah, I'm running a Pineapple engine in my FC, and soon to be in my FD. CJ

 

I'd go with Mazdatrix.