427 SBF Keith Craft Racing Engine Crate Engine Question

[BryanL]

I have a client looking to buy a Backdraft Racing Cobra Replica and have James Yale from Radical Roadsters of Texas install a Keith Craft crate motor. He asked me if I knew anything about Keith Craft of Radical Roadsters. Do any of you have much knowledge about eithers reputation? Below is the information about the motor.


427 SBF Street/Performance Crate Engine - $11,495.00
Horsepower: 580 hp
Torque: 565 ft/lbs
Block: Fully Machined and Prepped Dart Sportsman Block
Crankshaft: Scat or Eagle 4340 Steel Crankshaft
Stroke: 4.000”
Connecting Rods: Scat or Eagle H-Beam 6.250"
Pistons: Mahle
Timing Chain: Ford Motorsport Double Roller
Camshaft: Comp Cams Custom Grind Hyd Roller
Lifters: Ford Motorsport Hyd Roller
Cylinder Heads: CNC AFR 205
Valves: SI One Piece Stainless 2.08/1.6
Rocker Arms: Scorpion 1.6 Roller
Intake: Edelbrock Victor Jr
Waterpump: Edelbrock Aluminum
Carburetor: Quick Fuel 780cfm
Valve Covers: Keith Craft Logo w/Breathers and PCV Valve
Wire Looms: Smoothie
Oil Pump: Melling High Volume
Oil Pan: Moroso or Canton
Balancer: Professional Products
Ignition: MSD Distributor w/Keith Craft Logo Moroso Plug Wires
Gaskets: Felpro
Fasteners: ARP
Compression: 10.5:1
Fuel: Premium Unleaded Only
Firing Order: 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8
Timing: 35 Degrees @ Full Advance
Oil: 10w-30 or 40 Non-Synthetic for Break-In
Max RPM: 6250
Dyno: Complete Test and Tune on SF902 Dyno
Price: $11,495.00

Exact dyno numbers will be determined by camshaft selection...

[marshall_mosty]

I'm pretty sure Wayne Manor and John George trashed several Keith Craft engines back in 2003-2005 timeframe. Quality "may" have improved since then, but $11K is a bunch of money to spend on an "if".

Wayne Calvert Precision Engines here in Denton has a great reputation in the racing community. They have done my block/crank prep on the AI car. They have an engine dyno as well, so the engine can be broken-in prior to delivery.

http://www.waynecalvertengines.com/

[MikeP99Z]

I remember John telling me that his KC engine was a pos - basically lasted 1 race weekend and he had to pull it.

[mitchntx]

I'm pretty sure Wayne Manor and John George trashed several Keith Craft engines back in 2003-2005 timeframe. Quality "may" have improved since then, but $11K is a bunch of money to spend on an "if".

Wayne Calvert Precision Engines here in Denton has a great reputation in the racing community. They have done my block/crank prep on the AI car. They have an engine dyno as well, so the engine can be broken-in prior to delivery.

http://www.waynecalvertengines.com/

x2

[Hood]

I actually went to high school with Keith back in the day... he was an excellent Super Stock Mustang drag racer in the 80's with Jim Kuntz building the engines. He had a good reputation for a while back in the Fox Mustang days but as of recent, his quality is questionable. Incidents like the ones you mention are way too common with his products. One of the pitfalls of trying to grow too big too fast is allowing the QC portion of the business to fall behind. Having said that, I agree that $11+K for this engine is pretty steep along with the history of failures for these 'crate' engines. I highly recommend HKRacing Engines here in Houston or even the guy that Marshall mentioned before I'd buy a KC product. Erik at HKRacingEngines.com will taylor your build spec based on what you plan to use the car for. You give him your goals for horsepower, driveability, operating rpm range, etc. and he'll spec the heads, cam, intake, headers, etc. to achieve that goal...kind of an anti-crate motor. Prices are very reasonable as well. A stroker 351 (427) can easily make 550-600hp on pump gas given the right combination of parts.

[Boudy]

I was the Backdraft Racing dealer for Texas for a couple of years some time ago and James took over the region when I got out. I've heard from many of my old customers that James is a straight shooter and good guy to deal with.

As a dealer I purchased about 6 engines from Keith Craft. 4 of them were basic .30 over 302's.

1 of 4 grenaded the top end bending valves and pushrods into pretzels. Most likely over rev'd by the customer missing a shift but I was concerned at the level of damage from a missed shift. Engine was repaired by the Keith Craft Plano, Tx shop but at a cost to me/my customer.

2 of 4 had over heating issues. I don't recall the exact remedy but it included a larger than our normal radiator with larger than our normal fans and a few other things I don't recall. Not sure what the true problem was but it was the only time one of my BDR's cooling system could not keep up with a motor.

3 of 4 was cammed heavy and shipped out the door never to be heard from again.

4 of 4... Can't remember where this motor ended up. I think we dumped it during liquidation and shutting down the showroom.

I also had a customer who purchased a car from me and an engine/installation package from the Plano shop. It was an aluminum 427 based on a Windsor. It came in at about 650 HP and $21K but a TKO and installation was included along with misc. coolers and other sundries. Customer was very happy with his experience at K.C. and his motor is still a beast 5 years later. In fact, he regrets the HP level because the car weighs 2300 lbs and must be very, very carefully driven at all times. FWIW: This customer is a self employed auto mechanic who doesn't have a cash tree. He knew what he was getting and comfortable with what he paid for.

Another customer blew his Kenny Bell blown 347 and had KC build/install a new long block. The new engine ran great and survived many track days of abuse pushing Hoosiers. The only issue was some minor over heating which I don't remember the remedy and the engine would lunge at idle. Don't know if they ever figured it out of fixed it.

Many other customers used them for installation services, Rob in Plano specifically, and were very happy. He was part owner then and I have heard that he's full owner now. Very good work that you can count on but can also count on paying for. I don't actually know anything about James' skills or background to speak for the quality of his installations.

Check over on ClubCobra.com. There is Texas club section who can guild you to the right decision. They have no less than 100 KC motors past and present in their cars. In fact, I think I remember some threads on KC's motors where others were asking the same thing. Try searching there, I bet you'll find hours of reading.

Finally, an $11,500 engine could easily top $18K+ installed with tranny and misc. The value will actually be determined on the installation package that James' is willing to offer. Remember, he's making his nut on the BDR chassis and a little on the KC engine... So what's he willing to do on the tranny, labor, and other misc parts needed to finish the car? As most dealers do, I imagine that James offers a certain number of packages for completing the car. Don't be afraid to shop his engine/installation packages around. Basic 302/T5 packages installed start at around $10K from shops you can count on. Most 600 HP/TKO packages are going to push $18K installed. Also, these are going to be carb'd engines in this price range. For driveability/reliability, I would recommend staying under 550 HP with fuel injection and supercharged. Some think it's taboo but it makes for a much more enjoyable Cobra while keeping the package reasonable compared to the monster engines that are awesome for Friday bragging but horrible for Sunday driving.

Boudy

[BryanL]

Thanks for all the info on KC. I will pass it on.

Boudy-really appreciate that great writeup and had no idea about your background with Cobra's.