Well, I guess I'm more of a tinker and engine freak than a flyer. If my HP All-In-One printer scanner, fax, copier breaks at $100.00 I'll trash it and buy another for $100.00 to $200.00. Repair costs? maybe $100.00. My $400.00 Panasonic 5 year old TV. Repair at $200.00 or buy a new flat scren for an additional $300.00? I'll go $500.00 for a new flat screen. I purchase a brand of engine that is unlikely to require much repair if treated properly. It probably could be passed on to my grandchildren. Chrome bores are fine if done right but no one has convinced me that there is a real need for one. The only advantage is that they can be produced at a lower unit manufscturing cost = disposable. I agree with you. As a supreme tinker I want an engine that I can respect in terms of its quality and design from a manufacturer that take prides in their product and not their bottm line. I do not want to join the ranks of the buy it, fly it, discard it crowd. The impatient generation that will not expend the effort to run two gallons of fuel through a new engine and cycle it through many heating/cooling cycles is not my generation. Not a thing wrong with that philosophy it's just one that I don't care to ascribe to. I just love sound engineering and respect quality. Chevrolet came out with a revolutionary four cylinder engine in their Vega. The block was cast of high silicone content aluminum with the pistons running directly in the same material that the block was cast from. It was a beautiful little engine - until it overheated and the cylinders distorted from round to oval. The engine was extensively "hot rodded" after pressing in steel cylinder liners. Low unit manufacturing costs to be sure - and a diposable engine block. I would rather have a 252c.i. Offenhauser that, naturally asperated, would produce nearly two horsepower per cubic inch at 6,600 R.P.M. - all freakin' day! 1,000 vega engines or one Offy. You know I would take the Offy, build a red oak display stand for it and keep it in my living room.
DO NOT get me going about chrome crankshaft journals.
Regards,
Bill
