Hughes Engines

[rnb69]

Anybody have experience with the folks at Hughes Engines? They have some pretty impressive claims on their website, but that pretty much applies to every shop/supplier. I haven't settled on a big inch, big hp crate engine from somebody, or building my own with the spare block I
keep in the garage. I have trolled their site & put together a small parts list that sounds good on paper in the event I buy from them. Any advice on other parts suppliers/builder is welcome. Thanks.

 

[ramenth]

Yup. Check with MRL engines to the right of the screen.

 

[sheetmetaldan]

I bought a pair of Indy X heads from them. I couldn`t order online for some reason I forget why, but they handled the transaction over the phone with no problem. Heads arrived pretty quickly and packaging was excellent. Plus I forgot bolts and they got those out to me pretty quick too. I would recommend them.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I have never had a good experience with Hughes , they are their own worst enemy , very difficult to deal with . I ordered a set of Rockers for Eddy Victor 440 heads with a unique offset, they promised me they would fit even though we had one of the first sets of victors released to the public , when they arrived they were nto even close to the right parts , we had to machine custom spacers & hold downs for the rocker shafts so they could be used , $100s of $$ later ......
I won't deal with them again , Mancini is good for parts as well as others for specific parts .

 

[ramenth]

Anybody have experience with the folks at Hughes Engines? They have some pretty impressive claims on their website, but that pretty much applies to every shop/supplier. I haven't settled on a big inch, big hp crate engine from somebody, or building my own with the spare block I
keep in the garage. I have trolled their site & put together a small parts list that sounds good on paper in the event I buy from them. Any advice on other parts suppliers/builder is welcome. Thanks.

I have never had a good experience with Hughes , they are their own worst enemy , very difficult to deal with . I ordered a set of Rockers for Eddy Victor 440 heads with a unique offset, they promised me they would fit even though we had one of the first sets of victors released to the public , when they arrived they were nto even close to the right parts , we had to machine custom spacers & hold downs for the rocker shafts so they could be used , $100s of $$ later ......
I won't deal with them again , Mancini is good for parts as well as others for specific parts .

And this seems to be all over the net. One person gets good customers service from them another gets bad.

It's the inconsistencies that make me rethink dealing with 'em.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Well I have actually dealt with Hughes 3-4 times & got bad service everytime , , my customer ordered the rocker arms & was told absolutly they would fit the heads , he even gave the head part # & was shipped rockers with the wrong offset & spacers etc . I gave up with them .

 

[sheetmetaldan]

Guess I got lucky! Probably hard to screw up ordering a complete set of heads ready to go and just bolt on.

 

[moper]

They have some good products - but the attitude can sometimes be in the way of a good feeling. Personally I haven't ever needed to use thier products. I bought a cam and lifters from them back around 1998. They are still new in the box. I didn;t care for the attitude on a follow up call so There they sit. I might use them someday.
In terms of "crate" engines - IMO - I have trust issues. I will only build my own from parts I get machined and I can check. Then it makes it all my fault if there's a problem. It ususally ends up a lot cheaper too.

 

[rnb69]

Thanks for the input everyone. I know one local guy that seems to like them. I did buy their adjustable roller rockers a few years ago. Seems to be a pretty good part. The valley pan they sold me is junk though. Thought it would dress things up. Nothing but a oil leak waiting to happen. Couldn't get it to seal at all. Now that the engine is apart, I emailed them with some questions. Been a week with no response. I like a lot of what I read on their web site though, which has me thinking about buying from them again. I have considered contacting a builder, tell them the HP/Torque I'm looking for & see what it'll cost me instead.

 

[moparleo]

If they were as bad as some people say, they probably wouldn't have stayed in business this long. Remember you are talking to a person on the phone. Everyone has a bad day here and there including everyone of us. Just call back later and see if things are any better this time. Just remember you are not buying personality. Some very intelligent people have a lousy attitude with people. Just the way it is.

 

[cudadanz]

Well I have actually dealt with Hughes 3-4 times & got bad service everytime , , my customer ordered the rocker arms & was told absolutly they would fit the heads , he even gave the head part # & was shipped rockers with the wrong offset & spacers etc . I gave up with them .

i wouldnt buy a spark plug from them

 

[72chally440]

I put Hughes 1.6 ratio offset rockers on my 440 with Eddy Victor heads. Very nice fit. Chryco Psycho commented on spacer issues. I think anyone considering the Eddy Victor heads should realize they are not plug and play heads. They will require work on the pushrod clearance and other areas to be used with our engines. The spacers provided with my rockers were exactly what I needed for my build. Chryco may have been the victim of an early production issue. I used a Pertronix dizzy on my build. The Eddy Victor heads required fairly extensive clearance work just to install the dizzy. That doesn't mean the dizzy was of poor quality. I believe the quality of the Hughes parts was of the highest standards. I did have a minor issue with one rocker being wrong when delivered. Hughes quickly delivered the correct replacement rocker and customer service was satisfactory.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I am glad your experience was better , we had 1 of the first sets of Victor head available , how many years ago now ??

 

[72chally440]

They are a few years old now, 2008 i think. Rockers were an issue with our heads with only a few companies making the offset rockers for them. It says something for the companies like Hughes who stepped up and developed rockers to work on these heads.

 

[70challengerdane]

^ +1!! i havent dealt with them at all but i agree about them stepping up. dorman makes all sorts of oddball products. some good some bad. i dont buy their intakes (i run the parts dept at the shop i work at) anymore because theyre made poorly and dont work. BUT the makes tons of GREAT stuff i love to buy because nobody else cares enough to make them. they make the bushings for our door hinges as well as coolant elbows and intake manifolds. cant say i wouldnt buy a spark plug from somone just because they havent perfected an oddball product. business relationship is a different story.

 

[ramenth]

^ +1!! i havent dealt with them at all but i agree about them stepping up. dorman makes all sorts of oddball products. some good some bad. i dont buy their intakes (i run the parts dept at the shop i work at) anymore because theyre made poorly and dont work. BUT the makes tons of GREAT stuff i love to buy because nobody else cares enough to make them. they make the bushings for our door hinges as well as coolant elbows and intake manifolds. cant say i wouldnt buy a spark plug from somone just because they havent perfected an oddball product. business relationship is a different story.

Dorman also has a habit of buying OE and reboxing. Just sayin'.

As far as Hughes, I don't know. I've never dealt with them. From some of the reads I'm getting on these boards, it seems to me they're bipolar when it comes to customer service. I guess it depends on when they've taken their meds.

 

[moper]

"I guess it depends on when they've taken their meds"

A very good way to put it...

Hughes does have a master of PR and promotion. That's why when you read their stuff, regardless of past experience, you think "Hmmmm... maybe it was an off-med day".