I'm in Jax, FL and need some good short block 496 strokers. I want to go with a local builder in case there are issues down the road. Have talked to Anthony's Marine in St. Petersburg. Seems knowledgeable and reasonable. Does anybody have any experience, good or bad, with them?

Express engines in Deland is closer.

Not to mean the other is good or bad. Don't take it that way.

Thanks for the info. Gave them a call and will get some #s.

Mike Riley, MRE Power Products is in Greenville, FL ( just south of Valdosta at the GA/FL line). Besides me, Mike continues to build the long blocks for Keith Eickert. Perfection work, very reasonable price.

Thanks for the reference.

Check out my post, it is a long read." off shore cooling verses drive cooling"

What??

copy and paste this title in search and click "in titles only" to view my post.

have used many diff engine builders to say the least. ANTHONY IS THE BEST.. VERY RESONABLE AND HONEST, I BEEN BOATING FOR 50 YEARS .

I just did in May of 2018 as well as August 2018. Wasn't much on the web for him, and he's quite a trek from Dunedin but we went and I'm glad we did.

Engine Rebuild. Quite confident it would have cost much more at a conventional or corporate dealer.

Here's the review I just posted on the web (where I found and revisited this post) My review is an honest first-hand account, and I do not have anything to gain.

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First found Anthony a week after we bought a used boat. (18 foot Searay). First time out the engine blew up and we wanted someone trustworthy we could talk to because we were just learning about boats. Had gotten a price just for one of the other guys to come out and it was boy so steep.

Anthony and co rebuilt our entire engine. He gave us the price, he didn't haggle, it took a few weeks, and when we picked it up he even took the time to explain things to a beginner. Explained that if we had any issues to let him know and he guaranteed the engine for a year. We took it out and enjoyed it.

Then the worst happened...on the 7th trip out after rebuild it blew up again. Mind you, no indication at all of overheating. Called Anthony up and he said bring it in. I was very worried about the cause - he wasn't.

Sure enough I took it back and left it with him. He rebuilt it again. His mechanic was out of office so Anthony rebuilt it himself. On top of that he added the water separator I brought for free. And he didn't charge me a dime for rebuilding the engine - sticking by his word. That matters to me....a lot.

We're not sure what caused the issue the second time, but I'm a keepin' my eye on it, and we think there may have been water in the gas tank.

Either way, I can say that I trust Anthony and can tell he knows what he is talking about. He's old school.

Their shop is small (handful of guys), so things aren't turned over quickly - but you know that going in. But Anthony has a direct hands-on approach to everything that comes in and out of his shop.

Man of his word and knowledgeable......that's all I need in a boat mechanic.

Keith J Clark - Dunedin, FL.