Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Just wanted to thank and say a few words about Don Ott engines. For those that are looking for a good built motor and a company that knows how to treat there customers Don and every body at Don Ott to me is number one, they way they treat there customers is to me how a company should be, every time i have called Don he always make time weather he is in the dino room or up to eyes in phone calls he always makes time and treats people with respect, they also are one of few that also cares and gives back to sprint car racing. Thank You Don and Leann and Ott Racing Engines for being the best and for being good people.

its hard to make everyone happy the people i know that had run his motors done well. hope the best for them in 2009

Met him once. Not even knowing me, he fully volunteered info on everything that I asked of him.

Huh, this is funney, I purchased a Ott motor that was origonally built buy him in 99, some of the rotating assembly was sold off the mill,since the dissassembly, So, I had a few questions about purchasing the correct equipment (brand and dimension) , The help was almost unaproachable Via phone call? , He was too buisy and i got the feeling the the secretary practically covered her mouth when wispering the brands used for the rods back then? , I was confused? , to make a long story short , I had the mill freshened/built buy someone else, no doubt about it ,Ott builds a nice piece ,I just got the feeling the blue collar racer maybe isnt his target customer?

Wrong, when you buy a Don Ott motor its not just a build sheet-list of parts.His motors are hand built,balanced and blueprinted High performance pieces,assembled and clearanced by proffesionals.When you personally dissassemble and rebuild his motor-it's not a Don Ott motor any more,Take his valve covers and hang them on the wall its now your motor...if it fails he would'nt be responsible.A freind of mine bought a used Don Ott 360,when we called he was more than willing to explain when he last touched that engine-what he replaced-how many rebuilds since new-correct valve lash,timing,barrel valve settings,,,any information from the build sheet/records ..but he could'nt tell use how many thousands he removed to deck the block or any other blue printing info..anyone rebuilder [including him ]would have to recheck all clearances based apon the parts they replaced on rebuild...thats why you pay a pro-for the knowledge and skills he possesses.....we're about as blue collar as it gets .so thank you for your time Mr.Ott...

We acquired a used Don Ott engine through a sprint car purchase in 2006. Being relatively new in sprint car racing at that time, we had done enough research to know of the fine reputation Don Ott had as an engine builder. However, we too called to get some information on our new piece and found him to be too busy to return our calls. The good part of the deal is we couldn't be more happy with our guy.

race88, you said it all.

So, the phone conversation (or lack thereoff) was a figment of my imagination? let me get this strait? , I never said Ott didnt build a nice piece, In my instance, I was contacting him on a possibile rebuild and possibly a "new " customer , My questions were lagit and I was inquireing about my new purchase, (frankly, I was excited about the Ott motor I had just purchased ) Im interested in the dimentions of the motor so when I (personally) honk the pedal I know what makes this thing go, and possibly ill know what I like or dislike about the mill? ,I was simplly looking for a good relationship with a modern builder, I sent the mill off to a very repuitable builder that freshened the old (OTT) to "our" likeing , to make a long story short, the sickers came off the valve covers and pan, and quickley replaced before shipping .

#1 I dont have the resources to try different engine combinations at my disposal ,#2 I wear a collar it happens to be blue, #3 Opinions are like assholes, eveyone has one . this happens to be, JMO

You stated the motor was built by Ott in 1999,perhaps Don hadn't touched it since new...Unlike you ,some people will redo a motor and still claim it's a Shaver or Ott or whatever to increase the resale value..if you took the motor to him I'm confident he would have satisfied you ...but you used your own builder and are happy with him....I'm sure if you had a piston,and measured the bore your builder could tell you in a heartbeat the stroke needed.rod length ,ect or vise versa....I just felt it was unfair to 'rag on builder just because he wouldn't discuss advanced motor building with a stranger who possibly purchased a used motor he may have built 8 or 9 years ago and not seen since...now if he ripped you off by stealing your deposit ect. I'd listen and probly be on your side...I never questioned the facts as you stated them....but it 's kinda like calling your doctor ,telling him it hurts when you raise your arm..the best he'll tell you is 'don't raise your arm and make an appointment'...take your motor to Don and he'll tell what you need..can't build a motor over the phone..your opinion is worthwhile,I hope you appreciate and at least consider mine..hope you have a successful season....

Once again, well said, race88. Just so you all know, I'm on the northern side of your border. He was more than happy to give me info, on his product. Why? He knows me. I've bought from him. So what do you all expect, if you haven't bought from him. P.S. there are a "few" 410's on this side of the border and they're not hooked up to snowmobiles, either.........lol.....

88 your point is valid, agreed, this post was a pat on the back for OTT , I was just a little disturbed by my phone call and was a serious customer, The builder of my mill had already inspected the pieces, (as, I had also, I can read a micrometer)the stroke(crank) and rod lengths,piston dimestions (at the time) , was still in debate, I was learning what was going to be best for the tracks I was going to run, I could go into detail , if you know anything about OTT's stuff at this particualar time it was Odd and maybe not up to todays reasearch and or combinations ? ( I didnt want a "one off "slug) Im a nosey person that has to learn from people willing to lend me thier time, (Mac, also shared , vocal cords loosen up with dough , understood) "dance whith the one that brought you" right? I was inbetween who to send the unit off to, the assembly(magority of it ) was in my direct possession, So, should I send it back to the original builder ? when I contacted OTT I explained who it had belonged too since its birth, I also asked of any tags,#'s,anything I could provide off the mill for referance , freshening ect ? the respoce, once again, was a shrug of the shoulders IMO, not too interested in my buisness? ,Im sure Ott has many pleased customers, his pieces are buy far "Top Line" , Id be a idiot not to think that of the repuatable builder Don Ott ,

Ive heard the good and the bad of several builders, one happens to be the builder of my choice , Ive listened closely, and wieghted out the better of facts, I chose a builder who treated me as I wish to be treated, theres two sides of a story,no harm, I was just sharing mine, right back atcha, good luck in 09!

Let me understand this, you had or have a motor that started off as a ott motor a few years ago, ( sounds like more than a few ) other people have taken this motor apart including yourself ( because as you say your nosey and you call it your builders mill ) not otts mill and you dont understand why! Let me give you some advice, if you ever buy a name brand motor and you want to keep the value in the motor DONT TAKE IT APART OR HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE IT APART!!!! If you were a cook and had the best dish in town would you tell everybody wants in it, you call him and you dont even have all the parts he probably knows the rock out side his shop better than you you are asking him teck questions and he doesnt even have the motor and probably knows hes not going to ever see the motor and you wonder why!!!! lmao

Are you people kidding me? Let me get this straight, if you purchase a motor you think it is out of line to call the builder and ask what's in it? Get real. If the motor builder doesn't know where the motor's been then all he has to do is say "Hey, it's been a while since it was here so be careful, it may have been rebuilt by someone else, but this is what it had in it when it was last done..." The builder should then take the opportunity to tell the new owner why they should bring it back.. not blow them off. That should be expected!! If the builder feels this is too much to ask for, that is just plain piss poor service and I would NEVER do business there. I understand that nobody is going to be giving out cam profiles, but basic engine info is NOT too much to ask for.

.

First off I think dirtdevil did the right thing....he seems like a hands on kind of guy and working with a local builder he has confidence in was best for all.Builders like Mr. OTT build really hi performance motors and the way maintain reliability is by maintaining those 'Bullets' by inspecting them regularly and track the life cycles of the components,getting parts out before they fail.Their reputation is based on that.It's easy [relatively] to build a 13 to1 630 hp 360 motor...but to get in the mid 700hp like ott can ,and have it not fail between rebuilds is tough..thats why most builders tell potential customers to send their motors in for inspection,they'll check it out ,advise whats necessary and rebuild with some level of confidence...if you tell someone what pistons you put in 8/9 years ago and someone along the way shaved .020 thousands off the head -replaced the original pistons guess what ..you may bend every valve in the motor ...Just one example...if original build info is so important..don't buy a used brandname motor with out the Build sheet/dyno print out....from a biz standpoint giving advice on the phone can quickly turn into 10 or 20 conversations...I know it sounds cold but you sometimes need to play only with those who pay to stay in biz.....as far as dirtdevil goes .I appreciate that he took the time to respectfully disagree with me an explain his side,I see his point and like I said if he didn't feel good with Don ,he made the correct decision and now he's ready for a great season of racing

KS , Ill try not be a jerk, there is alot of specifics not discussed ,I didnt disassembel the mill personally, I bought it used and inbetween freshening (possibly) I will not go into more dimension detail ,(I can if you wish) the previous owner took it to another Builder and dropped it off for a "quick" freshening (before nationals, like the monday of ,huh, ya right?) the builder did not have the time nor the correct pieces to complete the mill as requested by the owner, the owner left the mill and continued his week at the nats, thus the teardown and undetermined future of the motor, I bought it as a list of parts, (quite common), It was a Ott, the rotating assembly was sold or cycled out, I dunno I dint have it?, I did however, have the pistons, Is this starting to make sence? I was looking for a builder ( I could have done it myself, why? because I have ! ) I wanted this thing to run, and run good, I contacted Ott it was not the discussion i had expected?, I discussed with the other builder the dimensions of the pistons and such,(the builder knew exactly what he was looking at) should I keep it the same? theres more to the story than you'll ever know, in the end ,we switched pistons,overboar,crank,rod dimensions (all new)and ended up with a strong running motor, its fresh, its fast, its no longer a Ott, every part and piece was inspected and cycled out if nessessary, could Ott have done as nice of a job? Im sure so!,(we do have some real wack job locals) the builder I choose was not local , he was surprizeingly real with me , honest , and professionally directed my choices to what the end result would be, it took some time to finish , he was buisy, he also did what was realistic to my pocket, he's not a back yard mechanic ethier, his shit is good! real good ! the covers now say his name and im happy, hope that helps you understand?

COOL!! All that matters is we are very happy with Ott, you seem to be happy with your guy im not here to get into a pissing match bud, good luck to you.

Ksprinter,

You come on this public forum and express your opinions on your preferred engine builder and then attempt to belittle those of us that share our less than satisfactory "CUSTOMER SERVICE" experience with your guy. What's with that?

Unlike the excuse you offered up for dirtdevil looking to extort top secret "speed secrets", I was simply requesting routine engine maintenance specifications for our newly acquired "used" Don Ott motor. As I stated earlier, we didn't get our calls returned and graciously went elsewhere. Its the American way.

Lastly, a 360 putting out 700hp would have to be about 9 years old, wouldn't it?

WOW,LMAO HERE!! I will say it again WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH OTT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR GUY LIFE IS GOOD!!!!! LET IT GO!!! Im not here to try to change your mind or anybody elses just trying to put in a good word for the guy if you dont like Ott this is your choice there always somebody out there that will disagree i understand that all i was trying to do was be nice and put in a good word for as i think is a good guy thats all, LETS MOVE ON AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!

Here is one that most of us can agree on...OTT, GAERTE, KISTLER, SHAVER, WESMAR, GARRETT, FISHER, KRINER, SPEEDWAY, STANTON, HAMPSHIRE, SHARK, OSTRICH, RYDER = EXPENSIVE!!! I wouldn't mind having any of these but it won't happen unless i win the lottery.

do it in the dirt

Meatbag, we'd be happy to have your business.........lol