Eclectic Motorworks, LLC, Holland, Michigan

Eclectic Motorworks, LLC
445 West 22nd Street
Holland, MI 49423
616.355.2850
carlheideman@yahoo.com

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Parts Sales and Advice

There are no silver bullets when it comes to performance. With good planning and the right parts, you can put together performance packages that work for reasonable budgets. With poor planning and mismatched parts, you may end up with less power than a stock engine combined with poor drivability, longevity, and fuel economy.

All of the parts we sell and recommend have been dyno tested by us and we can usually tell you how they will affect your rear-wheel horsepower and 0-60 times.

While most people start making performance upgrades with bigger carburator setups and high lift, long duration cams, dyno testing has shown us that ignition and cylinder heads are really the places to start. In fact, dyno testing shows that big carbs and cams usually are detrimental to overall performance if cylinder head breathing (aka porting) and ignition sytems are not addressed first.

Before we start selling you parts, we talk with you carefully about the various parameters that affect the parts decisions you need to make:

RPM range you prefer to drive
Desired horsepower, torque, 0-60 times or other performance benchmarks
Type of driving: street, race, autocross, etc.
Engine compression ratio
Wheels and tires
Suspension and brakes
Budget
Cosmetic preferences
Desire to disassemble or rebuild the engine
"Cool factors" like SU or. Weber carbs
Engine swap options
For more, we recommend Tuning for Speed Training

We ask you these questions and help you make your plans so you can avoid the mistakes we've seen made by people who have been given poor advice or haven't made good plans:

Incorrect ignition timing or advance curve
Too much carburation
Improperly jetted carburation
Too much camshaft (usually too much duration)
Poor quality or ineffective "speed parts" like headers and roller rockers
Camshaft mismatched to compression ratio
Unnecessary engine rebuilds

We don't have a parts catalog. Instead, we prefer to consult with you individually about your needs. We also prefer to install the parts for you so that we can insure they are installed and tuned properly. Please contact us if you'd like to discuss performance part or installation.

The Engine is a System

We never look at parts individually--we always consider the entire system. That is why we start with ignition components, then move to the cylinder head, and then to cams and carb choices. When it comes time to make carb choices, we find that 1-1/2" SUs, 1-3/4" SUs, downdraft and sidedraft Webers can all yield similar power results with minor differences in drivability. We'll coach you on these differences as you make your decisions.

We've become great fans of supercharging, whether using a vintage Judson supercharger or modern Eaton-supplied Moss unit. If you'd like to look at supercharging as an option, you'll find we have the experience to make sure your installation goes smoothly.

You'll notice we've been discussing options that often do not require engine teardown or rebuilding. We find that unless you want to rev your engine past 6000 RPM or change compression ratios, you can usually keep most of your engine assembled and in tact as you make performance upgrades. In fact, we feel that engine rebuilds are overly common and unnecessary (not to mention expensive!) as performance upgrades are made.

Of course, if you're ready for an engine rebuild--we're more than happy to offer parts or fully rebuilt engines in 5 port or crossflow head configurations.