Hughes Engines

[GoMangoBoys]

Does anyone have any experience with Hughes Engines?  I am strongly considering their stroker kit.  The guy is also helping me with cam selection.  I spent some time talking to him at the Indy swap, and had a good impression.  I am hoping someone can share some first-hand experience, good or bad.
Thanks

[Chryco Psycho]

Good products but customer service can be bad , Dave Hughes is very difficult to deal with .
I have always used & had great service from 440 Source instead , That would still be my choice / preference .
You can get crank, rods, pistons , rings & brgs in a single kit all balanced for about $2k

[PLUM72]

I've wanted to do a project with them but haven't yet.  So I am interested in this as well.  They are within a couple hour drive of me.

I have heard that you have to be open to their suggestions as they will steer you down a path.  While its a good path, its also expensive.  It probably helps to have some realistic expectations and a definition of how you will use the engine before you go in.  i.e. Cruise or race.

[worthywads]

I bought a Cam from him back in 2003, and fortunately I was anal and after installing it found out it wasn't the cam I ordered at all.

I was able to send it back and he replace with the correct cam, I guess mistakes happen but not everyone may have checked as close as I did.

I'm sure I have the correspondence with Dave somewhere can't remember off hand what the incorrect grind was but it was way milder for sure.

[70Barracuda]

440 source was $2000 unbalanced for my kit.

Todd at Moparts for cam and heads.      336-283-0800

[MOPAR MITCH]

Over the past few years I had discussions with Dave and his staff.  I purchased most of my parts through him, as well as my stroker kit (small block).  He and his staff have lots of Mopar engine knowledge -- they will tell you what you need to know... instead of what you may, on the other hand, want to hear.   I've given him my trust and know of others who've had good experiences and good results.  He also gave me some tips that I wasn't aware of, as well as other sources for certain specific work (Rocker Arms Unlimited, Calif).

Dave and his staff helped me determine a camshaft... slightly custom/different from their own selection.

If you want cheap prices, you can always shop around, but he's got what you need most likely in-stock.  His tech service guys are pretty good... they know Mopar inside and out.   

I had an excellent local Chicagoland machine shop -- AUTO MACHINE -- in St. Charles, IL... do the machining/prep for me (they also do some machine work for Hughes).... which included notching the block for required clearance of the connecting rods with the stroker crank.

[headejm]

Hughes Engines is about 5 miles from my house. They did all of the cleaning and machining on my "stock" 383. I had no problems with them and I thought they did excellent work on my parts. Cleaned exhaust manifolds, cleaned and bored block +0.030", rebuilt my connecting rods, polished the crankshaft, complete cylinder head rebuild, balanced everything. I would use them again for sure. 

[bcudachris]

I went with Hughes heads, cam and valvetrain for my magnum stroker for my Barracuda.  Extremely pleased with the parts, service and guidance.  My 406 runs like a champ.

If you are patient with your parts acquisition, they have pretty good sales and you can save some coin.

[RUNCHARGER]

A friend put together a low compression 440 with one of his cams. I figured the cam advertising was a bit of a stretch but I was wrong, that thing cooked pretty good.