Sorry for the wordy-ness and these will be my last comments.
Anybody who has ever done any work for cash from others faces the challenge of delivering value for dollar. Everyone who does work for others and is posting has made mistakes that were not caught before a customer received the deliverable. As a customer, the responsibility through the process is to communicate, trust that the value will be there in the end, and if it's not, conduct yourself in a respectful way to arrive at a solution that makes you happy. As the vendor, the responsibility is to communicate and deliver that value. In your instance you stopped the process because you lost trust in the product immediately. It's not unexpected as the deliverable had both obvious and hidden (an uncovered by a 3rd party) issues. I get that.
I've said it before on this site - it's not the mistakes that matter because we all make them. It's the recovery. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had to pay out in parts and/or cash to make problems right for a customer. The couple projects that had big issues either by my fault or a new part failure I paid thousands and worked twice as hard to make right for them. I feel blessed that I can count the guys who allowed me to fix things that didn't deliver for them as very good friends (as in we've kept in touch over years, multiple sales & jobs for them). I place a very high value on showing respect for people and having it be shown to me. That may be why I have the opinion I do on the subject.
So with all due respect, the right thing at the time would have been to call the builder at that point and communicate. Give him the respect of deciding for himself what the next step is given you are upset, feeling taken for a buck, and nervous about other issues. Maybe he was rushing the job because he's new to the position and as a new owner he's being pulled and pressured by everything. Maybe he rushed it to get it and others out before he left for vacation. Maybe he had personal issues distracting him while doing it. The choice to make it right should have started with him and been made by both of you, not been made unilaterally. I think ultimately he will refund you something because it's in his business's best interest to do so and it gets you out of his face. Not because he feels he owes you. I don't feel he owes you because you cut the transaction off and did not allow him to even decide if he could make it right even by paying the other guy for parts and time. I understand your side and motivation and respect the motivation for the choice to move to a perceived better builder. However you denied the builder any input on a solution to what were really his problems, stuck a one-sided story on the web, assumed he's avoiding you because you didn't know about a planned vacation and he didn't return your call promptly, and now want money back.
Thanks for the second response Moper but I gotta say, I understood your point the first time. We just happen to disagree. I didn't do anything wrong. I had to look out for the guy who spent all the money.......me. Lol.
I have a very busy job. I work freelance and if I screw something up, I probably don't get a second call. Due to my schedule, I had this builder(who I have used before and have a good relationship with) build the engine. Even when I was getting delayed again and again, we always were civil and friendly with one another.
Also, I completely understand that you think I broke the agreement by not giving him a chance to fix it. Let me give you a list of reasons why:
1. When I brought him the last batch of parts, including paint, he said my timing was good because he was about to paint it orange. I had turquoise paint with me. He never asked me what color.
2. When I arrived to pick up the engine, the balancer and oiled pump weren't installed.
3. Gives me a story about the "tight" distributor bushing. I take the motor without giving him any grief.
4. Next day I discover the old bushing still lodged in the bore.
5. I spend over an hour troubleshooting th oil pressure issue. No galley plug installed.
6. No oil slinger installed.
I paid a good amount for just the ASSEMBLY of this engine and didn't feel I got what I paid for. That's all.
And, believe it or not, I'm rooting for the guy. He's a good guy. I just happen to think it's the right thing to do to give me a little something back since I didn't receive a fully assembled engine. That is what we agreed on and what I paid for. Not to mention the multiple mistakes that were made.
Also, my friend who was helping me reminded me that he'd probably rather give me a little cash back than deal with a motor that had been run without oil to the top of the engine.
So, while I appreciate hearing your opinion, we will just have to agree to disagree.
If he doesn't give me a dime, that is fine. I will look for another shop.
If he wants to give me a little something back, I'll still willing to work with him. The machine work looked great and the engine has run perfectly the two times I've run it so far.
I COMPLETELY understand that I decided to open up the engine and I will deal with whatever the engine builder decides to do. I just feel that whether I get a dime back or not, I needed to fix these things myself. It was the best decision for me at the time and I still feel the same way.
I'll keep you guys posted as it develops. As long as the thing runs good, I'm fine.
And yellow rose and Jpar! Play nice!!!
Ok maybe I misinterpreted the "arrogance" my bad. 
