Cast iron, cast aluminum and billet engine blocks made in the USA for Chevy, Ford, Hemi, LS and Toyota engines, with where each maker casts and machines them.
3 American companiesAvg. Made in USA level 4.3 of 5 (3 rated)Checked by Dave HurleyUpdated
Aftermarket engine blocks are built stronger than factory blocks, with thicker walls and decks, room for more bore and stroke, and stronger main caps. The makers on this page cover the range: BRODIX pours aluminum race blocks in its own Arkansas foundry, Dart machines iron and aluminum blocks from US castings in Michigan, and Energy Manufacturing carves billet blocks from solid aluminum in Ohio. Between them they cover small- and big-block Chevy, LS, small-block Ford, Hemi and Toyota 2JZ engines.
Each listing has a Made in USA level and research notes showing what we checked. A 5 means every significant part, including the cylinder sleeves or liners and the main caps, is confirmed US made; the notes show what each maker has confirmed and what we have asked them.
BRODIX makes cast aluminum race blocks: HD sprint and late-model small blocks (8B 1000 and HD 410), a 4.500 bore-spacing small block (8B 1200), the 8B 2000 big block in A-356 aluminum with cast-iron sleeves and billet steel main caps, and a 5.0 bore-spacing block (8B 5000). It introduced an aluminum LS-pattern block at PRI 2025.
Made in: Mena, AR. BRODIX began as an aluminum job-shop foundry in 1965 and still casts its blocks in its own Mena foundry, then machines them in-house. Its billet main caps are also made in Mena.
BRODIX history page: began in 1965 as an aluminum job-shop foundry in Mena, AR; its aluminum small-block (1996) and big-block (2003) Chevy blocks were developed there.
BRODIX video, "The BRODIX Foundry: Made in USA for 60 Years": its own foundry still pours its castings.
Performance Racing Industry (2022): blocks machined in-house in Mena. Not published: where the cast-iron sleeves and steel main caps come from.
Asked BRODIX by email to confirm its aluminum blocks are poured at its Mena foundry, and where the sleeves and main caps come from.
BRODIX sales and tech replied: blocks are made in Mena; billet main caps are made in Mena; sleeves are made in India.
Level 4: blocks cast in BRODIX's own foundry and machined in Mena, with billet main caps made in Mena; the cylinder sleeves are made in India.
Dart makes engine blocks in cast iron, ductile iron and cast aluminum, including the Big M and Big M2 big-block Chevy blocks and the SHP (Special High Performance) line. It also makes blocks for small-block Chevy, small-block Ford, Gen III LS Next, Gen 3 Hemi and Toyota 2JZ, for high-horsepower street and race engines.
Made in: Warren, MI. Dart designs its castings and makes its own patterns, has them poured at American partner foundries, and does all machining and assembly at its own Warren facility.
Dart About Us: all development, machining and assembly are done at Dart's own facility in Warren, MI.
Dart tech blog (March 2025): "Every single Dart casting is 100% made in the United States from start to finish." Castings are poured at American partner foundries, with Dart's engineers designing them and its metallurgists working with the foundries on alloys, pouring and heat treatment.
Earlier reporting agrees: FordMuscle (2010) on castings poured at Midwest foundries and machined in Detroit, and Chevy Hardcore (2012) on Dart making its own foundry patterns and tooling. Retailers list Dart SHP blocks as "Made in the USA." Not published: where the main caps, and the cylinder sleeves in its aluminum blocks, come from.
Asked Dart by email where its main caps, and the cylinder sleeves in its aluminum blocks, come from; no reply yet.
Level 4.5: every casting poured in US foundries, then machined and assembled in Dart's Warren, MI plant; where the main caps and the sleeves in its aluminum blocks come from isn't published yet.
Energy Manufacturing machines billet aluminum race blocks for big-block Chevy, small-block Ford, LS and Hemi engines. Each starts as a 490-pound forged 6061 aluminum billet that is rough-machined, heat treated to T6 and finish-machined, with cylinder liners and 7075 aluminum or 4140 steel main caps. Its sister company Callies Performance Products sells the blocks, and Energy also machines parts for the oil and gas and defense industries.
Made in: Fremont, OH (billet blocks machined on its own CNC mills and boring mills). Family-owned, part of the same group as Callies Performance Products of Fostoria, OH.
Energy's billet blocks page: each block starts as a 490-pound forged 6061 aluminum billet, is rough-machined, heat treated to T6 and finish-machined, with cylinder liners and 7075 aluminum or 4140 steel main caps. The page shows a "Made in the USA" flag emblem.
Energy's About Us and equipment list: a family-owned precision machining company in Fremont, OH, formed in 2009 from a business founded in 1950, with its own horizontal boring mills, 5-axis mill-turn and machining centers.
Performance Racing Industry (2022): blocks cut from 485-pound forged billets down to about 115 pounds on Energy's CNC mills. Engine Builder: sister company Callies sells the blocks as USA-made. Not published: where the forged billet comes from.
Asked Energy by email where its forged aluminum billet and cylinder liners come from; no reply yet.
Level 4.5: machined from solid billet in Energy's own Fremont plant and sold as Made in the USA; where the forged billet and cylinder liners come from isn't published yet.
Cast iron blocks are strong and the lowest cost. Aluminum blocks save weight. Billet blocks are machined from solid aluminum for the highest-horsepower racing engines and cost the most. Check bore size, deck height and main-cap style against the crankshaft and pistons you plan to use.
What "made in USA" means for an engine block
Most of a block's material and value is in the casting or the forged billet it starts from, so where that is poured or forged matters most. A block machined in an American shop from a casting poured overseas is real US manufacturing, but it is not fully American made; we rate it a 4, not a 5. Cylinder sleeves or liners and main caps come next: they are often bought in, and a US-made block with imported sleeves is also a 4. Studs, plugs and other small hardware don't change the level.
Under FTC rules, a company can label a product "Made in USA" only if all or virtually all of it is made here. Our level 5 asks for a little more: every significant part confirmed. When a maker hasn't published where a part comes from, we ask, and the listing shows a half level until the answer comes in.
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A company may be based in the USA while making some products elsewhere. Check the manufacturer's own site for where a specific product is made.
