Affordable/Best Options New Engine

[nfinholt]

Hello,

Have a beauty of a 1985 C-10. She sat in a garage for over a decade so she looks great but I believe the engine/powertrain has suffered.

I think my torque converter or flex plate has a problem, and the stock 305 has some serious blow-by. I figured replacing the engine would happen someday and I think that's now sooner than later after discovering moister in the oil (milky frothy stuff on oil check stick).

It seems like going to a 350 is the most popular choice. Not currently looking to make a hotrod - rather I prefer her stock. I've seen Crate 350's in the past for a pretty good deal with free shipping. I see a few on Craiglist but none looked that great.

Any advice in the process? How can I keep her rolling and not break the bank?

[mongocanfly]

welcome...
check summit racing..they have decent deals on remans

[Jake Wade]

http://www.jegs.com/p/Chevrolet-Perf...67244/10002/-1

[Bandit130]

[tucsonjwt]

I would google gm crate motors for the best price and include shipping. The catalogs I get from Jegs always seem to have good prices. Don't forget to add all of the extras, unless you think you can salvage everything from your current truck. I don't think you can go wrong with a low horsepower 350. If you are not handy or don't have the time I am sure that you can find a lot of mechanics to help. I am not sure, but the warranty on a crate motor might require that an authorized mechanic install it.

Personally, i would avoid rebuilt engines.

[nfinholt]

Fantastic, thank you everyone for the kind greetings and suggestions, great leads here!

Any thoughts on what a good deal is for the basic Crate 350? I swear I saw some remanufactured Crates at around $1,300.

Are there common extras I might be overlooking? I do have some parts waiting to throw on like a new flex plate, torque converter, radiator, steering pump, fuel pump, some hoses, distributer, wires. Is there any parts that are a really good idea to replace when doing the swap?

[rainamy]

The $1799 motor at jegs is NEW - new block, crank, rods, heads, everything NEW. And with some warranty, either 1 or 3 yrs depending on the particulars of your truck and their fine print.

Rebuilt uses used parts... you hope they magnafluxed properly, or that the toleranes are good, or that there wasn't a warped deck or anything else.

Now, there's guys who question whether the modern casting is as good as the 40 year old version but....

For $400 extra I just get hung up on it being NEW

[Matt Man]

I put a goodwrench 350 in my truck 3 years ago and it runs great no problems. The only issue with it is that the rear main seal seeps oil.

[csdineley]

I really like mine. But a bit more work

http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Perf...30283/10002/-1

[tucsonjwt]

I like the idea of a one piece rear main seal, and the vortec heads are also nice.
I suspect that the newer style block might require some extra fabrication and substitution to get all of the accessories to line up correctly, and I think they are designed for a serpentine belt system (if so, then it might be worth the effort to buy it and snag needed parts from the junkyard.)

Our local Pull-A-Part sells entire engines with accessories for about $250.00, so you could buy the whole engine just to get the accessories, or just buy the accessories in pieces. Of course, there are always some late model LS engines which get snapped up quickly, for the adventurous and technically skilled fellows. I do suspect that those LS engines are in the junkyard because the engine and/or transmission are shot (except for entire wrecked vehicles), but there could be a diamond or two in the rough. Junkyard engine harnesses and the like would also be another crap shoot, but I know some guys do make the whole used engine process work.