Buying a crate motor

[62lwbc10]

Dear All, Im intersted in buying a crate 350 SBC for my 58. Can you please share any experiences regarding the vendor you chose? I see you can buy these things from Jegs, Summit Racing , GM PArts Direct, etc. Is there any advantage to use one vendor over another? I also see that some of these vendors (i.e. Summit) sell aftermarket motors and also actual GM motors. Of course the genuine GM motors are more money, but with the aftermarket ones, you seem to be able to get more HP for the buck. Any preference regarding genuine GM motors vs. some aftermarket brand? Finally, I see there are MANY different versions of the 350 available, from the very plane Jane 190 HP model for 1500 bucks up to, well, the sky's the limit, and I also see there are some motors that are specifically referred to as being for trucks. What makes a crate motor specifc for a truck application? Im thinking to get a very mild motor, maybe 290 HP..seems I can get one for a little over 2 grand.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Kind regards,
Mark

[Divine 59]

To start narrowing down your choices (or not) first thing to decide is are you using a mechanical or electric fuel pump. Next is will there be an ECM controlling the engine. This will eliminate some of your choices.

I would go with a reputable company/supplier. Check their return policy. Summit and Jegs should be ok in that regard.

Good Luck.

[mr48chev]

Divine 59 said it pretty well. One thing to remember is that if you buy a crate motor from Summit, Jegs or any other such vendor you will have to add shipping to the cost. On a crate motor picked up at your local (it may not be the closest dealer) GM Performance dealer's parts counter you should be able to get it without shipping and have them bring it in on a regular stock order. that might put the GM factory crate motor a lot closer in price to the aftermarket one. It looks like Fred Bean in Doylston Pa 115 miles from you has the best prices for the 290 hp 350 within a couple hundred miles http://store.chevroletperformance.co...alerResult.jsp
Plus a listing of the dealerships that have price quotes on that engine. If you went that way it might boil down to which state gave the best tax break on sales tax. Pa or VT. Maybe a

[_Ogre]

gm performance is who i got my crate motor from.
3 yr 36000 mile warranty is one of the advantages, though it was 6 yrs before i had it running.
i bought the gm ramjet 350 which is a little pricey at $5500, but it has efi and was a complete turnkey.
it was built 20 miles from me, but i ordered it out of chicago with $350 shipping for a better price and no tax.

140 to 200 hp is mild, 290 hp is sort of built, 350 hp is what the ramjet 350 is rated at.

[mr48chev]

Without going the discount online parts route =Northern Auto parts or one of the other online purveyors of engine parts it would be fairly hard to match the price of that 290 hp 350 with a 350 that you had completely rebuilt locally. You might do it if you have the machine work done and then assemble it all yourself outside of installing the cam bearings and putting the pistons on the rods but Going to the local parts house or speed shop and ordering the parts and then having the work done will eat up that 2K real quick these days.

[OrrieG]

Do the electronic crate motors come with an engine specific ECM or do you have to get an aftermarket harness or stock and start deleting what is not needed??? I saw a while back that GM sells marine EFI engines with stand alone ECMs.

[buggy5872]

I'll add my 2 cents.....Look for a motor with a roller cam or you will need to run oil with zinc in it. Oils now have the zinc taken out becuse of the EPA and hydralic cams do not fair well with out the zinc. Joe Gibbs and Brad Penn have oil with zinc in it for "racing" only. It's not cheap but I have had good success with Bradd Penn. If you go with a GM crate motor, Pull the oil pan when you get it. My brother replaces a lot of small blocks in his shop with gm crate motors and has found rust in the oil pan a couple times.

[_Ogre]

if you have a core... we send my son's 350 for the 68 elcamino to a local rebuilder for $850
it is 2 piece rear main seal and flat tappet cams

orrieg; the ramjet is the marine version and came with an MEFI (marine efi) controller, complete wiring harness and all sensors.
the gm e-rod motors are similar w/ harness, controller, sensors and cats. they are certified for california in pre-85 vehicles.
the e-rod motors are the cat's meow

[55metalmonkey]

When I started my truck project I was given a 350 crate engine from a friend in exchange for helping him swap in a built up 400. The 350 needed to be freshened up (rings/ Vv seals ect).... maybe more
While contemplating my options and looking online I looked into my local GM parts shop and was surprized to find that not only were they cheaper but I could get one the same day. A basic 300hp truck engine with 3yr warrenty was only $1700 (sale price), and the price went up from there depending on how much hp it made and how complete the engine was, not sure if they were just motivated to move inventory. in almost every case the dealer was the better way to go. This was a couple years ago but the prices havent changed much and is generaly regional/ demand driven. I did found this site, prices seem reasonable and only slightly more than what the dealership was quoteing me on the same engines
http://www.crateenginedepot.com/All-...ines-C718.aspx

[mr48chev]

It depends on the dealer as the link I posted in post 3 shows price wise.

There are the low buck "Target motors that sell new for around 1300 for fleet use and there are the performance factory crate motors that sell for quite a bit more. In the 80's and 90's a lot of buys bought the Target motors and stuck a cam and intake on them and had a new engine that ran pretty good for a real decent price.

I'd be inclined to take one of my 350 cores out of the corner of my garage and haul it to the machine shop and have it bored and have a pair of heads done and then bring it home and assemble it myself as I have done in the past with an engine kit that I ordered online. The end cost would be a bit lower than Ogre stated above but the machine shops I go to treat me pretty good price wise. If I had either assemble the long block with them supplying the parts I don't think 850 would cover it.

Some of us forget too that while it is normal for us to buy the pieces and rebuild an engine from a bare block out for others it is a scary thought to think about doing it and a crate motor is a better option.

[FiftyTwo]

Yes there's lots of engine choices to choose from. It all depends on what you want and can afford. I just bought a 350/290 HP crate motor from Summit for a little over $2K with free shipping right to my house. Has all the HP and torque I need for a decent price.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I have used a lot of them. I have always gotten them from a local dealer. Next time I believe I will use Jegs. They are the same price but you save sells tax when you have it sent from out of state. I use the basic 260 horse with a performance manifold & Ram horn manifolds. I have one my 56 now & it runs plenty strong. The difference in the 260 & 290 is the cam. A guy can always change cams if he wants a little more out of it.

[cowboycolors]

Well my experience on my 69 firebird convertible Build was to buy it from the dealer Friendly Chevrolet in Dallas TX I bought the ZZ4 350 355 HP and I could not be happier it was a complete turnkey motor with the exception I had to replace the water pump for the 1 belt serpentine system but it came in the kit with the belt. Runs great and had a 36k warranty. only 2k on the car since I got it done so......

Pricey around 5k 4 years ago and the Pontiac guys give me lip over a chevy in a old Pontiac but I built it for me

just do your research and buy what fits your budget and ability

[el_fantasma]

Let's say you buy a crate engine from Jegs for $1599. It does not come with a distributor, intake manifold or carburetor. Would it be reasonable to use those parts from your old engine or is that like taking a shower with your shoes on?

[hogfarm]

I bought a summit motor,it has been great no trouble,I think the shipping was free,but don't remember.The problem I had was shipping was to my house ,but had no way to unload it here,so I went to the local hub(about 20 miles) and had them put it in my other truck.The local machine shops are going away,there is only 1 left in a 100 mile raduis,and he will only be there 2 more years.These days every thing is use then throw away

[flashed]

I have bought several from Jegs ,free shipping too . Put a 290 HP one in the 72 Malibu convertible and a 190 HP one in the 72 truck and both have plenty of power for my needs .I would love to have one of the Ramjet 350 engines one day but was not in my budget at the time .

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by el_fantasma

Let's say you buy a crate engine from Jegs for $1599. It does not come with a distributor, intake manifold or carburetor. Would it be reasonable to use those parts from your old engine or is that like taking a shower with your shoes on?

that would be what most people do
if you buy a motor with vortec heads make sure you have a vortec intake
i believe the distributors are the same
my thoughts on carburetors... your setting yourself up for lifetime of heartache

[el_fantasma]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

my thoughts on carburetors... your setting yourself up for lifetime of heartache

I don't understand your joke/comment, you must have EFI

[vintovka]

I just bought a GM crate engine (350-290) and has some hindsight advice.

Don't buy the one with chrome kit.. The timing cover leaks like a seive

Id buy one from Jegs or Summit with free shipping. Summit has better customer service BTW,

Don't believe the BS about benefits of buying one from a GM dealership. GM Engine warranties all the same. Dealership just wants your $$$ and will tell yous anything to make a sale. They don't want to budge off MSRP very easily too.

If you having some else install it get a total price up front then have it shipped directly to them. Crates are heavy.

See if you can sell your core engine before you yank it. Tough to store and sell out of vehicle.

Buy all your components yourself and avoid mark ups.

Don't trust Edelbrock for quality carbs. They sold me a bone fide new in the box lemon. Mechanics went nuts trying to adjust badly built carb and gave up after Talking to Summit carb tech. Cost big $$ but Summit took it back ok. Edelbrock said tough sh-t..

Buy all your components locally if you can. Might cost more but with todays hit or miss quality control you can take them back until you get a good one.

Replace EVERY engine component including the Power Steering and Steering Gear box. I was assured my old ones were fine. Less than a week the latter puked all over my nice clean floor.

Replace every wire and hose. You'll be sorry if you don't

Use a brand new distributor if thats the way you want to go.

In real hindsight I wish i'd bought a used Cummins Diesel and chucked the whole 350 idea.

[55dude]

if your purchasing a crate engine because of the warranty be aware of the fine print unless you are a certified ASE tech because most of the time unless it's installed by one they don't honor the warranty so do your homework.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by 55dude

if your purchasing a crate engine because of the warranty be aware of the fine print unless you are a certified ASE tech because most of the time unless it's installed by one they don't honor the warranty so do your homework.

good advice but even the crappy chain cover and bad Edelbrock carb had him stumped for a while. He did call summit and get them to take it back. Edelbrock basically denied the whole thing. I may add the crap carb caused a backfire which blew out the manifold gaskets requiring replacement. More $ i was never compensated for. I will say gm crates have less problems than some of the rebuilts that are out there. Some are rebuilt in CHINA or other SEA places like Vietnam. Makes old vets blood boil.

[Coupeguy2001]

A number of years ago, Hot Rod magazine had a 10 page article on buying a junk yard engine, finding a good donor , and building the engine up to around 350 horses. I think they put it in an El Camino.
Go on their website, I bet it is still available.

My engine is an 89 corvette 350 full roller with the Ram Jet cam I got on Ebay.

I watched them pull the engine from the red corvette!

I re-ringed it with new bearings and a valve job, head surface, and two piece timing cover

[drivea55]

I purchased from summit, I was browsing one day hee hee and saw FREE FREIGHT and popped on it.
put my own accessories on myself and almost 2 years now no issues.

they backed right up to my garage lowered it with their lift gate and helped me get it into where I wanted it too.

great service.

[el_fantasma]

The consensus is to keep adding oil and not to do anything for now. No one seemed to think that the existing engine would "blow up", but that eventually the engine will really start to smoke and then it's time for a crate engine from Jegs or Summit (avoid eBay). For me, the time for lots of HP and chrome has passed, so just a plain 190 HP https://www.summitracing.com/parts/n...7353/overview/. Since I drive about 1200 miles per year that may be awhile. Back to my plan to buy the Boyd fuel tank.

Thanks everyone for their feedback, I really appreciate it.