Crate Motor?

GT6Steve

GT6Steve

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
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Location
Las Vegas Nevada
The 81's motor is starting to make bad noises again. Back when it was being abused daily it lost a rod bearing and I simply pulled the pan and replaced it. The poor thing has been thru a few traumas since then. It no longer has to do 90 MPH for 90 miles a day so it's time to fix it right.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a good crate motor for a daily driver?

There's a dazzling array of choices.


Never going to be raced but needs to be spirited around town.

It's kinda ironic that it's just getting pretty again and various ancillaries are fixed and it's living the relaxed life that the old engine bugaboo should raise it's head. The piper always has to be paid.
 
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IMO, pull the engine, take it to a local rebuilder with good reputation, and shell out a couple grand.....IF it's junk when they pull it down, just buy a ZZ3 or so engine.....methinks a ZZ4 maybe a bit much....the new engines come through various dealerships....so watch on that shipping shit....

:beer:
 
mrvette said:
IMO, pull the engine, take it to a local rebuilder with good reputation, and shell out a couple grand.....IF it's junk when they pull it down, just buy a ZZ3 or so engine.....methinks a ZZ4 maybe a bit much....the new engines come through various dealerships....so watch on that shipping shit....

:beer:
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Agreed.
Pull that mofo and rebuild!
Itll be worth the headache.
Put a set of those econo edelbrock heads for flow and headers for fun

I went with a new shortblock and reused my heads and intake stuff. Reason being i eggshelled the mains. Cost me like 5 grand cause i couldn't pull the motor and had the shop do the work with a guarantee.
That 5k would've made a much nicer motor than what i have now...
Ntm all the things they installed wrong im still fixing like wiring ect.

Sent from my dumb 4g motorolly
 
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That's an interesting twist cuz I thought the general consensus was that the crate motors were quicker and cheaper than a rebuild?

I know my 81 heads are crap, for example, but have no idea what is a step forward.

I'll call my machinist if he's out of the hospital. He's said he could improve on my heads....:clap:
 
Here is where things get sketchy.....you want a new set of aluminum heads? fine, but you know you can get a set of junkyard L98 heads that carry a 113 final digit cast # and they run good as most others, for street use, really....I have maybe 300 bux into the set on my car......

The L98 head will fit any older generation of SBC block, I dunno about LT1 though....

:beer:
 
You said it MrVette "here's where things get sketchy":clap:

I'm a 100% moron concerning my GM car.

You want a hot Jaguar or Triumph racecar then I'm your man but when you toss in the next two cylinders I go blank:crap:

I bought an engine for rebuild that turned out to be a center valve cover stud type engine, I searched the net for details and at the end I'm still in the dark.

I appreciate your effort but I'm still to dumb to appreciate #113 Vs #xyz.

Maybe I belong on the CF....:amused:
 
GT6Steve said:
You said it MrVette "here's where things get sketchy":clap:

I'm a 100% moron concerning my GM car.

You want a hot Jaguar or Triumph racecar then I'm your man but when you toss in the next two cylinders I go blank:crap:

I bought an engine for rebuild that turned out to be a center valve cover stud type engine, I searched the net for details and at the end I'm still in the dark.

I appreciate your effort but I'm still to dumb to appreciate #113 Vs #xyz.

Maybe I belong on the CF....:amused:
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NONO....not THAT!!!!.....:lol::harhar:


Center valve covers are a good sign but are the heads aluminum??? IF so they most likely are the #113 heads I know of, have to pull a cover and look around for the casting number.... pull the oil pan and see if it's a 4 bolt, someone else can tell if you give them an engine serial number, but I not into all the bookwork crap...sorry....pull the intake and you can see if it's a roller block in a microsecond, and hopefully so....

over the wire, hard to be much help beyond that....


:noworry:
 
take it apart and assess condition of block and pistons first.....

IF the bores only need a bottle brush and the pistons are good with new ring then go that route.....for the extra umph get a pair of aluminum heads and you're good to go....

if you're looking for 80+ HP more that get a crate engine.....

I asked several local machine shops: cleanin, inspecting, boring,decking a block is about $500, for $600 you can buy a machined block all over the net..... $700 for a new block.....

if you're looking for cheap extra HP.... no way around a stroker..... rotating assembly is about $800

so that's $1500 in parts for block and rotating assy.... you can buy a assembled short block for 1800 any day......

crate engine makes sense, easier, warranty, good value....now, next time I'll build from scratch -it does not make financial sense but I want to build an engine from scratch.....
 
steve

I have a nice core 350 and 700r I will sell you for rebuild. It ran fine when it was last started.
 
what do you want the motor to do? to me that's always the first step of a build.

Maybe you should consider a LS build with a 5.3 (they're dirt cheap, and power is pretty easy to make with them)....

just a thought... flame away :)
 
Quicker and cheaper, yes. But I say let's build a roller. We can go to the bone yard and pick up a roller block and some vortec heads and put together a nice roller for about $2000, which is about what you're going to pay out the door for a crate motor. Even a mild roller build is so much better than either a crate or rebuilt original. Not only that, but aside from the valve covers, no one would be able to tell the difference.
 
I pulled my L82 and installed the ZZ4 roller cam and aluminum heads plus an easy bolt in. The torque is amazing and the engine is very reliable.
 
I bought out a kid's roller 350 engine project, and sent it off to be assembled by the machine shop, been in the vette since '97, just wish I had stuck with a stock L98 cam instead of that POS ZZ9 cam from TPIS that shredded all over the joint, and ran like crap, causing me grief for years.....I made a thread with pix about that issue, So watch out who you buy your cam from, .....:mad:
 
Jeff, what's the 350 from? The 90? Is it roller?
If that's the case, then Steve, you need to be talking to Jeff. Don't know if you guys have picked up on this but I'm a roller fanboy. Outside of cost, there is absolutely nothing a flat tappet does as well as a roller.
 
Good Point Gary,

I talked to Jeff a long time ago when the motor was still in the car. I guess it's time for more details...:)
 
clutchdust said:
Jeff, what's the 350 from? The 90? Is it roller?
If that's the case, then Steve, you need to be talking to Jeff. Don't know if you guys have picked up on this but I'm a roller fanboy. Outside of cost, there is absolutely nothing a flat tappet does as well as a roller.
Click to expand...

No it isn't my 90 drivetrain. It is the stock motor and trans from my 82 vette.
 
So Gary,

What's the deal with a roller? Roller lifters from stock apparently but where were they used?

The mid 80's engine I bought appears to be worthless except in a van or some such. Lousy 624 heads and a two bolt block. Guess I'll just put all that by the curb for the scrap guys and look around for something better.

I'll call Rezknowecki on Monday and talk to him...
 
Why is the block worthless? Flat tappet or machined for roller? If it's a roller machined block then let's use that. 2-bolt main block can support 300hp easily. Hell, I'm making more than that on my 2 bolt block. If it's flat tappet, then I'm kind of with you. I still have the factory block from my '81 sitting in storage. Only reason I'm keeping it is because it matches the VIN.
 
Gary, You know I'm a moron, we met after all...:toothbrush:

This engine was from a van that a church group drove to death. When I pulled it apart I found nothing wrong except MASSES of carbon buildup. I guess it was original oil....

I agree the block is probably suitable for a build as I don't want a killer drag motor. The two bolt would probably be fine.

But, I've always been drawn to a 383 build, I don't know why but it's always (ok, just since I got the Vette) fascinated me. And if I pursue that craziness a two bolt doesn't seem optimum.

In the end I'll likely have just another motor but it's fun to explore eh?
 
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