Ron Miller

My thoughts as well, comes complete with warranty, all new parts, nothing remanufactured.

jdk971

nothing wrong with the zz4 or the zz383 and you get a warranty. jim

vetrod62

I have experience with 2 crate engines, Thank God, not mine. One is a 383-450hp. Lucky to make 325hp. The second is a 434 SBC with a build sheet and dyno sheet. 620hp. For those who do not know, we race our cars in the 1/4 mile in the North Jersey Outlaws Series often, so there are no guesses on performance. The 434 from a so-called major builder is full of all cheap Chinese parts and does not run. If your build sheet does not name quality parts by brand name and part number, beware. I have replaced most of the upper end parts with quality America ones, but now the bottom end has to be addressed. It would have been much cheaper to do it right the first time on this engine.

My suggestion is to :

1. Build it yourself, if you can.

2. Find someone who builds circle track engines with a great rep.

3. Or buy a GM crate engine, if real performance is not your goal.

I would never buy a crate engine from a builder I did not personally know.

OldKarz

I put a ZZ454 in one of my cars a few years ago and have had no problems with it. Good luck!

sub006

You are listed as living in Italy. Is your C2 there, or do you keep and drive it in the USA?

If the car is to be driven in Europe, and there's a problem with any American company's engine, somebody has to pay to ship it from Italy to America and back again.

Corvettes, and other vehicles with Chevy V8s are raced at all levels in Europe, must be some good sources there. Would think it would be less upfront and potential hassle to deal with someone on the same continent, even if it's GM for a crate engine. Not sure about Italy, but there are Corvette clubs in Germany and Switzerland who could advise you.

Downdraft

[QUOTE=sub006;1576299345]You are listed as living in Italy. Is your C2 there, or do you keep and drive it in the USA?

Both me and my C2 are in the foothills of the Alps in north-eastern Italy - fantastic roads to enjoy the Vert. Economically it is much more convenient to have a crated engine flown over. Have decided to include a complete clutch unit and side pipes/headers. My car is a power steering car but will upgrade to a new system. will I also have to change all the linkage? I know that there can be issues with the side pipe headers for P/S cars.

magicv8

I agree. Thats why I took the 427 out of my roadster and put in a 350 (actually 3 of them in 22 years). Make sure all your suspension bushings (rubber and steel) are in great condition and that you have the correct wheel alignment for the kind of tires you are using (radial tires require alignment like a 1976 Corvette).

With the extra power, comes the need for extra cooling capacity. If you have A-C or are already experiencing high engine and cabin temperatures, you may want to replace the radiator while the engine is out of the car, and the hood is off.

davidarborg

here's an example of what you can find in a crate engine:

vetrod62

Found several of these cracked rockers in the 434 crate. (mild hydraulic cam) Also most of the intake rockers were grinding away on the head studs. Not cool.

sub006

[QUOTE=Downdraft;1576300105]Then I would pay extra to get an engine from the longest-established, MOST reputable source with the STRONGEST guarantee. Perhaps Edelbrock? Vic probably would like to feature a happy long-distance customer in the catalog!

BTW how much is premium gas in Italy these days? Please convert lire to dollars and liters to gallon!

wow

There is no such thing as too powerful engines...only too powerful right feet...do it and drive it normally and you won't notice a big difference...but get into it and you better hang on...have fun!

Donald #31176

[QUOTE=sub006;1576318596]Last time I was in Tuscany (2009) it was about $1.95 Euro/liter or about $10/ gal

Downdraft

Gas here is about $7.30 a gallon, but you can find 98 octane However, consider that there is no real-estate tax for the first home, no matter what value it has. I think it is much cheaper to pay 7 or 8 bucks a gallon rather than paying the state for your home each year.

After reading these crate engine posts I will go with a GM product.

davidarborg

Chinesium springs to mind, here's a quality piece from Crower vs a Chinesium roller notice the size of the bearing and roller tip :

hurricane406

I spent over $12,000 for a URE engine, never raced it, drove to a few auto shows, it broke a valve in less than 3,000 miles. The lifter roller broke off and dumped needle bearings and fragments in the oil pan. The valve head rattled around in the cylinder gouged out the block. URE won't return calls or correspondence. The other cylinders show marks like the pistons are touching the valves. The warranty is worthless, it's written to protect them not you.
I'm not the only one check the BBB

ejboyd5

I'm trying to understand the problem. You have a numbers matching stock 327 that starts and runs perfectly but uses 1/2 quart per year of motor oil. Just what are you trying to accomplish by swapping in a crate engine?

decarmine

This thread is nearly 5 years old...

427/42566 coup

you need all that go power traveling the Autostrade

corvetteed

Yah, that was my first thought too. Why is this even being brought up now?

ohiovet

As usual, a GREAT Halloween Avatar.
Thanks.