After consideration based on the opinions of members here, I've decided to buy a new motor instead of going the rebuild route. It seems the best option given my lack of technical knowledge at this point in time. So my question would be is it a bad idea to go for an Ebay Crate engine with a warranty? Should I look for a GM motor? Local builder? All opinions, as well as your own experiences with new motors are welcome.

PS I'm only considering EBay b/c of the good deals.

Thanks,
~ Colin

 

Best thing to do would if you are not putting the motor in yourself is to go to a local engine builder and have him build you the motor you want and then he can install it and break it in. Also you would be looking for at least a 1 year 20,000 mile warranty from said engine builder.

You get what you pay for and cheap ebay motors are made with cheap parts, period, you can't get around that fact

 

I think it's hard to beat GM's crate engine's, if for no other reason their reliability and warranty are backed-up by GM. You didn't state if this motor was a performance motor or just a sound-reliable every day motor or combo of the two. Why not try to find a GM crate motor on E-bay? The best of both worlds. Having said this I have always built my own motors for myself but usually for anyone else in their daily driver it was always a crate engine.

 

gm crate engine.....you know the quality!!!! good and bad... no deals ....but no surprises either.....vendors are probably real business institutions.

 

My thoughts are, if you have a problem with it in 5 or 6 months, do you want to pull it and ship it across the country to see if it is covered? I am sure some of the online places would give you a credit if you took it to a certain shop in your area, but I doubt all of the ebay people would do that. Just something I would check out first. Randy

 

I hate surprises. Go to Jeg's, Summit, Sallee, Scroggin Dickey, etc. Maybe one of them is close to you and you could save a little on shipping. Their prices are all fairly close.

 

 

Because of the horror stories you hear about E-Bay, why not go to your local speed shop and let them order one for you? There is always Summit Racing catalog or even JEG'S

 

I think there are many variables involved with your question. Will you be doing the install yourself, do you have the nesessary eqiptment to do an engine swap (Hoist, engine stand, leveler, jack stands, hand tools ect), how experianced are you at this task. I have played with cars all my life including a frame on restomode of a 65 mustang so when I took on my vette I had some experiance and tools for the job. I bought my engine (a custom crate) from AR racing and I feel I got a bargin for what I payed them. But if I think doing an engine swap in a c3 vette is not a job for the novice and if I didn't have any experiance and the stuff to do the job then I would find a reliable builder in my area and have him do a turnkey install it may cost you more up front but one mistake could cost you thousands. JMHO Dave

 

You can get good deals on crate engines anywhere, take your time looking for good offers, sometimes you can get free shipping...

I assume you can re-use your intake, carb and so on.... can you swap the engine yourself or do you at least know somebody who can help you with this ?

How much do they charge for swapping your engine (if you buy the engine elsewhere) ?

 

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. I am most definitely a novice, but I have been tinkering with the idea of doing the swap myself, with help of course. I guess I'm looking for a streetable motor that can still throw you back in the seat a little.

There was a very good point raised that I don't want to ship the engne across country if something goes wrong, just to be told that it won't be covered by warranty. Man would that suck. I guess a local shop or GM crate seems like the way to go for me. But as far as install goes, is a novice capable of doing it? I would hate to spend all that money to have someone install it when I could have done it myself.

~ Colin

 

I just saw this in my Chevy High Performance magazine: Scoggin Dickey has the 350 Goodwrench engine on sale for $1279.99 .... the ZZ4 is $3600 .... their webpage is www.sdpc2000.com

The 350 Goodwrench is a 4 bolt main, you can always change heads and cam later when it fits your budget..... it has a 3 year/50K miles warranty....

 

don't see much on the forum about Edelbrock crate engines. do members not like them or think they're good but overpriced?????

 

I have Edelbrock heads,cam,carb and intake.. I'm very satisfied with their components, my engine runs great. Their crate engines are not cheap, it's probably very good quality but a lot of $$$

 

Can't beat a GM crate engine for daily use and mild high performance. Got mine from Scoggin Dickey, Great people reasonable shipping.

 

this is a great learning opportunity or a way to get over your head real fast...heres a couple of questions to ponder....have you purchased and read books on doing this....do you have shop manuals...
do you have indoor space to do it, do you have the time to do it....figure 40 hrs...thats for a beginner...
do you have tools...do you have the money to buy the stuff you need.....do you have the organizational skills, i'm not poking fun here, some guys can take stuff apart but when it comes to putting it back can't find the pieces they took off...this is one area that strong organizational skills is critical....do you have the motivation to do it and how are you at challenges and how do you deal with frustation....lastly whats your fall back plan if all turns to crap....do you know people who can bail you out, do you have a family mecahnic who for $$ could get you straightend out or get it towed to his shop..

i'm always in over my head and love every minute of it...good luck...

 

One thing about GM create engines is you get what you pay for. They make tame, mild, performance, and high performance engines/parts. GM will be much more conservative than some businesses selling on ebay. They sell complete packages and do not allow the buyer to pick and choose the parts. You get what their engineers feel will work as a total package. If they spec an engine for 300 horsepower chances are you'll will get an engine with 300hp; give or take a few ponies. They do not tune one engine and then hope all the non-tuned engines will perform as well. Perhaps the only downside with GMPP is the price. Their basic engine at $1295 is a bargin but as you start to move up in horsepower the prices move up even faster. With GM you can be fairly certain that all the parts are brand new. Many ebay sellers use used blocks for their builds. Most of these blocks are as good as new but there is no gaurantee that all the blocks are in a condition that can be re-used. Some of the low cost engines on ebay will not only use old blocks, but reconditioned cranks, rods, and heads. They start with a old, tired 350 and put in new pistons, rings, bearings, time chain and gears, cam and lifters and then recondition as much as possible. needless to say, they have a big advantage over someone who is suppling all new parts.

 

You're squelching the hopes of some of us "base option" folks." I personally like to hear about what's possible.

 

Especially the ZZ4 engine. Idles like a stock passenger car engine and has tons of low end power to get you moving. All the parts are really good (head are good for that motor, but suck otherwise).

Depending upon budget and emissions constraints, I would get with Sallee Chevrolet and get a ZZ4 with Fastburn aluminum heads, the H.O.T. cam and 1.6 roller rockers. Probably cost you around 4500 and get you 420-430 HP / 430 torque and run very smooth and strong.

 

I pretty much agree with everything posted here the GM engines are fine engines and the base engine would be a fine choice if that is what you want if you want proformance then the price goes way up and the warrenty is garbage IMO another alternitive is to buy a jasper or other stock rebuild engine. I have a friend who bought one of these for his street rod, he changed the cam and used his old intake and carb in 1 1/2 years he has logged about 30000 miles with no problems. The main thing is to get the best for money that you are comfortable with and read as much as you can before you start.

Dave