Rebuild the old 350 tbi or order a crate motor

[Irishman999]

Almost done here, just thought I would post a breakdown of everything.

I started with a 93 5.7 block complete I got on craigslist for 150 bucks. #5 cylinder was trashed so I had to either bore it .30 over and pay for a sleeve or go .60 over and possible have to get a sleeve anyways if it did not clean up. Crank needed to be turned, never even got into the heads before I traded it for another engine.

Core engine: 150, pulled myself.
Block machine work: 480
Pistons: 100
Rods: +/- 300
Crank work: 200
Cam bearings installed: 80
Heads rebuilt: +/- 300
Gaskets/rings/bearings/freeze plug kit: 200

Thats as far as I got with my small block and you can see its already over 1,800 bucks. I never got to the assembly, that was just machine work and stuff I ordered. Some stuff was not included like pressing pistons into rods and having the rotating assembly balanced. Once again the aftermarket idea in your head kicks in and you worry about fastener strength and your investment coming apart so you are ordering arp fasteners, that will take you WAAAAAY over what a crate motor costs. Alot of things are left out like the oil pump, timing chain and lifter assembly.

The engine rebuild kit price is very cheap, I spent 200 bucks on gaskets alone. I go strictly with Fel-pro gaskets so it costs more, I also strictly use clevite 77 tri metal bearings. I also use total seal piston rings, last set I got for the small block was a couple hundred bucks. You dont HAVE to spend the extra on the premium stuff but its just a good idea to protect your investment. Same goes for the rods, I could have re used them but you have to understand those rods have been spinning around for the past 20 years, why take the risk re using rods?

Thats my personal experience, I never assembled the small block. I just ordered parts and got the block fixed up. I could have had a crate motor at that point and be done with it. Beauty of building your own and why I do it is you can drag out the process over several pay checks and end up with premium parts in the end. You spend a shitload more than a crate motor but its not all at once. Thats why you cant go wrong getting a core motor to work on while you drive the truck.

 

[30backs]

I agree I am going to talk to my machinist and figure out the best route.

 

[Swims350]

dude why pay 200 for crank work? a new crank for that sbc with bearings is under $200. The older 85 and under 2 piece rms are even cheaper, like $150 and used to be a hundred.

I have always reused rods, and most of the time pistons unless you can clearly see them damaged, it saves a ton.

 

[Irishman999]

dude why pay 200 for crank work? a new crank for that sbc with bearings is under $200. The older 85 and under 2 piece rms are even cheaper, like $150 and used to be a hundred.

I have always reused rods, and most of the time pistons unless you can clearly see them damaged, it saves a ton.

I have to disagree with that. Does that crank come with good bearings? who did the work for you? Why not just re condition what you already have and order some premium bearings for it?

Aftermarket parts are so good you would be stupid to not take advantage of Hypereutectic pistons for 100 bucks?! They are brand new, show up in a box all ready to go and beautiful like jewelry. They mix all the benifits of cast and forged pistons making something perfect for a street vehicle. This is technology only big name motorsports had just 10 years ago available to us now for almost nothing.

As far as used rods, why even screw around with used rods? Same goes for fasteners that hold the caps on. Metal gets fatigued, its heated and cooled, pressures put on it again and again every time it makes a rotation. Imagine how many times a rod will cycle in an engine over 20 years. Thats why rods get reconditioned, they get checked to make sure they are straight, they require cleaning and reassembly. By the time you do all this and have some arp fasteners installed you would be saving time by just buying new rods, thats why the aftermarket rods are a strong seller, that and they are stronger than stock ones anyways.

 

[Green79Scottsdale]

what is the best and most cost affective way? Do I rebuild my current motor in my 88 r20 350 tbi or go to crate motor? This is my daily driver so not wanting anything to extreme.

This sticks out to me. You didn't ask for the cheapest way. With this being your daily, how long do you think it is going to be down if you were to reuse your current motor? Being a daily, for me, it better not be more than the weekend. Your looking at weeks if you reuse yours. You can keep running your current motor until the crate shows up and you have all the tools and parts gathered up and ready to do the swap.

Yeah it's cool to say you rebuilt your motor yourself, but in the end you are still using old parts. Go crate and have new parts and peace of mind.

One last thing, from my personal investigation, it is no cheaper to get a SBC rebuilt than to buy a crate motor. Keep in mind, this is my PERSONAL thoughts on rebuilding one, and certainly you could do it cheaper, but there not a chance in hell I would run one a cheaply rebuild in my vehicles.

 

[Stroked]

You know, I've thought about this topic a lot. I'm usually the do-it-yourself guy, because I know it's done the way I want and it's usually less expensive. But after doing a lot of research I'm not so sure anymore.

Check out Yearone's crate engine for example:
https://www.yearone.com/Product/1967-87-chevy-gmc-truck/ct350pc1

That's a 400hp 350 with vortec heads, roller cam, dual plane intake, balancer, flexplate, and provisions for a mechanical fuel pump. Oh and a 12 month warranty. All for $3,000.

Add up the price of a good 350 core, decent non-smog heads, cam, engine kit, machine work, and you'll be quickly approaching that $3,000 mark.

Or if you're not interested in big power and just want an reliable new engine, you can get a GM crate 350 for $2,000 or so.

Don't take this as me saying it's not worth rebuilding an engine yourself. It's just something to think about.

 

[Jims86]

You know, I've thought about this topic a lot. I'm usually the do-it-yourself guy, because I know it's done the way I want and it's usually less expensive. But after doing a lot of research I'm not so sure anymore.

Check out Yearone's crate engine for example:
https://www.yearone.com/Product/1967-87-chevy-gmc-truck/ct350pc1

That's a 400hp 350 with vortec heads, roller cam, dual plane intake, balancer, flexplate, and provisions for a mechanical fuel pump. Oh and a 12 month warranty. All for $3,000.

Add up the price of a good 350 core, decent non-smog heads, cam, engine kit, machine work, and you'll be quickly approaching that $3,000 mark.

Don't take this as me saying it's not worth rebuilding an engine yourself. It's just something to think about.

Gotta watch engines like that, cam may be spec'ed for power to come in at higher rpm. Useless in a truck, unless you change rear gears as well, and then any fuel economy that you had, is gone.
Also, 12hg of vac at 800 rpm....no good for TBI

 

[gpmorgan]

I would like the satisfaction of doing it myself and as long a machine shop cooperates with me it shouldn't be that time consuming. My only real concerns is finding something major wrong when I tear it down and having to drop serious money on heads ,rotating assembly or machine shop. I'm not sure of the internal condition of the motor is does puff a small white smoke when you crank it and uses a little oil.

To me , it's a no brainer. If your engine is not knocking and doesn't smoke like a tar kiln, you can probably get by with very little machine shop work. If your going to keep it a TBI engine there's no need to go on the extreme side. I would keep it where I could use 87 octane.
I've got a brother-in-law that had a 91 c1500. He took his to our chevy dealer and had a crate 350TBI installed and ready to drive for $2700.

 

[jux]

Interesting thread. I might have to choose between a crate engine and a rebuild next year as well. I have a cylinder that's fouling out it's spark plug via blow-by. At first I was thinking that a rebuild was certainly less expensive, but reading this thread has me considering a crate. Hmmmm...

Which way do you guys think would be cheaper if most/all of the work were to be done by a shop? Reason I ask is because I am in the process of moving, and I wouldn't be able to do a lot of work in my new location.

Trying not to steal the thread, but it very much relates to this topic.

 

[austinado16]

My answer is based on the fact that I don't trust any one else's work but my own, so I'll rebuild mine when the time comes. In doing it myself, I can choose the parts I want, and I know trusted machine shops to do my work. When I assemble it, I know it's done right.

I've seen a lot of issues with "crate" engines built buy others, both "factory" jobs, and aftermarket "specialist" jobs. Sloppy machine work, sloppy assembly, re-use of marginal and/or junk parts, etc. And what a headache to spend that kind of money on a "drop in" engine, and then start having all sorts of issues either immediately, or soon. And then you go down the path of trying to file a warranty claim with the builder saying, "It was fine when it left here, you must have screwed something up, and you saying, "BS, this thing is junk and I want another one." When the dust settles, you're either in a small legal battle, or you've wasted a ton of time sending emails and phone calls back and forth, and then you wind up having to do the job all over again, on your dime.

No thanks. I'll continue to "build" my own.