Are parts store engines really that bad?

[BowtieRed]

i got a GM Goodwrench engine for 1300, with 250, but i put my old intake and cam on it so it's about 300 and that was 1900 with install (truck won't fit in garage. . . it was winter when did swap.)

 

[Waxer]

I have to chime in with my experiences.

I purchased a Reman 350 4-bolt main from Kragen (about 2 years ago) and it has been running great. Doesn't leak a drop and runs nice and smoothe. Course this was right when they changed suppliers also.

I paid $699 and after all the other small misc crap, I paid a total of $850

 

[ntsqd]

We put one of those Ramjet 502's on the engine dyno a while back. I'm not impressed. Didn't make advertised HP. There is no tuning of the programming, so all you're left with is fudging the fuel pressure and changing the timing. Still didn't make advertised HP.

My Sub came to me with a Targetmaster 350 rebuild in it (wish I had the 400 SBC that came out). Even if they're still available, don't go there. No HP, no Torque, and 9 mpg. Gonna have to pop on a set of Vortec heads and slide in a high lift-short duration-minimal overlap cam to get anything out of it.

 

[Anthony72K5]

If you really want a cheap decent power small block have your 350 bottom end rebuilt .030 over, buy a set of vortec heads ($265!), and an intake for whatever induction system you need. There is a company near me that will bore balance and assemble a bottom end for less than $250, and rebuild kits are cheap for 350's. Then give comp or crane or summit or whoever and have them recommend you a cam for your application. With a decent exhaust this will be about 300 hp, and you can even run on 87 octane gas!