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Best thing to do, Rebuild or Buy New???

Jeremy_C

Jeremy_C

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My 350 dropped dead thursday. It sounds like it threw a rod cap, as far as i know it didn't crack the block. SO rebuilding is an option. The motor had a little work done to it, aftermarket heads, slightly bigger cam, bigger pistons, an was bored .30 from what i was told.

The other option i'm looking at is buying new, i've never done this before, and I know alot of you have. Where is the best/and least expensive place to buy a new motor, and are they really worth it? I know places like Auto Zone an Advance sell new motors, but i cant imagine they are worth much.

Let me know fellers, i'm all ears. /forums/images/graemlins/ears.gif
 
This is the way i see it...most rebuild shops bore the cylinders and everything using the same thing for every engine. That means there are slight variations for each cylinder, and they wear out faster. Seems like most go for about 90-100K before they start smoking a lot and get tired. Thats not every rebuild shop, but most of the cheaper ones, where you can get an engine for $1000 or so. Spend a little more, like maybe $1800 and you can get a new crate motor from GM with all the factory tolerances, built by GM and just like your old one was new. Should have no problem getting 200K out of it if you take care of it. Thats what I'm doing when mine goes out
 
Personally, I would prefer to rebuild it. I prefer rebuilding because you can have it built the way you want it and it's a lot cheaper most of the time. I had mine rebuilt this summer and it cost me about $900 for the machine work and parts. I also had the machine shop put the short block, minus cam, together.

What I had done:
bored .030, honed with deck plate
KB hyp. pistons
Comp Cams 4x4Xtreme 262 grind
new bearings, rings, etc.
ground crank
resized rods
welded crack on starter mounting hole
Pete Jackson gear drive
heads rebuilt a couple years ago
Performer Intake
HV oil pump

The shop I used is very reputable. They have built race cars in the past and two mechanics I trust also use them. If you decide to go this route ask around to find out who other people recommend. Most places will also offer a warranty if they assemble it.

If you dont have any machine shops in your area that you feel you can trust I would go the crate engine route.
 
Dayum....that sounds like a helluv a deal /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Another thing, how much HP do you think all that gave ya?? Was it worth it?
 
I've actually got about $1200 into it right now including everything, the $900 was just the machine shop costs.

I'm guessing that it's putting out about 350 hp and 400 lbs. I took it to the dunes Thanksgiving and I could definitely feel the torque and it was awesome.

I plan to put vortec heads and TPI on it and hopefully get it to 400 hp and maybe about 420 lbs.
 
In a 4x4, I'm more after low end torque the upper end HP. If you're rebuilding, think of getting a 383 Crank kit (Includes Crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, ...ect. You can order it for higher compression if you wanta have more torque and hp. Most machine shops can order and assemble it for you with a warrentee.
 
I have $2000 in to mine that i built but i didn't rebuilt one i started with a bare block and got everything for it
speed pro forged pistons
comp cams 4x4extreme
melling oil pump
moroso aluminum valve covers
i only had about $450 on machine work. but i also bought a reground crank (cheaper). i put forged pistons in it incase i want to run nitrous. just my .02
TJ /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
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