?'s about buying a new Motor

[socal chevy]

I am thinking of buying a new motor, a 350 or a 454. Not sure yet. Anyone have any suggestions where I should look to buy one? Is there a particular thing I should look for when buying a motor? I dont want to spend alot of money, I saa 350 GM motor on summitracing.com for 1400.00... Give me your input please!

 

[mechted]

Depends on what you want to do with the truck:
if you want to regularly tow over 6000 lbs, or you want to play in the mud/hill climb all day, or you are building an offroad only truck, then a 454 may be what you are looking for, but be prepared to 1) cry at the gas pump, and 2) pay a fair amount more for initial build.
if you are looking for a well balanced motor, that can do most everything you want, you will probably want a 350. they can be built mild to wild, and do most everything you ask of them

btw, that 1400 one on summit is lacking a lot of key parts, intake, distributer, all the accessories, water pump, etc... (see the "recommended accessories" tab) you will want to factor all that in when buying. However, that is a good mildly built engine, it will do most anything you want, but it is by no means a high performance monster

i see nothing wrong with a good mild 350, but you may want something different

 

[mrk5]

Yep, like already said; don't forget all the accessories. An engine build is one of those things that can nickle and dime you to death.

There's a motor you can get from GM Goodwrench that is about $1200-1400. If it is replacing another originally equipped 350 engine, it comes with a hell of a warrantee. I can't remember what it is for sure, but it it quite a bit better than the standard 12mon, 12000mi. I think it is basically the same one you saw in the Summit catalog.

 

[socal chevy]

Cant I just use the stock water pump and all the other accesories with a new 350? Or no? How much am I looking at in "extra parts".... and are there any other engines I should look at besides the one i mentioned?

 

[Topdown]

From personal experience... dont get the 350 HO Deluxe. If your going to get a crate motor, get one without an intake and buy an aftermarket (non GM performance parts) intake.

The Vortec heads/intake dont have the center bolts that hold the intake tight to the engine, they only have the outer bolts... so inevitably you suck-in the intake gaskets... and at $40.00 a set thats an expensive lesson to learn.

 

[JIMMY76]

I Have A Gm 350 Crate Motor With Edelbrock Intake And Edelbrock Carb My Truck Had The 400 But I Bought With The Blown Motor And Got A Hell Of A Deal On The 350 From A Local Shop I'm More Than Happy With This Motor And Theres So Many Things You Can Do To A 350 And Alot Cheaper Than Building A 454

 

[Cricket]

Whatever you do - don't buy from S&S Engine. They are offering a 7 yr warranty over the net but it's a ruse. My motor developed a knock after 2 years.