comparing costs for engine build vs buy

[RoadRacer]

I've always liked the 383 chevy and built one before, but a long time ago. times have changed since.

Has anyone compared the costs of buying a bare block, machining, and building
vs buying a short block
vs buying an assembled engine
vs buying from racingjunk.com or similar. Not sure how big a risk that is, but probably cheaper and if lucky may include trans too.

I'm starting down this road and wondered what others had done, and how much they'd budgeted for driveline. At first thought it looks as much as $7-8k for engine, trans, rear?

[Gromit]

and now we wait for GoDaddyGo - Steve to chime in If your looking to build a Chevy powered roadster he's the advocate..

[GoDadGo]

Chime, Chime, Chime!

Sorry for the delay, but I was dining at K' Pauls in the French Quarter.
Check out PACE Performance or Blue Print Engines instead of building it yourself.
My stuff was sitting around since Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) and it was for a car that went swimming.
Randy Jones Paved The SBC Way.
I used his play book.

www.gpsconnection.com

[RoadRacer]

Thanks guys, I'll check them out.

[NAZ]

Agree with GoDadGo, Pace or Blue Print are good sources. It's hard to compete with the quality and variety of crate engines today. However, I'd suggest you still double check everything even on a crate engine to the point of removing the pan and checking the bottom end. I've found used main cap fasteners on one ATK crate engine that looked like they went though a garbage disposal.

[RoadRacer]

They do seem expensive though.. although it's hard to be really sure. But I did look at parts from Summit and it's only around $4.5k for block and everything to make it run. I didn't compare exact same parts though.

machined engine block $700
383 kit $1340
cam kit $800
aluminum heads $800
intake $150
holley 650dp $500
msd ignition $500

How much have you put into your engine/trans/rear?

[GoDadGo]

Chevrolet Performance has quite a few small blocks that are brand spanking new and all come with a warranty.
A bottom of the line SBC is only 1,500.00 or about 2,100.00 dressed and ready to go, but probably won't produce the horsepower you likely are craving.
Also, please keep in mind that a lot of folks aren't fans of putting anything but a Ford style engines in these cars so get ready for some ribbing.
If I didn't already have a drive line, I would have opted for an LS-3 (Carburated) or a 351 Windsor (Stroked To 392) to avoid any real fabrication.
Good Luck!

[NAZ]

I've got a bit over $15K in my SBC stroker. It's doubtful you can build an engine from parts for less than a crate engine of equal performance. Remember it takes some specialized tools to do it right. And selecting the right combination of parts is more than simply ordering the lowest cost items in the catalog. However, it's sure much easier to build from parts now than back in the day. As a professional automotive technician and a machinist I've rebuilt many engines. And as a hot rodder for more than four decades I've built a several performance oriented engines. I've come to the conclusion that it's cheaper to buy a crate engine that meets my needs than build from scratch. And you get a warranty.

[GoDadGo]

Here's some NEW crate engines that Summit has from Chevrolet Performance.
The SP383 C.I.D. for $6,050.00 and is a stump puller with horsepower at or around 425 with torque figures around 440.
They also have the Chevrolet Performance CT350 Circle Track Crate Engines for $3,690.21.
The best bargain basement complete engine is the Chevrolet Performance #19210008 for only $4,063.55 and it's ready to run.
Finally, their lowest priced long block is the Chevrolet Performance 10067353 - 350 C.I.D. Base Engine for $1,509.97, but don't expect much power since it's a very basic mill.

[RoadRacer]

I've come to the conclusion that it's cheaper to buy a crate engine that meets my needs than build from scratch. And you get a warranty.

Yeah, I can see that. Even with a quick look at pricing I'm only hitting the obvious parts; there are many others I've missed that add up. I built a 383 once before but in UK so was stupid money to import parts. Always on a budget so I'll look more at built motors or racingjunk for the occasional bargain. I'll have to strip down either anyway so I'll get my satisfaction from that

[RoadRacer]

[B]Also, please keep in mind that a lot of folks aren't fans of putting anything but a Ford style engines in these cars so get ready for some ribbing.

Haha, no doubt that's coming! I've had more fords than chevys (GTD40/302, Cobra/351) but for a hot rod I don't need to keep in the family.

[RickP]

I was leery about purchasing a crate over building my own in that with a crate, you really don't know what you have internally until you see it. One has to scratch their head in wondering how a ready to run motor can be gotten for so cheap over the cost of what it really takes to build a motor, properly.

example;

Personally, I would not feel the least bit comfortable sitting behind a motor that is literally in your lap that produces northward of 300hp if the caps are not double tapped and fastened with a grade 8 bolt such as ARP. The builder could tell you he uses double mains and nothing but. Ok, what mains are you using? Are they brand new out of the box or pulled from another motor? Does the builder use quality fasteners? Does he reuse previously torqued hardware? Does he torque to the proper specs? Is the block new, or slightly used, or does it have stress fractures that only a machinist can determine. These type of concerns can only be answered verbally not unless you open the internals up or you encounter catastrophic failure. I won't even get into what can go wrong with bargain basement heads.

I will say this in regards to building your own.

After building a Ford stroker from scratch and the costs associated in doing so, obviously, it is much more cost effective to buy a ready to run crate. Building horsepower costs money and it starts right at the block. Right from the get go, if your estimating a cost of machining a block to be 700 bucks, I would look a little closer at what you want and what is involved. Machining a block? What does that really mean? Are you going to add stroke? Does the block need decking, honing, balancing, etc. The cost in reality is more like 2k. If your going to stroke it, A SCAT rotating assembly will set you back 1,000 to 1500 alone. Do you want forged parts? Dome pistons? It's not like you can pick the cheapest part off the shelf and expect the end result to work together. I have roughly 9K in my motor, and I'm not done. It took 4k plus to get me a solid bottom end. Add another 4k to build the top end and that doesn't include the EFI I plan to top the engine off with. That said, I know the motor like the back of my hand. It is balanced and blueprinted, and documented down to the last torqued bolt that went into it. In short, I can tell you the exact bolts used and what I torqued them too for every part on the engine.

At the end of the day, if I were to do it again and didn't have a useable block to build upon, I would buy a turn key crate motor from a reputable builder backed by a very detailed warrantly. Flat out, it's just more cost effective to do so. Do your homework on this one very carefully. After all, it's the heart beat of your build and whatever your choice, do it and don't look back.

[RoadRacer]

Thans RickP, I totally understand. It's a big part of the car, hence me planning early and leaving time for build/rebuild if needed. FYI, this is what I was talking about: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...0-30/overview/ - they say all the right things that I know of.

I won't be jumping into anything until I've done a lot more homework - but the safest way seem to be to buy from a very reputable place with a guarantee. Last time I built myself because I was more serious about racing it, so I added dry sump. This time my budget won't get that far, at least on the first go around.

[RickP]

Thans RickP, I totally understand. It's a big part of the car, hence me planning early and leaving time for build/rebuild if needed. FYI, this is what I was talking about: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...0-30/overview/ - they say all the right things that I know of.

I won't be jumping into anything until I've done a lot more homework - but the safest way seem to be to buy from a very reputable place with a guarantee. Last time I built myself because I was more serious about racing it, so I added dry sump. This time my budget won't get that far, at least on the first go around.

I would steer away from a purpose built block. If you look at the type of questions people are asking about the deck height you see what I'm talking about, Summit can only answer what the minimum deck height is, not the actual as is varies from block to block. This is not the answer you want to hear when shelling out 700 bucks for a used block. That's one dimension you absolutely must know as you can't plan building the rest of the motor without that dimension. Just ask yourself the question, "why did the block need to be decked"? And if you happen to get a block and it meets the minimum spec, ask yourself "why did it need to be decked that much"?

If you have a good machinist in your area, pay them a visit. They may be able to deliver you a block with actual specs applied to it much cheaper than you think. Especially if you let them do some of the work like installing and balancing the rotating assembly. I know your a Chevy guy but to give you an idea, a used buildable SBF 302 (meaning the block is sound, cooked, cleaned, squared/decked) can be had in the neighborhood of 300 to 500 bucks. From there, it's all in what you desire to have done to it.

Be sure to let us know what route you go and remember, we like pics.

[Yama-Bro]

RoadRacer, Give BluePrint Engines a look. I'm an employee there. We have a great warranty and lots of different builds to choose from. We can build the engines cheaper because we build in such large volumes that we can get our parts at lower prices. The 383 is our most popular model.

[first time builder]

I got lucky when looking for engine for my 80 corvette. To rebuild a smog motor (80 Vette) cost was more than a GM crate . Scoggin Dickey Chevy had a special deal on a GM "Mistake motor" They only built 25. Was supposed to be the Ram Jet 350, but instead left it a short block with heads. Mine has a special serial Number plate tacked to lower part of block with a part # and number 21/25. This motor dynoed with a 600 Edelbrock carb on a Performer intake and Dynomax headers at a little over 360 Hp and had 404 Ft Lbs tq.
The best part was the price. 2365.00 shipped. Yes I had to buy all the tin and water pump etc. But the motor is a roller cam with a bunch of other good Gm Parts. The motor runs real strong. Gets 18 MPG mixed driving. This was 10 yrs ago. The fuel injected Ram 350 is still available and also a strong runner.

Kenny

[RoadRacer]

RoadRacer, Give BluePrint Engines a look. I'm an employee there. We have a great warranty and lots of different builds to choose from. We can build the engines cheaper because we build in such large volumes that we can get our parts at lower prices. The 383 is our most popular model.

Thanks, already have your engines bookmarked.

[skullandbones]

If you are comfortable with installing heads and all the other necessary components, you might go the completed short block route. I got my ATK performance engine (actually was a long block) and built the heads and induction. It would have been very hard to build that short block in my garage for the price I paid. The up side is it is warranted and balanced and blue printed. That's a lot of work saved. I'm so convinced, I will be doing it again with a 408 or 421. I love the Keith Kraft short blocks but they are a little more expensive. But they are so pretty!

Good luck on your choice.

WEK.