This is true. I often run into this when I help people out. I do my own stuff on the side, and people seek me out (not trying to boast here). If they are willing, I will help them build an engine, show them the ropes, guide them through it... together we will build the engine. That way they can say they did it. After all this is what hot rodding/car building is all about. The engine is the heart of the car, you can build some killer stuff using used parts. Don't let Used fool you either. I know that people think that buying a crate motor everything is new and fresh. This may be true, but you can also pick up good used parts such as cylinder heads, intakes carbs, rotating assemblies etc... I have purchased AFR heads at half the price of new, cleaned them checked them out, installed new springs, and had a perfect set of heads. Buddy of mine build a bbc (big bacon cheese???) for under 1k using mostly used parts, street car, runs 7.40s in the 1/8th in a chevelle. Building an engine doesn't have to be expensive if you shop around, wheel n deal.
watch it buddy boy!! I told Chris Hanson exactly where you live......so you may get a knock on your door soon Btw...who "hotrods" a 300 ford 6 bangers and puts them in an old ass f150???
I believe what the original poster is trying to get across here is that when you ask someone "What engine is it?" They respond with "Crate Engine!". Who fu**ing cares. Just say what cubes it is.
I kinda took it as, " It's a crate motor " Like it's the crown gewl of the car,when anyone can bust out the plastic and order one.No bagging on the crate but the attitude shown , smug and snobby. I believe some people actually believe most of what they see on TV.there for a crate motor is the end all to beat all. Myself I don't have the knowledge to build or the machine tools needed to build an engine,so I would use one. I just wouldn't brag about it. Unless I had some cool engine with some nice hand made parts under the hood , I would leave mine down.
"Myself I don't have the knowledge to build or the machine tools needed to build an engine,so I would use one. I just wouldn't brag about it. Unless I had some cool engine with some nice hand made parts under the hood , I would leave mine down. " Man that is a perfect statement,hits the nail right on the head Paul
I don't understand what this drama is all about. Who gives a shit if some guy thinks his crate engine is a status symbol. If that is the only thing that "pisses me off", life must be pretty good. I've got better things to worry about. I only care about my stuff - I don't do car shows anyway.
Want a genuine factory engine put together by real engine assemblers (that do it every day)? Get a crate engine. Sold by the factory with a full warranty. These are "service" engines, not "remanufactured". Sure, you can do it yourself... in fact, go ahead. You won't beat assembly line prices. Quality is good too. Could quality be better? Sure. Weigh your pistons & rods, balance your rods and crank. CC your heads and port them. Degree your cam, etc. After re-doing all the factory did, and spending tons of hours (and a new master gasket set), your results may be marginally better than stock. ...asshole, for buying a crate? I guess all new car buyers are assholes, too. New cars have identical engines in them.
Mine is a crate moter. There I said it. Why? many of the reasons that have been brought up already. I also tell people it is a crate motor. I mention it not as a status symbol because I don't think it is. I tell them because the car has many unique features, but the motor is not one of them.
HEY! We have someting in common... I work for an engine manufacturer, too! Ford Motor Company. Each of our engine plants produce 1,000 engines each DAY. Let's see... that's 8,000 spark plugs, injectors, pistons, 16,000 valves (32,000 for the 4-valve Romeo Mustang engine), lash adjusters, roller followers, 2,000 cams (4,000 4-valve), etc... How many 'bad' engines can the engine plant afford to ship to the assembly plants??? It ain't happenin' or heads roll (big time). Service engines go in the same racks but get diverted to the Parts Depots, where they are individually crated. If you don't get 150,000 miles out of any of these engines, there's something really wrong. We still stuff pistons by hand, two guys on one side of the line, and two on the other. I seriously doubt ANYONE could stuff pistons more efficiently than these guys. Skilled? You stuff 2,000 pistons every day, perfectly. That's the guys I want doing MY engine. Hmmm... let's see... 4 guys each make $175/day divided by 1,000 engines... That's $0.70 per engine! The production numbers are mind-blowing, but very real. That's why the Japs want this market. Crate engines are a real good deal, just like an assembled car.
Simplyconnected, Maybe that didn't come off right...what I meant was the assembly line is not comprised of master engine builders. I agree, if all you do is install the same component all day long you become the master of that particular component's installation. Combine that with about 500 stations, and the error proofing that ensures the correct component is put in each particular engine (we build 1500 different shop orders), you end up with a combination that can't be beat. When the build process goes off-line, you then introduce human error - one tech assembling the engine that may or may not reference all of the required specs. The offline process cannot possibly incorporate all of the error-proofing, robotics, torque verification, vision systems, automated lash adjustment, etc that takes place on the assembly line. Depending on demand (been up and down with the automotive industry) we can produce an equivalent 1000 engines/day - 45 pph. This is done with a failure rate target of less than 500 ppm (500 failures per million) or 1 per every 2000 engines. Predominately, these failures are performance related and caught during dyno runs. If one actually makes it to the customer and it fails, I agree - a big deal! Whether it's a failure in assembly, a component failure, etc makes no difference!
Think about it a minute. alot of builders/gearheads start with a crate engine and the first thing they do is tear it down.Its a mistake to believe someone who buys a crate engine is a stroke
This is what part of the Baltimore assembly plant looked like when we toured it in the 70s except there was every optional engine that was available for the models on that line. 6s, 350s and 402s
Just because its a crate motor doesnt mean its gonna be perfect.Most crate motors are not a problem,but occasionally one will slip thru the cracks and be a slug.A buddy bought a 290 hp and it has no power and we have all tried to figure it out.Most likely would be the timing gear improperly installed.He took it to a well known auto repair in our area and we are waiting for the results as i write this.Another occasion a 472 crate motor had 40 lbs oil pressure at highway speed and 10 lbs at idle.I dont think that would make me one bit happy if i paid that money and had to worry about the motor.Just saying.... what happened in our group in this area.
I understand the savings from the crate engine, the availability, the warranty, the time saved and the possibilitys but consider the huge impact if has our local machine shop business. Mom and pop America is dying!
Just because it comes in a crate doesn't mean it's a crate motor. The term was used to describe new auto manufacturer built replacement engines as opposed to a rebuilt engine. It has become a very lucrative market. As States are getting stricter with their emission laws, the ability to buy a modern engine with the electronics to put it in an old car will make it possible to keep these vehicles on the road. GM even has a program where you can go into the factory and build your own motor under expert guidance. Many rebuilders now describe their engines as "crate" engines so, as always, it's buyer beware. Know what you are buying and who you are buying it from. A factory new engine is warranteed by the manufacturer at their dealerships nationwide.
Many machine shops sell the engines, heads, short blocks etc because they can't do the work as economically as the factory can. For instance, the factory has a machine that tightens and torques all of the head bolts at the same time.
Normally it means cheap valve train, cheap gaskets, and spray paint on a generic 180 horsepower 350 Chevy----all placed into a wooden basket and mailed to a street rodder to go into a Ford because someones brothers uncles cousins sister told him that it will fit easier. Then, upon arrival, it magically develops into a 383 Stroker with a forged crank, rods, and pistons and 550 horsepower.
bottom line, after all that was said here, is a lot of guys think thier crap don't stink, if they have the almighty, "crate motor" which is what the original guy that started this, stated.. that's it... you are not special because you have a crate motor !!!
I remember a buddy buying a brand new LS7 in a crate from our local Chevy dealer in the 80's. I helped him put it in a 67 Pontiac. I thought it was pretty cool, I know it was pretty fast.
I agree and it goes even farther than that. The engine is built on the same line as regular production engines. These are 'service parts'. An engine plant will typically assemble 1,000 engines per day. Yep, 1,000. That means your crate engine is assembled by workers that ONLY do specific jobs on your engine, whether it is on the machining side or the assembly side. Engine Machining cuts alloy pistons on the same machine but they come out four different sizes. After 'normalizing' in an air-conditioned room for four hours, they air-gauge the pistons for size. Then they are color-marked and go to one of four silos. When production comes in, they look at the silo levels and call the block department. "Hey, brush all our blocks for (yellow, green, magenta or blue) piston bores today." Modern engines use the good stuff at prices that we cannot buy in quantities of ONE. They're doing 8,000 sets of pistons, rods, rings, etc., each shift, every day. Each part is checked with "vision" computers. If a wrist pin keeper is missing or a ring, that piston automatically rejects for human intervention. I'm not saying there are NO mistakes but I will say that these engines are built with great pride by professionals and they come with a factory warranty. Ever wonder why modern engines go 250K between overhauls? Wonder no more. - Dave
I always wondered why the pistons that knocked in the Ford 400 engines in the 70s had a different color than the rest of the pistons in the engine. Apparently they got mixed up or maybe it was sabotage. The Ford rep told us the pistons shrunk but maybe they just started out being too small.
Nice try but Ford didn't brush cylinder bores to size in the 70's. Those engines never lasted 200k miles either. Back then, they probably matched pistons to bore sizes instead of the other way around.
Don't get me wrong, but I do love chevy big blocks.... I just can't stand the looks of those new fangled valve covers.... Yuck!..
Valid question. realy the crate implies source. There are lots of places to get a 350 chevy engine. Somehow the crate sticks with the engine. Once the engine gets bolted in its just another smog 350. unless it's been bored, then its a "355"!!! After all this its still a "small block 350" Like GM ever made a "big block 350"
As soon as I saw the three year old start dates, I knew there'd be a FNG at the first recent post. This happens too much. Maybe "don't dredge up old posts right away" should be part of the rules. Not even an Intro-this was the first thing he had to say.
The Jalopy Journal
