Was all set to do the “junkyard 302 roller motor” in my 65 Falcon...a couple of my friends talked me into keeping the 289 and hopping that up..think I probably spent more $$, but it will be a little more correct for the car..well the motor ran OK before it was pulled, just seemed gutless, and it was a bone stock motor with a real old aluminum intake with a new Edelbrock carb on it..the mains were good, but cylinders needed to go out to .030 so it’s a 297...I know those heads aren’t correct for it...but they make great HP, allow me to run more compression, stay cool, put the car in a 50lb diet,and I want a hot street car and would like at least 300 HP at the wheels and this combo will do it...on pump gas , and live, and have great drivability. I can’t wait to get the trans wrapped up and get this back in the car..
Put a crate motor in '79 Jimmy 4x4. OT on here but the most bang for the buck on a deal like that. Doubt I would ever put one in my hot rods unless someone starts doing crate 283s or 327s.
I like old engines, installed plenty of crate engines for customers (SBC) and some gave me their old motors 283s and a 350. I bought some cheap ones (327,283 and 322) that I still have waiting. Again to me it's not 100% about speed, it's about feeling. I wasn't around when what we call "traditional type" builds were the norm, so this is as close as I can get to being there...........the smell, the loose steering, the work it takes to drive them (either in hot rod or stock form) is what moves me. It's pure rolling history. I'm like an addict, I'll spend what I have and work more to spend more.....just for the next "fix"<<<<< pun intended.
I like the idea of keeping the 289, IMHO I think the 289 is one of the best bang for you bucks engine Ford ever made. HRP
Which is good, that way more older engines come up for sale cheap or free. Let the masses pine over the latest fad, I'll be there to pick up the scraps.
Your 289 wouldn't be a 306 unless you put a 302 crank in it. I am working on a .040 over 289 and it will be a 297.
Ahhh thanks for clearing that up..I wasn’t totally sure..297 has a weird ring to it..can’t wait to get it in the car and drive it
Well said. A lot of factors went into my decision to go with a crate motor, and happy I did. Having done most everything else to my cars over the years, I don't feel bad to have some work custom done. Heh Tiki, glad you found a falcon. Any pics?
Its not just the hard parts that makes my decision, the people at the builder's shop are part of it. I go talk with them, pick their brains, part of the price of admission for me. When I have an engine with them, I always stop by once a week to check the progress... never let an engine sit idle in a shop for too long. They now know me, I bring in more business for them. I have another one coming up and have been there to start the talks going.
I just pick-up a Cadillac 390 short block that has been sitting in a garage for thirty years. I hope all it needs is to be broke down and cleaned -up with new bearings and polish the crank journals. Wish full thinking
I’m a firm believer that everyone should get their fingerprints on every part of their engine at least once. Guys should know how that thing eats, shits and sleeps- know good from bad and right from wrong. Then comes wanting a belly button standard street driving motorvation and get you down the road propulsion. Hard to best one call and a few days later it’s in your driveway crate engines. Really you can’t. Now if you’re looking for something extra, something more powerful, something that puts out max effort , that’s when you take over and well you’re going to pay someone unless you’ve got the the rebuild experience. Maybe you’ve got a pile of boat anchors and want to put something together just because you’re boredom over takes you. ( I haven’t been bored since I was 14) IF IF you know how the thing eats, shits, and sleeps IF you know good from bad and right from wrong you can get a decent runner out of the pile that might spank everything in a 5 county radius. Maybe you get enough power and spend little. Maybe you take cast off junk and make something good. Maybe you’re better off calling summit
I used to build all my motors for years... A old friend does some motors out of his garage and sells them on ebay, this guy has built for 40 years I think now... For the price of me going to get a block machined dipped and ready with new cam bearings installed, I can get a full Long block assembled from my friend... I used him a few times, but was in time crunches when I did. Personally I will go back to building motors myself I think. But honestly I like the oddball non crate engines available. 283 has always been my personal favorite, along with sb mopars, big block fords I can knock 600 hp on pump gas and still get decent mileage, the problem is what it costs to build em. So I say away from the ford stuff these days... I guess I have gone cheap.... I know why everyone does sbc platforms, I respect and love all the other stuff more I think. A nailhead makes me real happy, or even a old dodge 241 poly... Main thing that sucks is the parts for obsolete motors are like building race motors without the performance.
I've bought a crate sbc, built a sbc, built a 430 Buick, had a 455 Buick built. Would build all of them if I had the time. The 430 is still going after 22 yrs. We cracked a cyl. on the 455 on the dyno, but it was fun while it lasted. 703 hp/622 tq. My joke I tell is my first Buick big block lasted 22 yrs. my second Buick big block lasted 22 minutes. The old 430 is back in the car with the good heads off the 455, running 11.30's. Below, bought 455 before we wounded it, and my home built 430.
I prefer to rebuild one, but I enjoy doing it. I have installed 3 crate engines in the last 15 or so years and all of them got modified before I installed them. Mostly cam changes. Actually I had a friend buy on of those Target motors, and had me throw his heads and camshaft and intake on it before it went into his pikup. That was the at least 15 years ago and it is still running strong. If you are not an engine man by nature I think that a crate motor is a good base for a simple street motor build.
Well let’s start a go fund me...broke as a joke...and yes it does...I wish I could find a used one somewhere
Here's a funny little tidbit, my last 2 builds started with only the engines, a '49 Flatty and a 56 Hemi. They were built and on the stand before I ever figured out what to put them in. I have never heard of anyone starting a build with an LS or Coyote, that doesn't take a lot of creativity or care...in my opinion. Oh, they run like hell but look it too. If you do run one, buy a hood and keep it closed.
I prefer to build the engines. I like 327s and W motors so kinda have to rebuild. Plus I like searching and selecting all the parts and pieces for the motor and I have a preference to cams, heads and intakes. Plus I love assembling a motor, very relaxing to me.
I enjoy assembling engines, have done quite a few over the years. I won't buy one in a crate, but in certain situations will pay somebody who does it every day to assemble it. My big motor, destined for my Henry J is the most expensive engine I've ever had, and the few dollars it has taken to have everything measured and done right for sure is worth the piece of mind. Devin
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