Hello, As a little kid, there were many episodes of taking things apart, from old wagons, bicycles, carts, lawnmowers, and just about anything that moved. But, putting them back in its original build was the part that took awhile, if it did at all. The short term memory at the time was in full play. It was more fun to take things apart, rather than put them back in correct order and place. Over the years, we realized that if we took something apart and wanted to use it later, we would have to put it back together. Most of the times, we had to do it because our parents were non-mechanical in the “putting back together” sense. Most of the loose parts of anything was put into small boxes by my mom, until we could reassemble them. If they stayed apart too long, it went curbside for the “junk man pick ups” that happened almost everyday in our old neighborhood. The curbside boxes and loose items were fair game to everyone that drove by on the street. As teenagers, we realized that we had never taken apart a real motor and transmission before. But, we had to learn fast if we wanted to race at the drags. My brother had replaced the cam, lifters and distributor in the 348 Impala after his stock racing days were coming to a close. Then we both decided to build our first real drag racing engine together. It was countless hours spent talking to the guys at Reath Automotive, Joe Mailliard’s shop, and even the early Clay Smith Cam Shop for the how-to information on the correct way to build a motor. We got an ear full (actually 4 ears full) So, we started to make some decisions. To make things a little easier on our first build, we got an Isky infused, long block SBC, separate Chevy heads, manifold and some Strombergs. That was the starting point. Countless hours in the rear garage was done bolting thing as per torque wrench specs. Eventually, the 283 SBC started to come together. I was continually warned that gorilla wrenching was not good and that we needed to take things slowly, but accurately. After weeks of putting the big puzzle back together, we were the proud owners of a newly created 283 Chevy motor with 6 Strombergs on top. That was really something and was a plus in our minds. But, we did not know if it would fire up or not. The big thing in our thoughts was that we questioned for days. What if we left something out or did not adjust something correctly. This anticipation in engine building was a killer feeling for us newbies. Jnaki Well, after installing it in our rebuilt Willys chassis, that final gas smell, the click of the ignition switch satisfied our worrisome feelings with a loud roar and idle. When my brother revved up the engine, that was the most beautiful sound we had heard in quite some time. After spending some time adjusting the Strombergs and tune, we were ready. All of the transmission gears shifted and moved the Willys in the general directions. So, we were instantly backing out of the narrow driveway for our first test drive on the neighborhood streets with the headers capped up, of course. (The smaller Moon Tank in the cab limited us to the range of our test drives) This was one of the happiest moments in our young hot rod/drag racing episodes. One that was repeated again, after three months of racing at Lions Dragstrip. We just needed something more, to go faster and be more competitive. So, the big rebuild #2 started again. similar to the Bones Balogh motor photo This time, we started with a newly honed out SBC block, new racing parts and more good stuff we bought with our hard earned cash. The first time was trial and error. This time, it was a new crank, rods, pistons, springs, etc. The second time, we proclaimed that we were good builders and could do just about anything necessary. The end result was a full blown 671 SBC 292 c.i. motor to compete against the best in the B/Gas and C/gas classes. No mistakes happened as we were somewhat experienced builders from Chapter 1. That 292 671 SBC motor in our 40 Willys got us near the national record for C/Gas. These days, it certainly seems simple to drop in a crate motor of any kind and be off and running in days. But, if you are able, there is nothing more fun than putting together a motor from scratch and seeing the positive results from your work. As the years progress, some times, it is easier to just get someone else to drop in a new crate motor and do all of the hard work. Choices, choices… You just get the benefits… If this had happened in today's timeline, it would have been a "BRO hand shake and a modified hug. For family members, it would be a big warm congratulation hug. But, for two teenage boys with huge smiles on our faces, that was plenty to last a lifetime of handshakes or hugs. It was a moment in time, especially driving the Willys down the road for the first time, listening to the powerful purr of the 671 SBC motor.
I'm 13. I have rebuilt 2 motors on tight budget. 1 my go-kart motor that is very souped up and my first cars engine which was a 1973 vw beetle. I sold that beetle and bought a 53 ford customline Tudor sedan and I am in the middle of rebuilding the tired old flathead. I found a merc crank and spent all day with crocus cloth on it till it was perfect. I also work at a machine shop so I can machine all the stuff for free. I'm boring it .030 over and am getting the cam ground. my uncle gave me a set of offy heads and it will b a nice motor. and honestly it never even crossed my mind to get a crate motor. all my ancestors would rebuild their motors so why wouldn't I. and I look at that as sorta cheating. just like buying a fiberglass deuce body. its just not nostalgic. so I would never buy a crate motor. and plus isn't it nice to hear that motor roar and know that you made it roar. Boden
Careful young'un. I admire your enthusiasm and your interest in the hobby and I remember being young and having the world all figured out long before I was old enough to take part in it. There are a lot of friends of mine on here that drive and/or are building fiberglass cars. They do what they can with what they have. I would like to own several of those cheater/non nostalgic cars you refer to. Stay the course, learn the hobby, be respectful, and above all listen to men on here that know more than you may ever fathom knowing. I have underwear older than you but I still respect, listen and learn from these guys everyday!
HRP, we enjoy cruising long distances in our Deuce roadster so it was a no-brainer to use a crate Vortec 350. I don't want to be stranded on the side of the road because my engine-building prowess wasn't what I thought it was. I do have a very low-mileage 283 (58-64 ?) power-pack engine sitting on a stand that is whispering "you can do it".
Jaded as I am, I'm very skeptical about machine shop's work after several friends have had bad results many times. The "dream" really turns to shit when an engine has to be pulled and redone after all the work involved installing it.
I reckon it depends on what you're doing and what your preference is. I've always built my own. I did buy a short block from Chevrolet in '71, though. When I got back Stateside after mustering out of the Marine Corps, I bought a new Rally Green '68 Camaro. By the following year, I had married, had 1 son and another on the way. With the family growing as it was, I needed a 'family car' with some back seat and trunk space. So I traded in the Camaro and special ordered a new Rally Green '69 Nova SS with the 375 HP 396 L78 engine. Ran a '67 435 HP 427 tri-power intake setup on it. Put a lot of miles on it and was ready to freshen it up in late '71. Got a deal on an LS6 450 HP 454 short block from the dealer. So did a little port matching, had a valve job done on my heads and put the 454 together using the heads and intake from my engine and dropped it into my Nova. Had to replace harmonic balancer and flywheel (454 was externally balanced) but otherwise, everything fit together just fine. Ran really well. Youngest son is ready to freshen up the engine in his '92 Camaro. He works long hours, so doesn't have a lot of spare time to haul engine parts to machine shops and such. So he bought an L31 Vortec 350 crate engine for a '96 Chevy pickup from GM some years ago and is just now getting it ready to replace the tired engine in his Camaro. He left it here in my garage and I am helping him make a few upgrades before he carts it home (a 2 hour drive). Sold the iron Vortec heads to a couple of circle track guys. We are putting a set of AFR heads on it along with an Edelbrock EPS intake and a mild RV type cam. Should be a good engine for his car. Its a weekend cruiser, not a race car. Happy Motoring, Harry
Gary We no doubt are in a different era it seems what with all the "real" machinists retiring or passing, just because the name is the same on the building does not necessarily reflect the previous owners reliability, work ethic, and attention to detail. I was an industrial machinist for 30 years but my heart was really in engines, I did work in two automotive machine shops for a short time and have been around a handful of others so I've witnessed the "changing of the guard" so to speak.
I do have a "crate motor" It is a 1969 LT 1 350 that was bought from a local Chevy dealer here in New Orleans. The motor was a short block and the heads were bought at the same time. The heads have consecutive serial numbers, one digit apart. They were sent to Mondello for a full competition work up. A stout Lunati roller was installed along with an Isky rev kit. The motor went in to a oval track Chevelle and really ran strong. I have had this motor since about 1975. I plan to install it in my 40 Ford which is nearing the stage of motor fitment. The compression appears to be 11 to1 according to a Chevy racer that said the stock pistons appear to be in the block. The heads have pins through the valve stems rather than the more modern screw in type. This is really old school tech, but was state of the art in 1969. A lot of fellows have discouraged the small block in a 40 Ford as being so mundane and boring. The motor is paid for and using it will free up funds for completion of the 40. I think it will move the coupe along well with the Muncie I have as well.
There is nothing "mundane" about a "real" LT-1, crate engine or not! If you have an LT-1 and a Muncie......you're in some pretty tall cotton! And......."Three pedals or nothing"!
Crate motors are like off-the-rack suits; the fit is decent, but probably won't be a perfect fit. And they're built to a price, generally using a formula. If that formula matches your needs, then go for it. But get off the beaten path very far, then doing your own will be the better choice. The one exception I can think of is if you're looking at a stroker motor (particularly a really big inch version) or a big bore aftermarket block, the economies of scale makes them hard to ignore.
Guilty your honor! I purposely built my roadsters' engine while collecting components for the car itself as I didn't want to compromise if I ran out of money and believe me an all alloy 427 Rodeck SBC is not a cheap proposition. I guess it's all in where one wants to place their misery.
I guess as I get older my taste have changed especially as a sbc guy. I’ve ran 350’s including the as mentioned above 70 11:1 solid cam LT1 in my off topic 67 Chevy but now I guess I prefer more period stuff. Which is the opposite of when I was younger when I could care less about period because I was more interested in winning a street race. Typically now if I see a sbc Chevy in a hotrod that is anything other than a small journal block dressed the part I keep walking. This is not to say I wouldn’t talk to the owner especially if he is young. This also not to say I don’t appreciate a period correct 302, LT1 or BBC in the correct car. Am I car snob? Maybe or maybe not. I just tend to like themes an as long as something sticks to one theme I tend to enjoy it. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Of course. I didn’t mean to show disrespect. I just wish I was born in the late 30s so I could b a hot rodder in the 50s I am sorry if I was disrespectful. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
You're fine @Boden . I was at cruise-in last week and overheard a couple of guys talking about how nice a little white 34 three window was (and I agree), one of them commented he thought it was FG and the comments suddenly turned to "how disappointing" and "too bad it's not real" (which I fully disagree with). Who cares what it is built out of, that little 3 window is tight and I'd be proud to drive it. What a couple of maroons. I think it awesome you are both young and into this hot rod stuff. Keep it up.
Hello, Since the 283 was our first official build up, it took time to put everything in their respective places. It was like a giant puzzle with strict rules and configurations. But, being a long block, the lower end was already completed and only the top half of the puzzle was necessary. The most time consuming thing, was the adjustment of the 6 Stromberg carburetors and linkage. Having each one set at the same specs was necessary and it took a while. But, the sound of the first crank and fire up was music to our ears. It was powerful sounding and we could not wait to take the Willys for its maiden voyage around the neighborhood. My brother was the first and he tromped on the pedal a ½ a block from our house. Our mom did not like any “loud” noises, especially that dangerous hot rod in the backyard. After getting everything put back in their places, we were now ready for the racing at Lions. Driving to the Lions entrance in the Impala and towing the Willys coupe and entering the pits was exciting for us. I was nervous and I know my brother’s cold stone face did not really show what was brewing underneath. Our Willys coupe was measured, checked over and weighed. Everything was checked to make sure it was street legal. Then they told us we were now in B/Gas. After a few runs, my brother said it still need a few adjustments and got to work to make faster speeds. By the end of the day, we lost to a top B/Gas competitor, but went home satisfied of our first drag racing adventure in the Gas Coupe and Sedan class. The times and speeds were nothing to write home or to have spread out over the local news. So, we kept at it, fine tuning various things to go faster and quicker. Our 1940 Willys Coupe in B/Gas...Thanks, RRUSS. Jnaki Then one day, my brother came up with this idea of going larger in size of the SBC. We talked to all of the important people at the speed shops and got tons of ideas. So, this time, it was a full tear down, re-bore and get new parts specifically for the addition of a 671 supercharger. That Isky-Gilmer kit was already waiting for us in Los Angeles. Now, the puzzle just got bigger and more complicated. But the advice from our local speed shops gave us all of the confidence to put everything back in place, bit by bit. A new crankshaft, rods, pistons, rings, cam, lifters, push rods, rockers, heads, magneto, and things we did not have to do in the first build of the 283. The results for us were pretty amazing as we got to within .20 seconds off of the national record for C/Gas at the time(Summer 1960). Then everything went “kablooey.” The original story took place on August 13, 1960 at Lions Dragstrip.
The Jalopy Journal
