This Engine is advertised locally and is built by a reutable builder. It does not come with any accessories. It was built for Popular Hot Rodding's Engine Masters Challenge. Is this a good engine to run on the street or is it a bit much? Thanks
Im goona say no, it isnt good for the street. Remember it was built to COMPETE in the engine masters challenge. So to Me that means its on the very edge of pump gas friendly. Im guessin all the clearances are max (main and rod) for less drag along with low tension race rings. Im also not a fan of beehive springs incase one breaks the valve can fall in the cylinder and cause major damage. Its a dyno motor. Makes big numbers but in the real world of stop and go traffic with different gas were forced to buy at different stations. I would pass. FED
"1 year GM warranty" Really? how is GM going to warranty that? My guess is it would be a great street motor if you are building a Gasser - NOT a cruiser
I'd drive it to work every day. Course I work in the back yard. Sounds like a hell of a deal to me. JMO. Lippy
I have a very good friend who has done the engine master deal and done very well. His words when I inquired about his killer sbc engine from a year or two ago were that it would need to be re-rebuilt to be streetable. They are built to win that contest period. They make great dyno engines, not great street driven engines. As to the warranty, I bet there is so much fine print you would NEVER get a warranty issue resolved to your satisfaction.
It might be a bit much as is, but I bet it wouldn't take much to tone it down a bit and make it streetable. Might be cheaper to do that then build a new one. Seems like a decent deal to me.
I wouldn't trust the warranty either, but I wouldn't be so quick to pass on it if I needed a motor. Even if it is too much for the street, you are getting some expensive parts and machine work with an engine like that. Even if you had to swap a few things out to make it streetable, it would almost certainly be cheaper than starting from scratch.
As said before- pass on that mill- GM wont warranty it- especially if they didn't build it- they'd have to warranty my bicycle too if that's the case. And they're right about being built for competition on a dyno- It'll have the loosest clearances you've ever seen, with as good a ring seal they can muster with low tension oil rings... probably has the compression ratio on the ragged edge for the fuel they were allowed with perfect dyno water temp in it. i'd say the valve springs dont have much life left if the cam had really aggressive ramps -rick
Put on a Conan helmet and drive it til you smell crap or hear glass break OR buy a cheap rebuilt cookie cutter 350 off Craigslist and have the same motor as everybody else. No guarantees with a used motor either way.
I've had cars with so much cam that many "old timers" swear it's too much for the street. The bee-hive springs on my small block were on-the-money... I never dropped a valve, and I would be hesitant to believe that a few dyno pulls would wear out a brand new set. Did I just get lucky? Maybe... But then, springs have improved a bit since the fifties. Now, we already know from earlier posts that this thing will run on pump gas... And who knows... maybe this guy's warranty is simply emulating what GM offers. It comes down to the legitimacy of his business. So the question is this: Are you willing to swap piston rings, and possibly a cam and valve-springs in order to save thousands of dollars on a professional built motor?
Badshifter, That is pretty much exactly what I was thinking. as far as a warranty, he offers the same one year warranty as GM, but I feel that so much work would have to be done to this engine, that the warranty wound be void right there. I think it is probably a killer Dyno engine. Period. For this to be streetable, I would need to sink another pile of money into it and would always worry about when I may break something. Thanks to everyone for thier input, Sometimes we all just need a bit of outside influence to keep us from over reacting to what appears to be a great deal.
If the builder is local talk to him about the motor, he'll either tell the truth, or lie to you either way it's a 50/50 deal. The price is good with all that is listed, I would buy it, if you don't like it you could always sell it to somebody else.
Sounds like a good deal to me, I built a 400hp 383 stroker complete and running for around 5K. With me doing a lot of the work. Also with a 4 speed auto behind it my chevelle is capable of 16 mpg's on the highway and very street friendly. Just one opinion, good luck.
You'll rarely ever get a chance to get that much good hardware for less money. Buy it now, or give the rest of us a chance at it.
Sounds like a great deal... another $1000 for fuel pump, starter , flex plate, headers, pulleys, etc. and you're good to go. You may want to go with a streetable stall converter that would be a bit of a mismatch to this motor/cam. And, the gas mileage won't be anything to write home about.... but you'll have a blast. Good Luck!
My plan is to go look at it later in the week and get a a better idea of what I'm in for. I think the only way to run this is if I let the builder get it ready to be a street engine. If we can work out a decent deal,I may just have to try and run it.
You have been out of it for WAY to long for what you remember to be valid. No offense, just facts. Our comp eliminator engines (very similar to dyno challenge engines) can and do at times kill valve springs in 1 pass. Modern race/dyno challenge engine run valve stems as narrow as 5 mm, and boy do they fail. Spectacularly at times. Springs have improved since the 50's yes. So have cams, oils, bearings, rings, pistons, cylinder heads etc. That's why we wing the living hell out of them beyond anything you would have thought possible in the 50's. And that's why the blow like nothing you've seen in the 50's. It will run on pump gas, on the dyno where constant water flow and temperature is easily maintained. Low tension rings will not last on the street, period. Loose tolerances will not last on the street. Running a 14 quart pan with 4 quarts of 0 weight oil will not last on the street. If the block is filled or partially filled then what? It's not a matter of changing a few parts and whamo, you have a street killer. It's not worth the risk.
I have decided to pass on this engine. If anyone else is interested the guys name is Dave. His number is 763-420-5373 I think its a great deal for this engine, just not good for my application. Let us know if someone here gets it!
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