Which is the smart way? Rebuild or crate shortblock?

LMan · Jan 26, 2006

milner351 said:
No one loves your car as much as you do, and no one will spend the time and attention to detail on your engine that you will.

Preach on, Brother Milner!

D.Hearne · Jan 26, 2006

[QUOTE='66 coupe]My roommate actually found a '96 at one yard the bodyshop he works at buys stuff from. It was $400 but had high miles, so for what I want to do, I'm gonna pass. Hopefully I can find something with low miles.[/QUOTE]
What do you call "high miles" ? The 86 up roller 5.0's are good for nearly 200K miles. In one with 80,000+miles, you can pull the oilpan and replace the rod bearings ( provided the old ones and the crank aren't scored oor scratched) to extend the usefull life. The rings and bore last a long time since Ford switched to low tension rings. I'd also replace the oilpump too while there, along with the pump driveshaft and the front & rear seal. This info applies to motors that haven't been opened up or left to the elements since their retirement.

Sicarius428 · Jan 26, 2006

A engine builder here on the forum named Rick91GT has an excelent rep here in the 5.0 forums. Here's his website http://www.rnhperformance.net/ I would go through him before going with a crate motor especially if you want a stroker to move that heavy 69 shell around. From what people have said his prices are more than reasonable and his workmanship fantastic.
Kevin

electricgreen · Mar 28, 2006

[QUOTE='66 coupe]The other option is going with a Ford Racing 302 roller shortblock(M-6009-B50) for around $1350.

[/QUOTE]

Where did you come arcoss that number/price? My hubby is driving himself (and now me)to distraction looking for Ford shortblocks less than @$3,000 (stroker motors)

68converted · Mar 28, 2006

I can give you my experience on the build side, I bought a 91 Mustang GT motor w/ less than 40K on it. When I pulled it apart, everything looked very clean, bearings did not even look like they had been in the car, the Pistons were nearly carbon free, and the cylinders looked like they were fresh from the factory, After selling off all the top end stuff and buying all new, with new oil pump, pan, and all the little stuff, I could have bought the Ford Racing 340 hp long block for about $400 less, and that is with me doing all the work myself.

Sometimes I feel like I should have bought the crate motor, which is brand new everything, but there is the satisfaction factor... I did it myself! That is huge in my book. Just some thoughts for you...

D.Hearne · Mar 28, 2006

If the internals looked that good, I'd have just reringed it and installed new rods and mains. Total cost would have been less than $500.

Realmongo · Mar 28, 2006

I am finding out right now, first hand, the advantages and disadvantages of doing a performance rebuild with a local reputable machine shop. If I had to start all over, it would be a performance crate motor hands down, no questions asked. With the right crate motor, you get way more value!

electricgreen · Mar 29, 2006

Ok, the Ford Performance Crate motors all have GT-40 heads. Anyone know of a manifold that would work with these? Or should we go with a shortblock and use our heads?

'66 coupe · Mar 29, 2006

electricgreen said:
Where did you come arcoss that number/price? My hubby is driving himself (and now me)to distraction looking for Ford shortblocks less than @$3,000 (stroker motors)

I worked at a performance shop in Orlando for a couple week. I think that's the retail price. Jeg's has $1300.
That's a hyper short block. Since it's a 302 the price is considerably cheaper. You're going to find the 347's are around $3000 for a forged shortblock, around $2500 for a hyper.

THX 138 · Mar 29, 2006

I vote for not rebuilding. I got a '69 302 block and its corroded from the inside out exposing the casting porosity and now leaks.

'66 coupe · Mar 29, 2006

electricgreen said:
Ok, the Ford Performance Crate motors all have GT-40 heads. Anyone know of a manifold that would work with these? Or should we go with a shortblock and use our heads?

The stock 2 bbl intake from my '69 302 matches the GT40P heads on the Mountaineer engine I have. So shouldn't most 302 manifolds work?

While I'm on the subject of parts fitment, what all will I need to retrofit the Gt40P for a carb'd setup in my '66?
So far I have:
-Intake manifold & carb.
-timing cover and waterpump
-headers - Anyone know of good headers for GT40P heads in a classic? I've heard HiPo manifolds work, but that's like a last resort.
-Distributor - I've heard '85 GT. Anything better?
-Oiling system - Pan, Front sump, plug original dipstick.

I also want to add an E303 cam and dual roller timing chain.

Am I missing anything?

'66 coupe · Mar 29, 2006

Forgot balancer and flexplate, right?

electricgreen · Mar 29, 2006

[QUOTE='66 coupe]The stock 2 bbl intake from my '69 302 matches the GT40P heads on the Mountaineer engine I have. So shouldn't most 302 manifolds work?

While I'm on the subject of parts fitment, what all will I need to retrofit the Gt40P for a carb'd setup in my '66?
So far I have:
-Intake manifold & carb.
-timing cover and waterpump
-headers - Anyone know of good headers for GT40P heads in a classic? I've heard HiPo manifolds work, but that's like a last resort.
-Distributor - I've heard '85 GT. Anything better?
-Oiling system - Pan, Front sump, plug original dipstick.

I also want to add an E303 cam and dual roller timing chain.

Am I missing anything?[/QUOTE]

Huh, beats me, I am 100% clueless about the gt-40 heads, I just figured they would be different somehow.

Ugh, headers. Hadn't thought about that yet!

I need a "for dummies" book

'66 coupe · Mar 29, 2006

electricgreen said:
Huh, beats me, I am 100% clueless about the gt-40 heads, I just figured they would be different somehow.

Ugh, headers. Hadn't thought about that yet!

I need a "for dummies" book

GT40, you'll be okay on headers.
GT40P is where you need special ones to clear the sparkplugs.

Stangninjak · Mar 30, 2006

Heh I just went thru all of this myself. My 69 block 351 went kaboom on I95. Now when I tore everything apart, I had very fine metal in the oil pan. After talking to my local machine shops, (Most were shady at best) I decided just to get a longblock and use parts from my old engine, and buy new what I wanted to upgrade.

I bought a block from faster5.0, and it came with a 12month warranty. Was put together very good with quality parts, and they painted it yellow for me Had the TFW heads and cam installed, I bought a stealth, used my oil pan and pickup, bought new vavle covers, and upgraded the carb from a 1406 eddy to a 670 SA holley. Heh all of the parts are in my sig Anyway long story short, I came out cheaper. I have a new engine, with warranty, and it still was under 4k with all the upgrades. I will be dynoing probaly this weekend or next, so I will see how it goes.

So buy a new block or rebuild ? I guess it depends on how your local machine shops are. I am quite happy with the results the way I went.

D.Hearne · Mar 30, 2006

Any Windsor type intake (with the excetion of the bastard 1980's 255cid V8) will bolt up to any GT40 series heads. A minor port matching will in most cases be all that's needed to fix any slight mismatch encountered.

Which is the smart way? Rebuild or crate shortblock?

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