are these so called crate motors brand new motors,block and all,or are they just rebuilt motors? and why are some people so proud to say they have a crate motor???? I've heard people ask someone at cruises & shows What engine is that,and the assholes proudly answer ITS A CRATE MOTOR,like as if it was made of gold or something. ---Just another thing that pisses me off for some reason
Theres tons of options for crate motors 350s, 427s, etc - 9 times out of 10 they are brand new. They are not cool- just shows that you have money and no imagination.
Used to be you could buy a few different types of engines new from the dealer in a crate. I got one 20 years ago. Of course I tore it apart and replaced stuff and did machine work and whatnot. It was a cheap way to get all the good hi-perf parts. Now "crate motor" means whatever you think it means.
They are oftentimes the best buy for the dollar. They are priced fairly, come with a warranty and arrive quickly. You dont have to listen to babble from your local builder as to why your engine is still scattered on his workbench."Call me tomorrow for a fresh excuse" I know people badmouth crate engines, but in my town they make perfect sense.
GARY...I don't think because someone has a CRATE engine, he's an asshole.but i do believe someone who believes so. WELL he's the real ASSHOLE! so welcome to h.a.m.b. because something tells me your stay will be short...POP.
That term "crate" just comes from the way they were packaged, usually in a plastic bag, strapped to a wooden crate, and alot will have a cardboard box over it. Most are new. Some stuff is shipped in returnable plastic containers. If they were shipped on dollies with bubble wrap on them, they might have been called "Dolly-Bubbles" but then the name might infringe on a certain country singer's trademark...
Crate motors are just another viable option for those that don't want to spend a lot of money and headaches on rebuilding an old motor from the 40's, 50's, 60's. Compare the price you can get a crate motor to a full rebuild/machine on an old motor, then take out the wait. I don't see it as much for people that have no imagination, just less patience in gaining what they really want.
^ Yeah I will agree best bang for buck if you are buying a new engine. I dont listen to my engine builder because I do my own work. I am justa believer that you take more care of something you build yourself
Lighten up,,a lot of guys use crate motors because they are reasonably price bang for you buck and everyone is not capable of building a engine.HRP
I think if you have the money to buy a crate motor its your best choice if you wanna blend into the "norm" but its the best of both worlds it shows up at your in a box all you gotta do is drop it in in and go. So, there is no big deal with a crate motor unless its some "General High performance Engine". And no one is a retard for asking this question.
For me it is a little bit better insurance. Not saying that all crate motors are problem free, just a better warrantee than a rebuild from Schucks and feel that the manufactures know a little bit more about engines than some local builders. After all they built the thing in the first place. You can get anything from a factory replacement to a ground pounding horsepower giant. And yes I have a crate motor. Two of them with no problems yet. All I'm saying is " you are better off buying a new motor than one built by me or one from someone you don't know of their abilities"!
Also a lot of them come with a warrantee from the factory. Rasonable price, good power, quick delivery and a full warrantee is pretty appealing to a lot of people. I myself prefer a motor that is a little more traditional and rare but i cannot call someone an asshole for buying/running a crate motor.
if someone could build a "vintage" crate motor they could make a killing. I would prefer to buy a car with a crate motor.. that way i know exactly how the engine was assembled, with what parts.. (and where the shortcuts are). buying a "rebuilt" motor can mean 10000 things. I've bought a few.. some good.. some not so..
And here I thought it was traditional to call someone a "a$$hole", damn I better go back and review my oldschool, black primered, with red letter's shop manual...
I was 8 days away from a cross country trip and puked the motor. The crate from Jeg's saved the trip and came back in one piece. Yes, and it said "hencho en Mexico"!
In the last few years I built a 355 small block, a 350 blower motor and bought a 454 crate motor. The crate motor was less expensive by a long shot.
I went on a road trip in my cuda and came home with a 'box motor'. The motor was in various pieces in the box of my truck. At that point I wished I had bought a 'crate motor' because it would have come with a new oil pressure sending unit. With one of those I would have known my 3500 mile homebuilt motor had sheered the shaft in the oil pump.
Vintage crate motor.....check out the Fords in the "$GREAT?RACE$" , most of the Fords are sporting Roush Racing flathead crate motors.
The snobs will give you a snobby answer, but the nice guys will give you a nice answer. It all depends on who you are!
For me the crate motor was the way to go. I don't have the tools or the know how to build my own and I couldn't afford a nice flathead to go in my sedan. So if you come up and ask me what kind of engine is in my rod I am going to say crate motor in the nicest way I can so as not to be an asshole!!!! Unless being an asshole is required as it is with some.
my 50 chevy had a 327,and a 400 sbc both rebuilt by builder.s the last motor i put in was a 290 hp crate motor best yet (had car over 25 yrs and put a lot of miles on it) best bang for the buck
In this world there is a butt for every seat. Some guys prefer hands on building them. Some guys need an engine fast so they buy a crate. Some guys prefer a warranty... You have to choose what's right for the situation. I have put in over 100 GM Goodwrench engines when I worked for the dealer. They have a coast to coast 3 yr/50k mile warranty redeemable at any GM dealer. That's worth some piece of mind to a lot of folks. For my own junk I have plenty of time so I can obsess about every detail and build my own. Like I said, a butt for every seat.
?why?...i dont think theres a reason to talk down against crate motors...i dont have one but if you want a cheap fast option...go for it....takes the fun away, if tinkering with engines is your idea of fun...its at least mine....i have no preference though...
I built a mopar big block once ..then again and again, blew one all to hell and had to get another block, man a crate motor would have been soooo much cheaper faster and most likely dependable, my next eng ...??? thinking a b.b. mopar in a 40 buick coupe .yeahaaaaaaa
This is not a new phenomenon. Back in the 60s, high performance Corvette crate motors were commonly on display in the parts dept. at the few dealerships that catered to the high performance crowd. They were not cheap back then but probably cheaper than buying the individual parts and having them assembled into a used block. My local dealership was one of the largest Chevrolet HP parts dealers on the east coast. The engine in my roadster must have been a crate motor from 69 or 70. The stampings on the deck don't match any of the std. codes and it still has the lifting eyes and plug wire looms that were put on to the engine at the factory that assembled the engines before they were shipped to the various GM plants to be matched up with the car. There is no self respecting hotrodder that would have put them back on after the intake was replaced. (it's a high rise aluminum winters intake) It appears to be a 70 LT-1 crate motor. These engines were taken off the shelf before they were mated to a car and sold through the parts dept when ordered if the parts manager didn't have one in stock. Later the factory started assembling engines which were only assembled to be sold through the parts department. They were pretty cheap at the time, mostly stock and many were sold. They were called "Target master engines". They were supposed to be assembled in Mexico instead of the engine assembly plants that supplied the assembly lines. They did not share the same reputation as the earlier "crate engines". There are an ass load of the made for the parts dept. HP engines today. (at least I see them on TV anyway)
good explanation Tommy. Although the big blocks were a bit different than the small blocks...the XCH (LS-7) engine was available from chevy dealers for 20 years (early 70s-early 90s), but it was never installed in a car new. And the big blocks were all made in New York, not in mexico
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