Thread: Which 350 do I want?

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Having lived on this planet for 64 years, I'll give you my take on it. I wouldn't be too swayed by big horsepower claims from small private builders. They can say the motor will produce anything they want to say to make it more attractive to you. Then there is the question of warranty. If you buy a crate from a small builder, will he be there tomorrow to honor your warranty claim?

I'm absolutely certain that there are honest builders out there, but it's tough to try to segregate them from the bad guys.

If I were going to purchase a crate, I'd buy from someone like Scoggin-Dickey or another nationally recognized Chevrolet dealer or outlet. That way, if something did go wrong, I'd be certain they would make it good. Their power claims aren't from some fairy tale either.

The other thing I will caution you about....you get what you pay for. If it seems like a deal that is too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. I've read lots of horror stories lately about some low-priced roller rockers that will disintegrate. Quite a lot of this junk is made offshore, China mainly. Spend your money only with long-term reputable manufacturers and you'll be o.k.
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I agree with Tech 100%.

My paper is showing the GM crate 350 for 87-up for $1159.00. I don't think you can go wrong. It's got warranty to boot. The good thing about the engine is it's 1-piece seal and is universal. Universal means it has the lifter bosses for the hydraulic roller settup with the spider. If ever you wanted more performance, you could cheaply add vortec heads, hit the boneyard for hydraulic roller setup and add a nice hydraulic roller cam pretty cheap. Especially considering the cost of retro lifters. The best thing is you know what you have when it's all said and done.

One of my pet peeves for the month is the term "crate engine". GM, Ford and Chrysler sell new engines in the crate...."crate engines" To fool the public, the rebuilders started calling their product a "crate engine." Duh, it's a rebuilt engine with perhaps some performance parts.....it's not new.

GM sells two groups of new "crate engines": replacement engines and GM Performance Parts engines. The replacement engines include the $1200 (or so) 350 stocker, truck 454 engines, etc. They are probably made in Mexico and are a very good value for the buck....heck, a rebuilt special is about the same price. We have bought a couple of the el cheapo 350s from Chevy and have never had a problem.

For the higher horsepower group, Tech is right...go to Scoggin-Dickey or Sallee or one of the other GMPP dealers. There's a lot of combinations available and the warranty is valid at a few more places than is the one from Pepito Boyz. AND, you'll get a real crate engine.