Crate Engine

[dduenkel]

Well it looks like my engine is in worse shape than I thought and I will either have to rebuild the engine or drop in a crate engine. I have looked at Summit and their crate engines and i was wondering what people recommend. I did a search in the forum and didnt see many recommendations. I am looking for something in the 350hp - 380hp range, I use this car a lot so it needs to good on the streets but want some power. I also heard about JEGS and some of their engines. If anyone is really happy with their crate engine please let me know.
This is for a 1975 Vette. I dont want to have to make any changes to the drive train if possible.

 

[Evolution1980]

I did a search in the forum and didnt see many recommendations.

Seriously? There should be TONS of threads. I can't count how many times crate engines have come up. Hmmm...
Either way... You can pick yourself up a Scoggins-Dickey catalog and/or a GM Performance Parts catalog for ideas.

I'm partial to the ZZ4, although now I wish I had more like the ZZ383. (Like that wasn't expected :eyerole...)

Scoggins-Dickey page

 

[TimAT]

I'm with Evo- look at the GM crate engines- maybe a little more upfront cash, but the warranty is worth something.

Funny thing about horsepower- it's like eaing potato chips- one is never enough

 

[dduenkel]

I was looking at the ZZ4 355HP/405TQ, will my stock drive train be able to handle that much torque and HP without any modifications? This looks like a really nice engine!

 

[Evolution1980]

It should.
Here's the thing...if you don't think the current trans will handle, you're going to end up replacing it.
If it does actually fail, you are going to be replacing it.
So...if you leave it in and you have no problems, then you're ahead of the game financially.
If you end up replacing it, then the thinking is that it would've ended up getting replaced one way or the other so it doesn't really matter if it failed or not.

Torque is primarily what will kill a transmission. Afterall, a transmission is a torque multiplier. If the car isn't being campaigned for 1000 miles, one quarter mile at a time ("drag racing"), then you should be fine with the stock trans.

I ran my ZZ4 with my TH350 and had no issues.

Oh, and a note about doing a straight up engine swap...if you keep all the original exhaust parts on the engine, it's not going to be performing at it's full potential. But it won't be any more handicapped than your current engine, so the performance gains will be respective.
Note #2, you may need to swap water pumps or simply get a new one. When I bought my ZZ4 years ago, it had a long-neck water pump and our cars (or at least mine) required a short neck. Otherwise, the fan was in the radiator.

 

[dduenkel]

Thank you for the responses, I have headers and straight pipes already on my current engine so that should help and I have read about the water pump so thank you for all the heads up. I am looking forward to getting more power!

 

[TimAT]

My drivetrain is all stock (on the 69) BB- crate LS-7. It's been hammered on but never a drag race style launch. Get it rolling and then jump on it. Smokes tires no problem. I suspect that unless you really launch it hard, it'll hang in there. Big sticky tires, a hard launch, and you might need a coal shovel to pick up pieces. Automatics are easier on driveline parts too. Less shock to the system. Maybe add a Trans-Go shift kit to the 350 trans.

 

[6880 Mike]

I vote for rebuilding what you have.

 

[bucket]

Well it looks like my engine is in worse shape than I thought and I will either have to rebuild the engine or drop in a crate engine. I have looked at Summit and their crate engines and i was wondering what people recommend. I did a search in the forum and didnt see many recommendations. I am looking for something in the 350hp - 380hp range, I use this car a lot so it needs to good on the streets but want some power. I also heard about JEGS and some of their engines. If anyone is really happy with their crate engine please let me know.
This is for a 1975 Vette. I dont want to have to make any changes to the drive train if possible.

.
it's a no-brainer if you have access to a serious engine builder
and there is usuallty one within a 100 miles of anywhere in america

 

[dwevors]

How does your car run in the quarter. Do you know your rear wheel horespower?